Spices, Scents and Silk

Catalysts of World Trade

James F Hancock

• Publisher: CAB International
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9781789249750
• eBook ISBN:
  9781789249774
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Economic History
• Index: Biological Sciences

Spices, scents and silks were at the centre of world trade for millennia. Exotic luxuries such as cinnamon, ginger, pepper, saffron, clove, frankincense and myrrh. Through their international trade, humans were pushed to explore and then travel to the far corners of the earth. Almost from their inception, the earliest great civilizations - Egypt, Sumer and Harappa - became addicted to the luxury products of far-off lands and established long-reaching trade networks. Over time, great powers fought mightily for the kingdoms where silk, spices and scents were produced. The New World was accidentally discovered by Columbus in his quest for spices.What made trade in these products so remarkable was that the plants producing them grew in very restricted areas of the world, distant from the wealthy civilizations of northern Africa, Greece and Europe. These luxuries could be carried from mysterious locations on the backs of camels or in the holds of ships for months on end, and arrived at their final destination in nearly perfect condition. Once the western world discovered the intoxicating properties of these products, their procurement became a dominant force in the world economy. Nothing else compared with their possible profit returns.In this book, eminent horticulturist and author James Hancock examines the origins and early domestication and culture of spices, scents and silks and the central role they played in the lives of the ancients. The book also traces the development of the great international trade networks and explores how struggles for trade dominance and demand for such luxuries shaped the world.Recommended for academics, students and general readers with an interest in crop and agricultural development, world trade, economic botany, history of food, and global economics and public policy, Spices, Scents and Silk offers a fascinating and insightful history.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Dedication
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Early History of Scents, Spices and Silk
• 3 Exotic Luxuries in Antiquity
• 4 Ancient Mediterranean Trade Links
• 5 Land of Punt and the Incense Routes
• 6 Origins of the Spice Trade in the Indian Ocean
• 7 Silk Route Beginnings
• 8 Silk Route Connections
• 9 Ancient South East Asian Maritime Trade
• 10 Golden Age of Byzantium
• 11 Pan Islamica
• 12 Spice Trade in the Dark Ages of Europe
• 13 The Eastern Roman Empire and The Rise of Venice
• 14 Medieval Shifts in the Balance of Power
• 15 Monsoon Islam
• 16 Portuguese Discovery and Conquest
• 17 The Portuguese Build an Empire
• 18 The Spanish Build Their Empire
• 19 The Dutch and English Conquest of South East Asia
• 20 Age of Expansion
• 21 The Ottoman and Safavid Silk Trade
• 22 End of the Spice Era
• Index
• Cabi
• Back