The Incredible history of the Sri Lankan Spice Trade
Sri Lanka has a rich history of spice trade that dates back centuries. The island’s strategic location at the crossroads of ancient trade routes made it a valuable source of spices for traders worldwide. The island was known as “Spice Island” due to its abundance of spices such as cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and clove.
Spices have been vital in the Sri Lankan economy and culture over the centuries.
Spice has significantly influenced Sri Lankan culture and economy over the centuries. Especially, Cinnamon has shaped the history of Sri Lanka, with Arab, Portuguese and Dutch arrivals and subsequent colonization of the country for control of the cinnamon monopoly in world trade.
The Arab traders were the first to discover the island’s spices and began trading with the island around the 9th century AD.
In the early sixteenth century, spices were key to European exploration.
As the spice trade developed, it became essential to European exploration. The Portuguese, led by Vasco da Gama, arrived in India in 1498 and established their first trading post there. They used spices as a currency, exchanging them for goods and services. This was an incredible benefit for the Dutch and British, who could obtain spices by trading with the Portuguese. By the mid-seventeenth century, however, this monopoly was broken when Dutch merchants began to use Cape Town as a base from which they could sell directly to Europe instead of being forced into an exchange system that favoured Portugal’s interests—they also secured control over most other routes available at that time through various treaties with local rulers or military force.
Spice Island was part of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) from 1638-1796
Spice Island was part of the Dutch East India Company from 1638-1796. It was a trading company formed in 1602 to trade spices, coffee, tea, rubber and cacao. The company was responsible for most of the trade during this period.
The VOC monopolised the spice trade between Asia and Europe until 1795, when it went bankrupt, and its territories were ceded to Britain as per Article 5 of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814.
The Dutch introduced new crops- coffee, tea, rubber and cacao- to the island in the 19th century.
The Dutch introduced new crops- coffee, tea, rubber and cacao- to the island in the 19th century. These are still important today and are grown in Sri Lanka’s wet zone, where they thrive on fertile soil. The Dutch also introduced cinnamon, but it grew only around Colombo then.
The British took control of the spice trade in 1815
The British took control of the spice trade 1815 during the Napoleonic Wars and established it as a British colony. They were interested in spices because they were a valuable trading commodity, and wanted to control the spice trade to prevent the Dutch from taking it over again. The British had a monopoly on most of the world’s cloves and nutmeg, which meant that if you wanted these spices, you had to buy them from them or do without them altogether.
They took over the spice trade and established large-scale plantations to produce spices, tea, rubber and other crops. They also invested in developing infrastructure, such as roads, ports, and railroads, to improve these commodities’ transportation. The British controlled the island’s economy and resources for over 150 years, and their influence on its agriculture and infrastructure was significant. The island’s agricultural landscape was transformed, becoming one of the major suppliers of tea, rubber and other commodities to the world market.
If you are interested in spices, Curry O’Clock is a great place to learn about them.
As you can probably tell, I am a big fan of Sri Lanka. It is a beautiful country that offers many different things to see and do. If you are interested in spices and their history, Sri Lanka is your place! With my Cooking Workshops and my Sri Lankan recipes, I am educating my clients about the amazing flavours Sri Lanka offers and all the health benefits of these healthy natural ingredients.
The Sri Lankan spice trade has been crucial to the island’s history and culture for centuries. If you want to learn more about it, I highly recommend joining my Cooking Workshops to indulge your taste buds while learning more about Sri Lankan spices.