Spain spice trade

India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and northern Africa centuries before it was used by ancient Greeks and Romans. In ancient times, it was used as a spice, preservative, and medicine. Pepper was such a valuable commodity that it was often used as a medium of exchange and as a form of money. Centers of commerce such as Alexandria, Constantinople (Istanbul), Calicut, and Venice arose from the trade of pepper. Arab monopolies for pepper (and other spices) kept prices high, making pepper a spice for the wealthy. To break the Arab monopolies, European powers explored for direct trade routes to India. Portugal built on Vasco da Gama s (1469-1524) trade route completed in 1488 to India to establish its own pepper monopoly in the 16th century. This in turn prompted Spain to search for western routes to India. 

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