Venice spice trade

Figure 2.3. The City of Venice, iike some other cities in Northern Italy, was greatly enriched by its participation in the spice trade with the resuiting biossoming of the arts, science and architecture.

In 1096 AD the Cmsades opened up the northern Itaflan ports of Genoa and Venice to Oriental trade through Alexandria. When the Portuguese found the sea route around the coast of Africa by way of the Cape of Good Hope, bypassing Alexandria, the Western spice centers were shifted from... 

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. 

Many maritime routes were developed to India and China with an ultimate desire to develop a spice route. In the late 13th century, Marco Polo s exploration of Asia established Venice as the most important trade port. Venice remained prosperous until about 1498. The Portuguese explorer, Vasco de Gama, sailed around Africa s Cape of Good Hope to reach Calicut, India. He returned with pepper, cinnamon, ginger and jewels, and also deals for the Portuguese to continue trade with India. 

Venice was an important centre for trade and commerce between Europe, the Middle East and the Orient, and became the funnel through which many spices and aromatic raw materials reached Europe, and its domination in trade for these products lasted for a few hundred years. 

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