Speaker: Roger Crowley

Topic: Spice: War, Trade and Empire

Venue: Vinson Lecture Theatre

Time: 10:00-11:00 Saturday 14 September

Talk Summary:

The spice trade of the 16th century was a prime motivator of European maritime exploration and conquest across Asia and the Pacific. Spices drove the early modern world economy, and for Europeans they represented riches on an unprecedented scale. But cloves and nutmeg could reach Europe only via a complex web of trade routes, and for decades Spanish and Portuguese explorers competed to find their elusive source. When the Portuguese finally reached the spice islands of the Moluccas in 1511, they set in motion a fierce competition for control. Over six decases, European powers linked oceans, established vast maritime empires, and gave birth to global trade, all in the attempt to control the supply of spices.