The Spice Trade in India is Way Older Than These Hills

Pete has just returned from a trip to India to visit farmers and traders of our fabulous spice range. He’s always in awe of the history of the spice trade that’s been part of life in India for over 4,000 years! 

 

Back in the early 1700s, when this fort was being built into the hills of Rajasthan, medieval Europe and England were moving into the modern age. Vast empires had been established and the balance of world power had shifted several times on the back of the spice trade. At around this time, the island of Manhattan was traded by the Netherlands for the tiny nutmeg-rich island of Run in Indonesia. Pepper, cinnamon, cloves and ginger were so valuable that they were a luxury item afforded only by the very rich.

Back when this fort was under construction, an English master carpenter who worked from sunup to sundown would have to work for 2 days to afford half a kilo of pepper and 4 days to buy the same quantity of cloves! 

Tonight, when you casually grind some pepper on your salad, eat apple pie laced with cinnamon and cloves, or concoct a spicy stir-fry for the family, consider the farmers who still produce spices using farming techniques way, way older than these hills.