Why did Europe want spices from Asia?

One of the major motivating factors in the European Age of Exploration was the search for direct access to the highly lucrative Eastern spice trade. In the 15th century, spices came to Europe via the Middle East land and sea routes, and spices were in huge demand both for food dishes and for use in medicines.

Why did Europeans need spices so badly?

Spices were important both because of their flavours(in an age without modern chemistry, natural flavour was the only source of flavour), as well as their capability of preserving food. Food with spices tend to keep fresh and eatable for a long time.

Why were spices from Asia so expensive when sold in Europe?

Because Europeans conquer many parts of the world, spices had been found from the homeland, and brought back to Europe. It was expensive because Italy and Egypt controlled the trade routes make spices cost more.

How did the spice trade affect Europe?

Europe used brutal tactics in India and Southeast Asia in efforts to get in on the spice trade. Spices didn’t just make merchants rich across the globe — it established vast empires, revealed entire continents to Europeans and tipped the balance of world power.

Who brought spices to Europe?

Under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral, a Portuguese expedition was the first to bring spices from India to Europe by way of the Cape of Good Hope in 1501. Portugal went on to dominate the naval trading routes through much of the 16th century.

Why did Europeans use spices?

During the Middle Ages, spices were as valuable in Europe as gold and gems and the single most important force driving the world’s economy. The lack of refrigeration and poor standards of hygiene meant that food often spoiled quickly and spices were in great demand to mask the flavour of food that was far from fresh.

Why did colonizers want spices?

It was certainly not solely because of their taste that people would pay exorbitant prices. In fact, most spices are an acquired taste. However, spices were so popular that prior to the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus, the spice trade was the primary way for people to get rich.

Why was spice so expensive?

For today’s commodities, it’s no longer geographic specificity or tightly ruled and monopolized trade routes that hike up the prices. For saffron and vanilla—the two most famously wallet-emptying spices—the primary reason for their high price is the high cost of production.

Why did Columbus find spices?

Christopher Columbus didn’t discover the Americas, he bumped into them while searching for spices. He was hunting for a trade route to the Far East to find cinnamon, cloves and pepper, which were as valuable as gold in 1492. Spices were also used to make breath fresheners, elixirs and ointments.

Why did Europeans find new trade routes to Asia?

Why did the Europeans need to seek new trade routes? Merchants knew they could make big profits selling Asian goods such as spices and silks. European rulers wanted to find safer, faster trade routes to Asia so their countries could become rich and powerful.

Why do you think spices were in such demand in Europe and Arabian countries?

When did Europeans introduce spices?