The Spice Ports - by Nicholas Nugent (Hardcover)

About the Book

"We may think of 'globalism' as a recent development but its origins date back to the fifteenth century and beyond, when seafarers pioneered routes across the oceans with the objectives of exploration, trade, and profit. These voyages only became possible after certain technical innovations--improvements in ship design, compasses, and mapping--enabled navigation across unprecedented distances. The mariners' embarkation points were the vibrant ports of the West--Venice, Amsterdam, Lisbon--and their destinations the exotic ports of the East--Malacca, Goa, Bombay--where they tracked down the elusive spices, so much in demand by Western palates. This development of maritime communication brought benefits apart from culinary delights: the spread of ideas on art, literature, and science. But it was not necessarily beneficial for everyone concerned: colonial ambitions were often disastrous for local populations, who were frequently exploited as slave plantation labor. This wide-ranging account of a fascinating period of global history uses original maps and contemporary artists' views to tell the story of how each port developed individually while also encouraging us to consider contrasting points of view of the benefits and the damages of the maritime spice trade"--

Book Synopsis

A first-class narrative writer blends his unique cartographic and topographic understanding of the key ports of early seaborne commerce.

We may think of "globalism" as a recent development but its origins date back to the fifteenth century and beyond, when seafarers pioneered routes across the oceans with the objectives of exploration, trade, and profit.

These voyages only became possible after certain technical innovations--improvements in ship design, compasses, and mapping--enabled navigation across unprecedented distances. The mariners' embarkation points were the vibrant ports of the West--Venice, Amsterdam, Lisbon--and their destinations the exotic ports of the East--Malacca, Goa, Bombay--where they tracked down the elusive spices, so much in demand by Western palates.

This development of maritime communication brought benefits apart from culinary delights: the spread of ideas on art, literature, and science. But it was not necessarily beneficial for everyone concerned: colonial ambitions were often disastrous for local populations, who were frequently exploited as slave plantation labor.

This wide-ranging account of a fascinating period of global history uses original maps and contemporary artists' views to tell the story of how each port developed individually while also encouraging us to consider contrasting points of view of the benefits and the damages of the maritime spice trade.

Review Quotes

"It is difficult to overstate how pretty of a book this really is . . . Bibliophiles, librarians, and anyone enthused by history and geography would appreciate the unique path this book takes to show the great lengths gone to in order to provide something as ubiquitous nowadays as cinnamon. This is a fascinating look at the history of maritime trade . . ."
-- "Western Association of Map Libraries"

"This wide-ranging account of a fascinating period of global history makes full use of original maps and contemporary artists' views to tell the story of how each port developed, while also encouraging us to consider contrasting points of view of the benefits and the damages of the maritime spice trade. Nugent's most important contribution is in opening our eyes to the all-encompassing impact of the spice trade on every aspect of human activity, and his book makes us recognise that every spice we use daily in our kitchens has a long, colourful and dramatic back story."-- "Asian Affairs"

About the Author

Nicholas Nugent spent his career as a journalist with the BBC World Service and his spare time collecting a valuable archive of original maps, thus developing a passion for how the growth of the spice ports helped spread the exchange of global culture between East and West.