It sold at 600 times its cost to produce. One quintal of nutmeg purchased for the same $3,000 to $4,000 dollars from the Banda Islands in the Indian Ocean 2,000 miles east of Java would fetch an astonishing $2,100,000 in London, or Paris. This same 125 pounds of pepper in Venice fetched $100,000 to $120,000 dollars for a markup of some 2,700% or 27 times. Using modern gold equivalents, 125 pounds of pepper could be bought for $3,000 to $4,000 dollars in Goa or Calcutta during the period.
In Portugal, a quintal was approximately 125 pounds. It was issued by several countries such as Hungary, but was used mostly in Venice, the trading capital of Europe during those times.Ī quintal was a unit of weight that fluctuated depending on the location. The trade was strictly controlled and how much markup the goods received when passed onto the consumer was closely guarded.Įarly European explorers were flabbergasted at the profit margins once they discovered what the prices were on the other side of the world.Īs an example, the local price of pepper in India during the 15th century was 3 ducats per quintal.Ī ducat was a gold coin and weighed about an ounce. As the middleman they were able to buy spice cheaply in India and beyond and sell it to those who would distribute it to consumers throughout Europe. The Middle East prospered for thousands of years long before there was a use for oil because of the spice trade. Those who controlled this trade grew wealthy. 1Įurope, even as far back as the Roman Empire, has had a taste for luxuries–particularly spices such as ginger, cloves, saffron, pepper, and cinnamon, to name a few. Roman women were reported to have worn sheer silks from Serica, the name for China that was used by Ancient Greeks and Romans to name the land where silks came from. Trade moved along in both directions and has since the beginnings of civilization.įor example, images of Alexander the Great have been discovered on silver coins in Afghanistan and Northern India while antique Roman glassware has been found in China. These routes carried spices, silks, gold, and gemstones from the East to the West. The alternate was through the southern route along the Karakoram highway through what is now northern Pakistan through Afghanistan.Īrab traders also carried goods by ship from the Indian Ocean to the Gulf of Hormuz. The most beguiling and intriguing idea in early exploration was to find an alternate trade route to India and the Far East.ĭuring this time, the fabled Silk Road from the Orient passed by means of its northern route from China through what is now Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan into the Middle East and then to Europe. It was trade particularly, the trade for spices. How was it possible to gain great wealth from exploration?Īlthough conquest, outright theft, and colonization became preferred methods once it was discovered how easily indigenous peoples could be taken advantage of militarily, the original impetus for exploration was not conquest. This was not due to potential explorers wanting to fulfill an overly developed desire for adventure, but because they dreamed of riches. São Gabriel was the flagship of Vasco da Gama's armada on his first voyage to India in 1497–1499.One of the most coveted and desired occupations for the budding entrepreneur of the 15 th and 16 th century was to be an explorer. This depiction from about 1558 also shows São Rafael (top) and Bérrio. Similarly, what kind of ship did Vasco da Gama use? São Gabriel (ship) São Gabriel is on the bottom right. Da Gama was born in 1460 to a family of nobles in Sines, Portugal. His discovery was monumental in the history of navigation as well as instrumental in establishing Portugal as a major colonial empire. Vasco da Gama was a highly successful Portuguese sailor and explorer during the Age of Exploration. Similarly, what is Vasco da Gama known for?
The following year, Vasco da Gama commanded Portugal's third major voyage to India.
Only seven ships and half his men survived the journey, but their cargo of spices was sufficient to break the monopoly on the European spice trade previously held by Arab and Venetian merchants.