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| The
English East India Company: Spices and Silks |
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A busy trade
had been criss-crossing the Asian seas and oceans for
centuries, but Europeans did not reach India by sea
until 1498. The Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama was
the first. Indian ships and Chinese junks traded with
the many islands at the "corner" of Asia,
the source of spices. These ships used the monsoon winds
to blow them East across the Indian Ocean in Summer
and back again in Winter.
Spices, silks,
precious stones and other luxury items had been brought
overland from the East to Europe for centuries. Spices
such as cloves, nutmeg, and peppercorns are light in
weight but their value was very high. The Europeans
used these spices to disguise the taste of meat that
was bland or over-salted - even meat that was rotting.
Spices were also used in medicines and as perfumes.
During the
1600s, pepper was the most important part of the East
India Company's trade. Much of the pepper that was sold
in London was sold to other countries.
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