Thursday, April 12, 2018

It wasn't the gold

Spice stimulated the remarkable crop of early discoveries. Dreams of gold and glory may have played their part, but the great captains sailed primarily to secure cargoes of the pepper, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmegs which grew on rich islands just southeast of Asia. Europe demanded those spices in the days before refrigeration; for they were necessary to make meat palatable.

(from A History of England and the British Empire)

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