Books: The Taste of Conquest By Michael Krondl

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - I like spicy food and I am interested in history. Therefore I read "The Taste of Conquest: The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice" by Michael Krondl (amazon). The culinary historian describes lively how the spice trade had shaped the global economy and caused the rise &  fall of empires over centuries.

The author explains why spices, which are imported from India & Southeast Asia, became luxury goods in medieval times and later centuries and how merchants and nations accumulated massive fortunes by trading them. Krondl describes how Venice, then an Italian city state ruled by entrepreneurs (merchants), became a global power and a hub in the international spice trade.

In the 15th century Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, overtook the global spice market. The change was based on a different business model. There an ambitious king intended to catch two birds with one stone: He wanted to baptize people in Asia, extending the crusades, and occupy the lucrative spice trade as well. Around 1490 King John II (João II) ordered to send ships around the horn of Africa in order to exploit the spicy riches of Asia - a very successful decision.

In the17th century Amsterdam, the Dutch harbor city, ruled by merchants like Venice, used the changing global tides and overtook Portugal`s global spice monopoly. This was the comeback of the entrepreneurs. who pooled their businesses into the Dutch East India Company to avoid competition. For a while this stock market listed company, which resembled modern multinational corporations, became a global power and controlled the world market in 17th and early 18th century.

"The Taste..." touches many topics like the crusade,  the wars between Europeans & Arabian Muslims, the fall of Byzantium, the Renaissance, Christoph Columbus` misfortunes and a lot more. Krondl describes how changes of fashion, geopolitics, religion & economy influenced the tastes of the elites and the masses and so caused the rise and fall of empires. But he also reports how the spice empires caused colonialism & genocide.

I was impressed how many miles Krondl had traveled in order to spice his book with anecdotes & episodes. "The Taste.." expanded my knowledge about history and fanned my appetite for spices and exotic dishes. 

In the moment of writing the Kindl version costs just $1,99 - a real treat!