Commodities and Global Trade: How Spices, Silver, and Ships Shaped the World

Commodities refer to raw materials or agricultural products that can be traded. To this should be added a more sinister type of commodity: human beings, as exemplified by the transatlantic slave trade from Africa to the Americas. Generally speaking, a society would trade items available in abundance for those items that were scarce. Cultural perceptions of commodities were just as important as their purported economic value. Traders performing the transactions also served as agents of cultural change. Maritime trade posed a significant advantage over overland trade. Using boats or ships to exchange commodities meant an increase in volume, speed, and ultimately safety compared to alternatives such as overland trade performed through beasts of burden. The changing nature of commodities also prompted changes in ship construction.

The Economic Value of Commodities.Long-distance trade, sometimes considered a hallmark of major civilizations, was initiated with high-value, low-bulk, and essentially less utilitarian commodities to maximize profits derived from the transaction. Over time, this precious trade moved to an exchange of high-bulk, moderately valued goods that were necessary for human life. Frequently, a single commodity could start out as a high-value item and end up as an item that would be moderately priced. In terms of maritime exchanges, the commodity had to be less bulky and, above all, durable to survive the sea journey.

The best for such commodities are those falling under the category of spices. The designation of “spice” covers a vast array of agricultural products that include tree barks (cinnamon), flower buds (cloves), and seeds (pepper). In medieval Europe, spices were extremely rare and could only be afforded and consumed by the elite. Spices were a major factor encouraging the European maritime expansion. The durability of spices made the long-distance transport from the Indian Ocean to Europe possible. By the eighteenth century, however, increasing access to spices led to a decline in prices, and today it is a low-value commodity accessible to most individuals.

Commodities and Culture.Spices also allow for an exploration of the culture of consumption. Whereas in the twenty- first century spices are merely employed as a condiment in baking and cooking, in the fifteenth century their application was much more widespread. Spices were employed for medicinal purposes, as a form of currency, and as a mythical item whose value increased due to its remote origins. Increased access to spices through the expansive maritime routes eventually decreased their cultural value. Cultural values are thus paramount in the acceptance or rejection of a particular commodity. The merchants peddling a particular commodity also represented cultural carriers influencing the host culture possessing a coveted item. Muslim merchants in search of precious commodities were first (and perhaps foremost) responsible for the expansion of the Islamic religion into the Indian Ocean. This example indicates that attendant cultural exchanges were just as important as the economic exchanges governing a particular commodity. It is important to consider, however, that a host culture did not adopt an introduced cultural practice wholesale. Individuals would frequently adapt only selected aspects of the introduced culture. This process of cultural blending is often referred to as syncretism.

Commodities and Ship Construction.Generally speaking, ship construction answered the challenges of the seas and oceans. Changes in sails and rigging provided for greater speed, and changes in hull construction allowed ships to withstand the pounding of the high seas.

Global Beer Revolution Rooted in the Indian Ocean. Over the past two decades, the craft beer industry has hit a fever pitch after the return of the India pale ale (IPA). This ultra-hoppy libation has transformed American beer culture, helping over 5,000 craft breweries to operate in the United States alone. The IPA style has since spread rapidly around the world. Despite the Americanized version of this ale that every bar has on tap, this beer was created in the eighteenth century for British colonies in India. British expatriates yearned for a taste of home, but the tropical weather in India was too hot for brewing. British brewers struggled to create a beer that could last the long voyage from England to India until they made a higher alcohol, heavily hopped, bitter pale ale. This new beer was loaded onto East India Company ships and survived the arduous journey to India, much to the praise of the British colonists. The development of this beer became hugely popular and helped to strengthen British cultural nationalism in their ever-growing Indian outposts. American breweries would later resurrect this old recipe, and the ale proves even more popular today than it was hundreds of years ago. Nicholas Mehle and Rainer F. Buschmann

In some cases, however, the requirement of transporting heavier and bulkier items called for innovations in ship construction. A good example of this transformation is the Spanish galleon, which allowed for the transportation of greater quantities of silver from the Americas to Europe and Asia. Another example is the development of oil tankers, which, when introduced in the late nineteenth century, was a response to the increasing demand and challenges associated with this novel commodity.

Implication.Commodities partially inspired the expansion of overseas travel into the world’s oceans. They had to be durable to sustain the lengthy maritime transport. Culture played an important role in the acceptance or rejection of a particular commodity. Merchants associated with the trade of commodities were at the forefront of cultural exchanges that accompanied the economic transactions. Rainer F. Buschmann

FURTHER READING:Gilbert, Erik and Jonathan T. Reynolds. 2006. Trading Tastes: Commodity and Cultural Exchanges to 1750. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Helms, Mary W 1988. Ulysses’ Sail: An Ethnographic Odyssey of Power, Knowledge, and Geographic Distance. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Krondl, Michael. 2007. The Taste of Conquest: The Rise and Fall of Three Great Cities of Spice. New York: Ballantine Books.

Pomeranz, Kenneth and Steven Topic. 2006. The World that Trade Created: Society, Culture and World Economy, 1400 to the Present, 2nd edn. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.