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Advance of the Portuguese Spice Trade Monopoly (1501–1510)
In the early 16th century, under Manuel I, the Kingdom of Portugal used the Cape route to systematically build a monopoly over Indian Ocean pepper an…
Timeline
- 1502–1503Lisbon · PortugalVasco da Gama led a second fleet to India; the crown coordinated with Castile under the framework of the Treaty of Tordesillas and strengthened control over pepper purchases and tariffs on the Malabar Coast, laying the groundwork for a permanent trading system.
- 1505–1509Goa · West Coast of IndiaIn 1505 Almeida became the first viceroy, built forts at Cochin and elsewhere, and attacked Muslim merchant fleets; after Albuquerque succeeded him in 1509 he continued to expand, turning Goa into the Indian Ocean's commercial and military command center.
- 1510Antwerp · FlandersPortuguese spices were transshipped via Lisbon to Northern European markets such as Antwerp; the crown imposed licensed trade in pepper and other varieties, and European buyers gradually reduced their dependence on the Venice–Levant route as the spice price structure began to be reorganized.
Sources
- A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire, Volume 1: Portugal — A. R. Disney (2009)
- The Cambridge World History of Slavery, Volume 3: AD 1420–AD 1804 — David Eltis and Stanley L. Engerman (eds.) (2011)