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Ceylon Cinnamon Trade

Type Object Region South Asia Time c. 1581–1590

In the 1580s, true cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) grown in the southwestern lowlands of Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka) was exported under joint Portuguese an…

Timeline

  1. c. 1581–1584Inland Galle · Sri LankaSinhalese peelers stripped the inner bark of cinnamon trees during the rainy season, rolled it by hand into quills, sun-dried it, and graded it by length and oil content, with local chiefs paying tribute to the Portuguese authorities.
  2. c. 1584–1587Colombo · Sri LankaThe Portuguese set up warehouses in Colombo and Galle to purchase cinnamon, controlling export quotas and tariffs; cinnamon was packed in sacks awaiting ships and shipped together with pepper and gemstones.
  3. c. 1587–1590Goa · GoaCeylon cinnamon was carried along Indian Ocean routes to Goa and Lisbon, becoming a core ingredient in European cooking, medicine, and spiced mixtures (such as spiced wines).

Sources