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Moluccas Spice Route

Type Object Region Southeast Asia Time c. 1581–1590

In the 1580s, nutmeg and cloves from the Moluccas moved via Java, Malacca, and Indian Ocean routes to India, Persia, and Europe amid Iberian, Ottoman…

Timeline

  1. c. 1581–1583Tidore · North MalukuThe Tidore and Ternate sultanates controlled clove and nutmeg plantations; Portuguese fort garrisons supervised harvesting and shipping, and spices were weighed to Batavia standards before being loaded aboard ships.
  2. c. 1584–1587Malacca · MalaysiaSpice fleets sailed north through the Java Sea to the Strait of Malacca, where they traded cotton cloth and coral with Indian Muslim merchants from Gujarat and Surat, then departed for the Red Sea and Europe.
  3. c. 1588–1590Lisbon · PortugalVia the Cape of Good Hope route or the Red Sea–Mediterranean corridor, Moluccan spices reached Lisbon and Antwerp, becoming the core supply for Europe's luxury goods market and medical preservatives.

Sources