by Patricia Kennedy
Black Pepper was the most valuable spice of all because it was the most useful and people enjoyed the hotness (remember chili will not arrive in Europe until the 15th century. Ransom for men's lives and cities that were being attacked would be paid in gold, silver, and black pepper. It was said that when Alaric the Visigoth attacked Rome in 420 A.D., he demanded 3,000 pounds of peppercorns as part of his price for sparing the lives of the Romans. (See Brief History of Spices - URL pending.)
When the Roman Empire fell in the middle of the 5th century, trade with the east gradually ceased. There was little or no money for luxuries. Roads were in complete disrepair since there was little centralized order. It was from the crusades that began in the 13th century that would reintroduced the spices of the east. Those ill-fated wars against the Islamic Empire brought little good, and mistrust that extends down into our century, but the one good was the return of pepper.
There were several crusades. Each lasted about 3 years. Kings, nobles, and peasants would march from Europe to the Holy Land to fight the Muslim people. As each Crusade would end, the men returning to Western Europe would look for something to take home with them. They had enjoyed the spices in the markets of Syria and Jerusalem. They learned to make up small packets of spices and hide them in the lining of their coats, hats, and even shoes. In that way their hands would be free and anyone looking at them would not realize they had items of great value.
I tell my students that those returning crusaders were walking spice racks! The journey back to Europe would take almost a year. When they returned to their villages in France, the Germanic states or wherever, they would set up a stall in the open markets and quickly sell out their spices. In this way, trade was reborn with men seeking to make a fortune by selling the spices. Soon Italian merchants were making their way to the Arab markets. They found that prices were going up - so what else could they do - but take to the seas and search for the routes themselves. The Portuguese were practical and slowly made their way around Africa - never knowing for sure if there was an end to Africa or if they would just fall off into the unknown.
