Renaissance Sailors & Spices

Renaissance sailors first took to the seas to supply England and Europe with the many Asian spices that were in demand. Peppercorns, nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon all came from lands to the east. Also from the East came precious gems and fine silk, a fabric especially sought after for women’s clothing. These trading voyages were often paid for by investors and/or monarchs.
Buying black pepper, ginger, cloves and other spices back then was costly as these delights were considered to be valued as highly as gold and silver.

The people of the Renaissance found many uses for spices in everyday life. For example:
• Pepper was used to preserve and flavor spoiled meat.
• Cloves and cinnamon were used as substitutes for cleanliness, and were scattered across the floor to prevent foot odor from permeating the room.

Renaissance era household cookbooks regularly recommended ginger, pepper, sugar, and other spices to treat stomachaches, headaches, or even to cure poisoning. Cookbooks of the royalty and nobility contained tarts, meats, soups, and other recipes that included great numbers of spices.

With the exception of mustard, fennel, and a few others, most spices had to be transported to Europe over the course of many months (if not years) via land trade routes like the Silk Road.

They came by sea on galleons that, under Elizabethan rule, were engineered with longer and lower designs that made them faster. To learn more about Renaissance food, click here.

I learned about this while doing research to promote the 5th Annual Much Ado About Sebastopol Renaissance Faire. Held Sept. 13 & 14, it’s a living history event for all ages. Details.