|
CinnamonCinnamon has been a valuable trading good for over 4,000 years. It was used by the Egyptians as a perfuming agent. It was introduced to Europe through Arab traders. Cinnamon was usually transported through land routes.
Explorers like Christopher Columbus and Gonzalo Pizarro searched for cinnamon in the New World, because its source was unknown. It was kept a secret by Arab merchants up until the 16th century. A source of cinnamon was first discovered by the Portuguese in 1518, at Ceylon, which is what we now know as Sri Lanka. They conquered its island kingdom of Kotto and possessed power over the island and cinnamon trade for about 100 years. They were driven out by another one of the Ceylon kingdoms allied with the Dutch in 1638.
|