Because in Yintan City, and even the entire Liangzhou, Longyan, with the birth of Gongzi perfume, spices seem to have less of a presence. I think back then, when Gongzi came out with perfume, many spice merchants went bankrupt and cried.
Heaven shouts to earth.
But what Ling Chen didn't know was.
How important are spices to Europe?
This can be seen in Europe in the Middle Ages. As we all know, Europe's natural resources are not that rich. It does not have fertile and fertile arable land like China or North America. The continent of Europa has a mainly temperate maritime climate.
, there is no rain and heat at the same time and good weather like China's monsoon climate, but more rainfall and less sunshine.
As a result, farming in Europe is not developed. What should we do about this situation? People want to survive, so they must have enough food. Fortunately, Europe is not suitable for agriculture, but the climate there is suitable for the development of pastures.
, so Europe at that time was mainly based on animal husbandry, and the people of Europe also mainly ate meat.
Then the problem comes.
The animal husbandry industry is so developed that when winter comes, the weather will be extremely cold and animal husbandry cannot be developed. People in Europe need to stock up on food for them to survive the winter before winter, that is, a large amount of meat. Then how to stock up on this meat food?
Nowadays, spices are needed. As for whether spices are used for antisepsis or seasoning, there are different opinions now.
Some people say that ancient people did not have refrigerators and cold storage, so excess meat must be processed to avoid waste. This is especially important in tropical areas. In terms of short-term processing, spices or pungent vegetables such as green onions and rosemary are added.
Incense, thyme, mustard and other materials containing bactericidal substances.
But there is also a saying that spices cannot preservative, but they can definitely bring a different taste to the cured meat, so that it will not taste the same.
No matter which statement is made, at least one thing is true.
For a long period of history, the value of spices in Europe was greater than gold.
And where do spices come from?
China, Southeast Asia, and India produce the most spices, which are then transported to the West through the Silk Road.
The benefits that the spice business has brought to Long Yan have always been considerable.
But this money-making machine was broken hundreds of years ago.
Broken by the Ottoman Empire.
The Ottoman Empire monopolized the entire trade channel to the West, so naturally it monopolized the entire spice business.
Naturally, no one dared to offend Osman, who was in great power for a while.
So in this case, Europeans can only endure the high prices to buy spices.
certainly.
Of course there are some people who can't stand it.
As the saying goes, Osman succeeds and loses.
When the Ottomans were arrogant and domineering, Prince Enrique of Portugal began to organize a sailing team, bypassing the trade routes ruled by the Ottomans, and directly came to India, Asia, and even Africa... Unintentionally,
This was the beginning of the Age of Discovery, which also made Portugal at that time the first great maritime country to catch a glimpse of its troubles, and began to be domineering.
So.
The inevitability of history is vividly reflected here.
Until now.
Spices are still an indispensable thing for Europeans.