3,257
edits
Changes
→Spread of Black Pepper
==Spread of Black Pepper==
Trade in black pepper seems to have expanded by the 4th century BCE, reaching the Aegean and Europe more frequently. This period represented some of the early developments of what would become the Silk Road, suggesting some of the trade in spices such as pepper and black pepper specifically would have come via this route. With the conquests of Alexander, Greek colonist were now reaching India and contacts became more common. The major turning point, however, was the knowledge of the monsoonal and climate patterns that affected the trade winds along the Indian Ocean by the end of the 1st century BCE. This open up new opportunities for direct sea voyaging between Europe and China via Egypt and the Red Sea, through land and sea routes, although an early version of the Suez Canal had also been developed. The connection via the seas also enabled China to now incorporate black pepper in its culinary diet, at least by the 2nd century BCE.
==Modern Development==
