The rich soil of river valleys made it possible for early civilizations to grow fresh produce almost year round. In much of Europe, however, the growing season is shorter and many of the vegetables that we commonly find in our supermarkets today were unknown. There were no corn or potatoes. Meat was the main source of protein. With no refrigeration, meat spoiled quickly unless it was heavily salted. Meals either didn't taste very good or were very salty.

Use a laminated World Map or any laminated political world map to do the following exercise.

I. REACHING THE SPICE ISLANDS

Black pepper was well-known in the ancient Mediterranean world. Pepper was a major trade product between India and Europe. It was carried over the western portion of the "Silk Road" which ran from China to the Levant or the shores of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and was even used as currency.

1. Pepper made food taste different. Even if you didn't like "hot" food, it made eating spoiled meat tolerable. In the early 1400s, the pepper trade into Europe was controlled by the Italians through the port cities of Genoa and Venice.
   1. Find India on your map and write "PEPPER" on the southern tip of India.
   2. Draw a line from "PEPPER" northward across the ocean, into the Persian Gulf, and to the city of Baghdad.
   3. Continue your line westward from Baghdad to Lebanon then across the Mediterranean Sea to northern Italy. Genoa lies on the western side of northern Italy and Venice is on the eastern side.
   4. Label your line "PEPPER TRADE."
   5. Circle Italy on your map and label it "PEPPER CONTROL."
2. Since the Italians controlled the pepper trade during the 1300s and 1400s, there was no competition and pepper prices in Europe were kept high. A monopoly like this brought in enormous profits. The Portuguese wanted part of that trade. Portuguese sea captains like Dias, da Gama, and Cabral established Portugal's trade routes.
   1. Locate Lisbon, Portugal on your map and circle it. Draw a line from Lisbon southward in the Atlantic Ocean along the west coast of Africa, around the Cape of Good Hope, and over to the tip of India.
   2. Continue your line eastward across the Bay of Bengal and south to Singapore. Then head northward to Guangzhou (Canton) next to Hong Kong on the coast of China. This is where the Portuguese established the trading colony of Macao. Many of the firecrackers which are sold in Hawaii for New Year's are made in Macao.
   3. Find the group of islands which are located just south of the Equator between 120Ø and 135Ø E. Longitude. They lie between the Celebes and New Guinea. Circle these islands.
   4. These islands were called the Spice Islands because they were the primary source of spices such as nutmeg, cloves, and mace. Cloves were especially valued. It was used as a preservative for meat and was thought to aid in curing the Black Death which had killed thousands between the years of 1347 and 1400. Approximately one third of Europe's population died of the plague during those years. Label these islands "THE SPICE ISLANDS."
   5. Draw a line connecting Singapore with the Spice Islands.
   6. On the line you drew from Portugal around Africa to Asia write, "1487-1514, PORTUGUESE EXPLORATION AND SPICE TRADE."

II. SPAIN'S SEARCH FOR SPICES

Spain also wanted to profit from trade with Asia. But as you can see on your map, the eastern and southern routes to India and the Spice Islands were already taken. The only route open to the Spanish lay to the west.

1. Improved navigation tools like the astrolabe and compass allowed sea captains to more accurately determine their location while far out in the ocean. By the late 1400s, ideas about the shape of the earth were also changing. Columbus was hired by the Spanish to find a new route to Asia.
   1. Locate Spain and outline the country on your map.
   2. In 1492, Columbus set sail from Spain. Draw a line from the coast of southern Spain southward to the Canary Islands.
   3. Believing that the world was round and taking advantage of the easterly breezes, Columbus then sailed westward. Draw a line westward from the Canary Islands to the Bahamas on the Tropic of Cancer just southeast of Florida.
   4. Label this line "COLUMBUS - 1492."
   5. Thinking he had arrived at some tropical islands off the coast of India, Columbus called the natives "Indians." Draw a line around all of the islands that separate the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean and label them "WEST INDIES."

2. Several more Spanish explorers followed Columbus across the Atlantic Ocean. They soon realized that the world was quite a bit larger than they first thought. A "New World" lay between the West Indies and Asia.
   1. What two continents blocked the movement of the Spanish as they tried to travel westward to Asia?
   2. Using the mileage bar graph at the bottom of the map, determine how much farther westward the Spanish would have had to go in order to get from the West Indies to the Spice Islands. (Go around Cape Horn!)

3. The Spanish found enormous amounts of gold and silver in the Americas. They also found many new types of animals and plants which they took back to Europe.
   1. Draw a circle around the region that includes Mexico City. It is located in Mexico between 15Ø N. Latitude and the Tropic of Cancer.
   2. Out in the Pacific Ocean to the west of this region write, "AZTECS - CORN."
   3. Circle the region of the Andes Mountains that is located in Peru and Bolivia in South America.
   4. Out in the Pacific Ocean to the west of this region write, "INCAS - POTATOES."
   5. Draw two arrows from the regions of the Aztecs and the Incas back to Europe.
   6. Label these arrows "CORN" and "POTATOES."

4. The Spanish originally set out looking for spices. They found none. The plants that produced spices did not grow in America. Instead the Spanish found other plants including corn and potatoes which were brought back and introduced to Europe.
   On a separate sheet of paper answer the following questions:
   1. Were corn and potatoes as valuable to the Spanish as spices were to the Italians and Portuguese? Why or why not?
   2. In what ways did corn and potatoes become as valuable to the Europeans as spices?
   3. Which do you think are more valuable today, spices or corn and potatoes? Explain.
   4. To complete this exercise you will need to do a brief investigation. Make a chart which lists at least ten spices. Next to each provide a column for the size and price of the bottle and a column for its price per pound. At the bottom of your chart add several other food items of your choice, such as steak, chicken, fish, lobster, potatoes, corn, beans, various fruit, flour, sugar, etc. TAKE your chart and GO to a market. FILL OUT your chart. When you get home, use your calculator to figure out how much each item would cost per pound and add this into your chart. Now examine your chart. Write a brief essay which summarizes your findings. Give an explanation of how valuable spices are today . Include your thoughts on whether or not value will rise, stay the same, or fall., and WHY.

III. ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATIONS

A number of other geographical questions might be examined. Below are several possibilities for projects which could be considered. Understand that these are only suggested examples and that many other ideas could be focused on.

1. Research the diffusion of the potato from South America to Europe and back to America. Map its movement over the centuries. Investigate its impact on a particular ethnic group.
2. Research the growing of a particular spice. Where is it grown today? Is this the same place where it was originally discovered? How is it processed? Map the extent of its cultivation and its movement to the primary markets of the world. Who is involved in its production and who really benefits economically? How much of an impact does this spice have on the local and national economy? Who uses it the most and for what purpose?
3. Many spices are associated with a particular ethnic group. Select a particular group and examine how accurate this is. Comment on when, where, and how this developed.

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