Spice

The 16th-Century Contest That Shaped the Modern World

De: Roger Crowley

Narrado por: Samuel Roukin

The story of the 16th-century’s epic contest for the spice trade, which propelled European maritime exploration and conquest across Asia and the Pacific.

Spices drove the early modern world economy, and for Europeans they represented riches on an unprecedented scale. Cloves and nutmeg could reach Europe only via a complex web of trade routes, and for decades Spanish and Portuguese explorers competed to find their elusive source. But when the Portuguese finally reached the spice islands of the Moluccas in 1511, they set in motion a fierce competition for control.

Roger Crowley shows how this struggle shaped the modern world. From 1511 to 1571, European powers linked up the oceans, established vast maritime empires, and gave birth to global trade, all in the attempt to control the supply of spices.

Taking us on voyages from the dockyards of Seville to the vastness of the Pacific, the volcanic Spice Islands of Indonesia, the Arctic Circle, and the coasts of China, this is a narrative history rich in vivid eyewitness accounts of the adventures, shipwrecks, and sieges that formed the first colonial encounters—and remade the world economy for centuries to follow.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Roger Crowley (P)2024 Audible, Inc.

Good - but not Crowley’s best

Unlike his other books, Spice is not a narrative and thus is a little bit of a slower story. One challenge when discussing travels around the world is the lack of maps to really understand where the characters were.

Roukin turns up the heats in Crowley's Spice

Samuel Roukin's superb narration enhances Roger Crowley's "Spice," vividly bringing to life the dramatic historical arc of the spice trade. His compelling delivery captures the exotic allure and brutal realities of a pivotal era of world discovery. "Spice" delivers a fascinating journey through distant lands and cutthroat competition of those seeking to risk everything for the power, wealth and recognition that spice could provide.

Well written concise history of a critical century

The beginning of our globalized world begins with spices. Professor Crowley does a masterful job of weaving a historical narrative that starts with the Iberians, but one that ultimately surveys the globe in a very accessible way for the layperson who simply wants to learn more about the history of our world. I recommend all of his books and if you’ve enjoyed those, this will not disappoint. The reader is very consistent and reads at an up-beat pace that I enjoyed.

Too much overlap with other books

I wish this book content was just rolled into the other books of this author instead of being a separate book. Performance is not as good as his other books. Still I love the anecdotal information

Litany of Maritime Disasters

Most of the book was a stream of maritime disasters. Very little time spent on spice or trade. The last 30 minutes were the best

More about silver than spices.

Good performance by the narrator but title is slightly misleading since it says relatively little about the use of spices

Spice or Megellan?

So far very little about the Spice and lots about Megellan. I want a refund. Will keep listening with the hope I hear about spice.

Battles and battles, no social insight!

What an incredible waste of energy this book is. Hundreds of names parade into your ears as they do battle to win territory and trade. Who cares? What was the impetus for such coast and blood to get nutmeg and cloves? What were the Iberians eating every day that required these spices? The trade was going through Venice, but how and why? Portugal founds its way to the east and the ships would be loaded for long voyages to bring spices to Lisbon. But how? The caravels were his large? How did the sailors live and eat on these lengthy sojourns? How much were they paid? Did any mutiny of jump ship to go native? None of these details will be found in this silly book. The author’s meticulous archiving of what captain fought which enemy for how long are utterly boring and shallow. There might have been a terrific book here, but the author is simply quoting from accounts of battles from the letters going back and forth without any attempt to paint the personalities of these adventurers. Do yourself a favor: avoid this garbage and get anything by Mark Kurlansky. His books about cod or salt of the basques will give you the why of the food trade as well as the where and when and how.