Peppers, Nutmeg, and Cloves: Part 3

As always, the economic values of these spices was always seen as a priority. The Portuguese dominated the Clove trade during most of the 16th century. Unfortunately, the Portuguese never made a complete monopoly out of their opportunities. They tried making treaties and agreements with the islands of Ternate and Tidore, but they never lasted. When the 17th century came around, the Dutch were extremely powerful and very harsh. The Dutch soon took over control and pushed Spain and Portugal out of their shares of the islands. Thanks to the Dutch's East India Company or Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, VOC, the Dutch became masters of the spice trade and they soon capitalized on the opportunities these islands present. Although it was not easy, it took the VOC until 1667 to take over COMPLETE control over Moluccas, the islands of all the Clove trees. The Dutch made a treaty to give all rights to the VOC for trading goods and the villages back down. The tribes did not stay loyal to the treaty and they started trading with other groups. The Dutch civilization was very angry and their response was ruthless. They began to burn down villages and tear up groves until the natives had nothing left. The English also got involved and tried to help out the natives, but the Dutch were too powerful. Through years of bloody fighting, in 1667, the Dutch and English made the treaty of Breda and the English surrendered all claims and the Dutch got Nutmeg as well. The spice economy would have surely grown and went farther, but the refrigerator had been invented. Spices are no longer needed as preservatives and the value of them went down. Today, people never hear of the toil that people went through centuries ago…

Peppers, Nutmeg, and Cloves: Part 2

So apparently, pepper wasn't the only spice important near the beginning of great civilizations… nutmeg and cloves were of high value but very rare. The nutmeg tree is only grown on the Banda Islands and the clove tree is only located on the Ternate and Tidore Islands. Large civilizations wanted to get there hands on these spices bad, so explorers where sent out to find out how to get there. By 1512, the governor of Portuguese India established a market with these spices. Soon, he far surpassed the wealth of any country at that time. Even though  Cloves and Nutmeg are separated by hundreds of miles of open sea, there differences are caused by some very similar molecules. Cloves contain Eugenol, and Nutmeg contains Isoeugenol. The only difference in the molecules is the positioning of a double bond! These chemicals and the double bond placement gives these chemicals distinct properties. Since plants cannot run away, they protect themselves with chemicals… such as Eugenol, Isoeugenol, and think back to Piperine, and Capsaicin. These chemicals protect the plants by harming creatures that digest them. Sometimes we use them to help us in, 200 B.C. the Han Dynasty had used Cloves to help relieve toothache and be used as sweetness for the Court Couriers. Now hold on to your seats… when the Black Death, Bubonic Plague, occurred in Europe in 1347. This plague took many lives and left many people deathly ill, but some people were unaffected. People wore Nutmeg around there necks and they were less likely to get the plague! This is believed today, because of the Isoeugenol in the fresh Nutmeg. The chemical is said to have warded off the fleas that caused the plague and kept those particular people safe. Now there is a downside to this as well, Nutmeg also has Myristicin and Elmicin, two chemicals that cause hallucinations, lived problems and even death. Fortunately for us it is very hard to consume too much to cause these problems. These chemicals are also found in carrots, celery, dill, and other food but in very small trace amounts. Who knew that the foods we consume regularly and use as spices could be so beneficial yet so deadly.…

Peppers, Nutmeg, and Cloves: Part 1

Pepper has always been a good spice to use for your food. Today pepper is on every table, in every household, all around the world. This wasn't always the case, starting around the 5th century B.C., pepper became important. This little spice became one of the most major economic factors in the world. Countries began looking left and right to try and get pepper. Pepper was a mystery back then, why does it have a kick to it? Well today, it is known that pepper contains the chemical piperine. Piperine gives us that bite because when we digest it, our pain nerves respond to the chemical stimulus. Through out the centuries other "Peppers" have been discovered that offer us that bite, or pain. Columbus discovered Chili Peppers from the "new world", these peppers have a similar chemical to piperine called capsaicin, and it even has a similar structure. The thing is that these peppers taste completely different. It is believed that it is something about these chemicals that make peppers so "hot".

Napoleon's Buttons

This blog will summarize each chapter of the book "Napoleon's Buttons". This will detail all the important points of the novel. Feel free to comment or asks question on every blog. Enjoy and have a great day.