[Sca-cooks] spice trade transit time

[Decker, Terry D.]

> It is certainly a faster transit time that I would have guessed.  It
> may have been qualified with "given favourable winds", which
> would mean
> that in some years such voyages could have taken much longer due to
> having to wait for the favourable winds.  Still, quite rapid.

The general wind patterns of the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea are
fairly regular, so if one times arrival and departure accordingly,
"favorable winds" and general good weather are a given.  Most of the
information I've found suggests voyages of about 1 year duration with a goal
of being in and out before the typhoon season.

The "speed run" from Arabia to the Malabar coast was dangerous because it
was made running a few points off a monsoon wind.  The voyage required a
vessel able to stand heavy seas and strong winds.  Smaller vessels followed
the coast, wearing to change direction (at least after the introduction of
the lateen sail).

To further reduce overall times, European concerns and the Chinese resorted
to factoring.  A resident agent could handle disposition of in-bound
cargoes, arrange for out-bound cargoes, and handle the petty details such as
loading, unloading, bribing officials, etc.  A good factor could shave
several months of trading time off a voyage.  Apparently, the first
Portuguese factors arrived with Cabral in 1500 for da Gama was sent to India
in 1502 to protect Portuguese commercial interests and establishments.

As a small aside, the return trip of da Gama's first voyage to India took 9
months and five days from 5 Oct 1498 to 10 July 1499.

>
>
> > Among the shipping
> > containers used by this fleet were thousands of large
> terracotta jars and
> > smaller glazed jars (similar to ginger jars) for storing
> spices and to be
> > traded.
>
> Interesting.  I wonder how widely such jars would have been
> used, if at
> all, for spices destined for Europe.  And if they were used, whether
> they would have helped preserve flavour.

The large terra cotta jars are apparently still widely used in the East
Indies and India for storage and hauling.  The smaller jars are less common.
IIRC, The large jars were sealable for carrying fluids (such as potable
water).

If you fill a jar with whole spices and seal it, the storage will help
preserve the flavor simply by reducing the surface exposure of the spices to
the air.  Since the jars were introduced 80 years before da Gama arrived, it
is possible they were used in the European trade, although tarred or pitched
boxes and barrels work as well for transport.

> If spices were shipped whole, or if they were sealed in jars (the
> possibility is hinted at by the Chinese example), or both, then I
> would venture to guess that at least some cooks could have had quite
> fresh spices for use, at least occasionally.
>
> Thorvald

Spices were almost certainly transported and stored whole until they reached
the apothecary, spicer or cook, who ground them for sale or use.  That being
the case, even with a two year delay, period spices are likely to have been
fresher than many of today's ground and packaged spices.

Bear