Since the travelogue of Marco Polo spread in Europe in the 13th century, many Europeans were guided by this travelogue to the East to seek the opportunity to make a fortune, and it was in this context that spices from Southeast Asia were transmitted back to Europe. By the 16th century, Europeans were inseparable from spices in their cuisine, and the demand for spices in Europeans at that time was similar to the fact that we can't cook without onions, ginger and garlic now, and it is difficult to swallow without its cuisine. At that time, the spices they needed were cloves, cinnamon, pepper, etc., these spices were the necessary auxiliary materials for making meat and other meals, without these, those meat products were difficult for Europeans at that time to swallow, so in order to maintain the quality of European meals and ensure that they could enjoy the food at once, they had to ensure that the supply of spices was timely and sufficient.
Marco Polo's travelogues attracted Europeans to the East
Spices came from Southeast Asia, but trade routes were blocked by the Ottoman Empire
The original mature spice trafficking channel began from Southeast Asia, through India, the Arabian Peninsula, now the Turkish region, the Balkan Peninsula, and then reached the main demand markets of Eastern Europe, Central Europe and Western Europe, which began with the opening of the window of understanding the East for Europeans in "Marco Polo's Travels", in a short period of time, the goods imported from the East to Europe increased by 10 times compared with before, of which the main commodities included spices, as well as camphor, sandalwood, silk, gems and cloth, etc. These commodities are popular and expensive in European markets, and trafficking in them is almost a lucrative one. For Europeans, who are very strong in business and tenacious in their pursuit of profits, trafficking in goods from the East is to traffic in their lives.
The spice that Europeans can't live without – cinnamon
However, history changed again in the mid-15th century. In 1453, the Ottoman army captured Constantinople, occupied the Balkan Peninsula, the present-day Turkey and Arabian Peninsula, the Two Rivers Valley, and controlled the aforementioned spice trafficking routes. These are not the most important, the most important thing is that the Ottoman army was not controlled by merchant forces, did not recognize the value of this trade route, they not only robbed the past caravans at will, but also imposed heavy taxes on the goods of the past. If this continues, it is equivalent to saying that the trafficking of goods from the East to Europe will not only lead to no profit in the middle of the way, but even lead to the shortage of people and goods, and the merchants in Western Europe will certainly be unwilling, and it is necessary to open up another trade route to the East.
For the sake of profit, we had to find new trade routes
So when adventurous navigators such as Columbus, da Gama, and Magellan were ready to crowdfund to raise ships and sailors in search of new routes to the East, many merchants actively sponsored them. At this time, the Europeans are already meatless, and it is meat with spices, the market demand of more than 60 million people is clear, the merchants lack spices in their hands, watching the low-hanging fruit is so lost in vain, the merchants in Western Europe must not be able to sleep, anxious to catch fire. Although they hated the Ottoman Empire, but there was no way, it was impossible to organize an army to fight, when the Crusades were fought, the Europeans fought with the Arab Empire for hundreds of years, and finally did not win, and suffered heavy losses, and now it was replaced by the Ottoman Empire, which was more powerful than the previous Arab Empire, and no one wanted to have a war with them for many years.
The business of exploring new trade routes finally began in 1487, when Bartholomew Díaz led a fleet of ships along the west coast of Africa, but unfortunately, due to the lack of advanced technology and equipment at that time, his ship encountered strong winds and lost control of the wind, and could only drift south with the wind, and could not see land for 13 days, and when the wind eased, he insisted on letting the ship head east, but soon he found that the ship had unconsciously crossed the southernmost tip of Africa into the Indian Ocean. But the crew was exhausted, so they had to ship back, and on the way back they found the southernmost cape in Africa, which was named "Cape of Good Hope" by the Portuguese king after Díaz's return.
A roadmap to open up new shipping routes
epilogue
Da Gama then succeeded Díaz and on 8 July 1497 once again led his fleet from Portugal in search of a new route. Then, after Columbus and other navigators went to search for successive voyages, the Europeans finally found a trade route to the East, and the Europeans completely ensured that the quality of their meals did not decline.