The picture shows how peper grow on a tree
The discovery of the compass by the end of the thirteenth century made possible long voyages out of sight of land. The adventurous spirit and questing mind of the Renaissance drove the Portuguese to embark on voyages to new worlds in the late fifteenth century. They also sought new riches and unknown profits. The ships sent out by Prince Henry the Navigator in Lisbon reached Guinea on the coast of Africa, and then in 1486 Bartholomew Diaz rounded the Cape.
In July 1497 Vasco da Gama boldly sailed across the Atlantic to avoid the doldrums, then used the west wind to get to the Cape. In St Helena Bay Da Gama’s crew traded with some Khoikhoi before sailing round the Cape and landing in Mossel Bay, where they again traded with Khoikhoi. On Christmas day 1497 Da Gama named the coast near the Kei River Terro do Natal. In May 1498, Malabar on the west coast of India was reached. Da Gama returned to Portugal with a small cargo of pepper and cinnamon.Dutch trading houses acted as middlemen for the Portuguese, distributing the merchandise in the North European market. By the end of the sixteenth century this trading system disintegrated. The Portuguese had no answer to English privateers in the southern Atlantic Ocean.
It was common practice in European colonies in the Far East, and also at the Cape, for women of high rank, such as this Portuguese lady and her daughters, to be
The northern provinces of the Netherlands had fought themselves free of the control of Philip of Spain, who also was king of Portugal. In 1585 Philip confiscated all foreign ships in Lisbon, but the Dutch had become a major sea power, able to harass Portuguese and Spanish ships.
As a result of the uncertainty of supply and a rapidly rising demand, the price of pepper shot up. In 1584 Jan Huygen van Linschoten embarked on a voyage to India, publishing a description of the route and a merchant’s guide on his return. In 1595 nine Dutch merchants sent Cornelis and Frederik de Houtman on a voyage to the East. They returned in 1597. The Dutch involvement with the East had begun. Soon the need arose for a halfway station where sailors, desperately ill from scurvy, could get fresh fruit and vegetables.
Vasco da Gama, captain of the first fleet to travel from Europe around the Cape to the East.
