|
0 - 35 AD |
In Israel, the pharisees pay their tithes in cumin seeds. |
|
40 AD |
Apicius writes ‘De Re Coquinaria’ in the
reign of Tiberius. A Greek, Hippalos, discovers how to use the
monsoon winds in the Indian Ocean to speed up sea voyages. The Romans
follow suit, thus weakening the Arab monopoly and ensuring a more
reliable supply of pepper from India and Cinnamon from Ceylon. |
|
43 AD |
Roman conquest of Britain begins under Claudius I |
|
50 AD |
London founded |
|
79 AD |
Pompeii buried. |
|
92 AD |
The trade grows enough for Rome to build special
pepper warehouses, Lorrea piperataria. |
|
330 AD |
The Emperor Constantine founds Constantinople, which
becomes the centre of the spice trade. Cloves and nutmegs start to
arrive in the West from the Moluccas. |
|
335 - 375 AD |
Samudra Gupta becomes India’s Napoleon. |
|
350 AD |
The Champagne wine district is founded. |
|
408 AD |
Rome pays Alaric the Visigoth 3,000lb (1,360kg) in
pepper, together with silver, gold, silks and furs to raise their
blockade on Rome. |
|
410 AD |
Alaric the Visigoth sacks Rome. |
|
451 AD |
Attila and Huns invade. |
|
577 AD |
Matches are first made by ladies of the Court in China. |
|
570 AD |
Mohammed is born |
|
500 AD |
Coffee drinking becomes popular in Arabia. |
|
622 AD |
Mohammed ‘s famous Hejira to Medina |
|
630 AD |
Islam is born. |
|
712 AD |
Muslims capture Sind. |
|
745 AD |
Boat loads of Parsees fleeing Islam arrive at Gujarat
in India. |
|
800 AD |
Alsace wine region is founded. |
|
982 AD |
Extra Christmas and Easter taxes, payable in pepper,
are levied by King Aethelread II on German ships which come up the
River Thames to trade at London Bridge.
The Vikings take cardamom from Constantinople to their
homes in Scandinavia. Ginger has become popular in Germany since its
introduction there sometime in the 9th century and reaches Britain by
the 10th century. Saffron growing starts in England (Saffron Walden)
and caraway is found growing naturally in Europe. |
|
997 AD |
First use of pizza as a name at Gaeta between Naples
and Rome. |
|
1066 AD |
Normans invade England and popularise the use of pepper. |
|
1096-1097 AD |
First Crusade. |
|
1116 AD |
Ottomans overrun Syria, Egypt and Arabia. |
|
12th - 1300s AD |
Series of Crusades begins |
|
1200 AD |
Spices become a status symbol in England. |
|
1204 AD |
Venetian ships plunder Constantinople and brings back
enough wealth to establish Venice as the new centre of the spice trade. |
|
1206 AD |
Kutbuddin is Sultan of Dehli. Chenghiz Khan rules
China - dies 1227 to be followed by Kublai 1259. |
|
1275 AD |
Marco Polo in China. |
|
1279 AD |
Pasta first mentioned in Genoa |
|
1297 AD |
Marco Polo entrances Italy with tales of spices and
exotic goods in the Far East and the race for spice trade superiority
in Europe starts in earnest. The Venetians pass a law stating that
all spices from the East are to pass through Venice. |
|
1398 AD |
Tamerlane plunders Delhi. |
|
1400 AD |
Orange introduced to the West. |
|
1400 - 1800 AD |
Most of the world eats vegetarian , except Europe. |
|
1471 AD |
The Portuguese cross the Equator. |
|
1486 AD |
Bartholomew Diaz sails around the Cape of Good Hope. |
|
1492 AD |
Columbus sets out from Spain, reaches San Salvador in
the Bahamas and discovers red chilli peppers in Santa Domingo (Cuba). |
|
1493 AD |
On his second voyage to the New World, Columbus finds
paprika being used to flavour local dishes in Hispaniola (Haiti). |
|
1497 AD |
Vasco da Gama sails around the Cape of Good Hope to
Malabariu, India, returning with cinnamon, cloves, ginger, pepper amd
precious stones. |
|
1498 AD |
Vasco da Gama discovers sea route to India. |
