The spice ports

We may think of ‘globalism’ as a recent development, but its origins date back to century and beyond, when courageous seafarers pioneered routes across the oceans with the objectives of exploration, trade and profits. Improvements in ship design, compasses and mapping, enabled navigation across unprecedented distances. The embarkation points were the vibrant ports of the West where they tracked down the elusive spices. This wide-ranging account of a fascinating period of global history uses original maps and contemporary artists’ views to tell the story of how each port developed individually; while encouraging us to consider contrasting points of view of the benefits and the damages of the maritime spice trade.