spice island
Clove-producing tropical land
Spice island refers to any island known for producing valuable spices—nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, pepper.
Historically, the term designated the Moluccas (Maluku Islands) in Indonesia, which drove European exploration and colonial trade.
The phrase evokes exoticism and the lucrative spice trade that shaped world history: traders sailing for the spice islands.
- VOCEvaporating chemical compounds
- exotic flavorsUncommon, foreign-origin tastes
- Age of DiscoveryEuropean maritime expansion era
- Age of ExplorationPeriod of global seafaring
- colonial powersNations that colonized others
culinary history · Grenada · mace · Ferdinand Magellan · Vasco da Gama · sail the seas · Dutch East India Company · food preservation · Sir Francis Drake · colonial plantations · trading posts · mercantilism · Sumatra · Java · cloves · herbal medicine · Sulawesi · nutmeg