The Indian adventure
Vasco de Gama also aspired to reach the mythical Spice Islands, but by a different route altogether. Contrary to Christopher Columbus, in 1497 he chose to head south along the west coast of Africa. Ten years earlier, in 1487, another Portuguese seafarer, Bartolomeu Dias, had discovered a cape at the far south of the African continent, which made it possible to imagine circumnavigating Africa. It was named the Cape of Good Hope as the Portuguese were now hopeful of reaching the Indies by sea. Soon after, in 1498, Vasco de Gama reached Calicut, on the Malabar Coast, and the dream of an entire epoch had been realised, as a new route to the Indies opened up.
Vasco de Gama returned from this first expedition with holds full of pepper, the same kind of pepper that the wealthy class liked to consume so ostentatiously. This earned him a triumphal return to Lisbon, leaving no doubt as to which continent he had visited, while Christopher Columbus, who had failed to find the spices he set out for, remained uncertain. Had he perhaps discovered a ‘New World’?
Calicut (Kozhikode), Kerala, India
Calicut (Kozhikode) in the 15th century, engraving
Vasco da Gama (circa 1469-1524), engraving, 1883
©Shutterstock/Everett Historical
Calicut (Kozhikode), Kerala, India
Calicut (Kozhikode) in the 15th century, engraving
Vasco da Gama (circa 1469-1524), engraving, 1883
©Shutterstock/Everett Historical
The Portuguese colonised Goa by force of arms, and imposed their presence along the west coast of India to assert their control over the spice trade. They brought with them the chilli pepper discovered by Columbus in the Americas yet disdained by the European aristocracy. The spicy red fruit, unknown until then, was an immediate hit with the local population. The south Indians in particular, accustomed to spicing their food with plenty of black pepper and long pepper, swiftly discovered the potential of chilli and incorporated it in their cuisine. It is no exaggeration to say that chilli became an essential ingredient in the preparation of their dishes, enhancing the flavour of rice, vegetables and lentils, to the point of being considered as one of the hallmarks of Indian cuisine.
Chilli then spread rapidly throughout the world. Following the Silk Road, it entered Afghanistan and reached Samarkand, from where it continued its route to Nepal and China. Apparently the Turks ferried it together with other spices on their trading route from India and added it to their cuisine. During the invasion of Hungary in 1526, the Turks introduced chilli, giving Hungarians a taste for dishes spiced with paprika.
In 1500, the Portuguese, once again on route to ‘the Indies’, discovered Brazil and found peppers known locally as quijà or quiya. From there, they transported them by boat, together with other foodstuffs such as corn, manioc and pineapple, to African shores such as the Gulf of Guinea, Angola and Mozambique. Chilli provided a welcome boost of flavour to the diet in Sub-Saharan Africa, until then based on nutritious but rather neutral-tasting plants such as yam, sorghum and millet.
As for the Spanish, they still toyed with the idea of trading directly with Asia. As a result of the Treaty of Tordesillas, which, in 1494, divided the world between the Spanish Empire and the Portuguese Empire along a meridian 370 leagues (1770 km or 46°37’) west of the Cape Verde Islands, the Spanish were unable to take the sea route around Africa. This maritime route was the exclusive preserve of their neighbours. This led the Spanish to pursue their exploration of Central America, and then to set out from Acapulco and Lima across the Pacific, finally reaching Asia. Chilli travelled with them, west to Manila and from there to southern China.
Organic chilli farming in Thailand
©Shutterstock/Cherngchay Donkhuntod
Varieties of chilli on São Paulo market, Brazil, 2015
©Shutterstock/dubes sonego
All shades of chilli on sale in the covered market in Budapest, Hungary, 2014
©Shutterstock/Elena Pominova
Ground chilli on sale in the covered market in Budapest, Hungary, 2014
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