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Spice
- The 16th-Century Contest That Shaped the Modern World
- Narrated by: Samuel Roukin
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
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Summary
The story of the 16th-century’s epic contest for the spice trade, which propelled European maritime exploration and conquest across Asia and the Pacific.
Spices drove the early modern world economy, and for Europeans they represented riches on an unprecedented scale. Cloves and nutmeg could reach Europe only via a complex web of trade routes, and for decades Spanish and Portuguese explorers competed to find their elusive source. But when the Portuguese finally reached the spice islands of the Moluccas in 1511, they set in motion a fierce competition for control.
Roger Crowley shows how this struggle shaped the modern world. From 1511 to 1571, European powers linked up the oceans, established vast maritime empires, and gave birth to global trade, all in the attempt to control the supply of spices.
Taking us on voyages from the dockyards of Seville to the vastness of the Pacific, the volcanic Spice Islands of Indonesia, the Arctic Circle, and the coasts of China, this is a narrative history rich in vivid eyewitness accounts of the adventures, shipwrecks, and sieges that formed the first colonial encounters—and remade the world economy for centuries to follow.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
What listeners say about Spice
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- Well That Aged Well
- 21-06-24
Excelent history
Roger Crowley does it again! Another excelent history book by Professor Crowley! I would absoloutley recomend this book, and excelent narrated too. 5/5 stars
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- William J. Duddy
- 05-10-24
A very worthwhile listen, though you do get shouted at!
This is a fascinating tale, much of which is not well-known in the English-speaking world. It's pitched at just the right level of detail for casual interest. The only drawback for me was the narration, which felt like someone shouting at me for several hours. I discovered, however, that it was perfect for situations otherwise too noisy for many narrators - noisy car journeys for example, or while cooking: in these situations, the strong tone carries above background noise, making it a practical listen. Again, the story itself is wonderful, and very well worth the listen.
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