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The Brazilian Spice Trade

posted on May 13, 2013

 
(exotic fruits, etc, from the Amazon)

In the 15th century, Europeans were trying to find a route to India in order to take part in the valuable spice trade. By the 16th century, though, the Americas had already been discovered and, with it, a way to secure other kinds of exotic items. The Portuguese exploration of the mighty Amazon region opened up a whole new area of trade with what became known as “drogas do sertão”, only they weren’t necessarily drugs and they weren’t exactly from the sertão (used today to refer to the semi-arid region of Northeastern Brazil).

In the time of Brazilian exploration and expansion, any rugged inland areas were referred to as the “sertão”, and this included the forested parts such as the current state of Amazonas (which is more than twice the size of Texas) and parts of Pará. With incursion by the Jesuits and Bandeirantes (using Amerindian slaves), and the Portuguese explorers, new curative herbs and plants, in addition to exotic fruits, seeds and roots were discovered.

Upon being brought back to Europe, the “drugs” were hailed as a possible alternative to the Indian spice trade. Due to those items that were medicinal in nature, they were given the collective name “drogas”. In reality, the “drugs” consisted mostly of plants, herbs, cocoa, cinammon, vanilla, cloves, pepper, Brazil nuts and guaraná. Nonetheless, they were highly valued on the European market.

By the early 1600s, many explorers of different nationalities were trying to collect and sell the contraband, and thus a Portuguese fort was built at the mouth of the Amazon. The fort did its job and the area around it eventually became the capital city of Belém do Pará. While the Portuguese were defending their new territory, the Amerindians started to resist the Jesuits and others who needed them to locate and extract the exotic items. Nonetheless, the “drugs” ended up playing a large part in the expansion of the Brazilian territory, beyond the preordained limits decided by the Treaty of Tordesillas. If not for the Brazilian “spice” trade, the country would surely be a lot smaller in size. 

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About Adam Lee

Adam is a writer and a researcher who has studied Brazilian culture for over a decade and created several Brazil-themed blogs going back to 2008. Having taught himself Portuguese, he put it to practical use by spending three years doing Brazil on a budget (and living in favelas), from Rio de Janeiro to the Amazon.

He now resides in Lisbon, Portugal, developing a startup and dreaming about having a beachside B&B in the Northeast of Brazil.

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  1. George

    August 16, 2019 at 7:55 am

    Good for you. I’m 54 now and I realize that the best time to develop a plan in life is when you’re young. I wasted too many years partying and being depressed. I did manage to become an elementary school teacher, and worked for 7 years before getting Multiple Sclerosis. I recently had an HSCT treatment in Moscow and am getting better – at least the MS is gone.

    But it killed my momentum. Had I become teacher in my twenties I would have had many more years of work under my belt, and a much better pension by now. Maybe I can go back to teaching when I start walking better…hopefully soon.

    I’m at a point where I am not old, but not young either. I find I’m mourning my younger years and that I should have not wasted so much time. Yes, I am still depressed, and have been all my life. That was a big reason why I was so aimless when I was younger. I had a tough childhood having a mother who was mentally ill, and a father that was too strict trying to be both mom and dad.

    I am married and have a 20 year old daughter whom I love dearly – we are very close.

    I have wanderlust, and feel like I should be somewhere else i.e., Brazil or Portugal (I speak perfect Portuguese and Spanish) I am the son of Portuguese parent’s.

    But now I feel stuck in my life and that makes me even more depressed.

    Thoughts please.

    Thanks

    Reply

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