The story of the epic 16th-century struggle for the spice trade, which propelled European naval exploration and conquest across Asia and the Pacific.

Spices drove the economy of the early modern world, and for Europeans, they represented wealth on an unprecedented scale. Cloves and nutmeg could only reach Europe through a complex network of trade routes, and for decades, Spanish and Portuguese explorers competed to find their elusive sources. But when the Portuguese finally arrived at the Spice Islands of Maluku in 1511, they ignited fierce competition for control.

Roger Crowley shows how this struggle shaped the modern world. From 1511 to 1571, European powers combined the oceans, established vast naval empires, and brought global trade to life—all in an effort to control the spice supply.

With journeys from the shipyards 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 rich with vivid accounts of adventures, shipwrecks, and sieges that shaped early colonial encounters—and transformed the global economy for centuries to come.

Pages: 320, Year of Publication: 0919, Dimensions: 12.7x12.7cm