Knowledge Nugget: Kerala’s first International Spice Routes Conference and Black Pepper

Key takeaways:

1. In the opening session, talking on the fiery trail that pepper blazed in various geographies, historian Pius Malekandathil elaborated on how traders and commercial intermediaries who participated in the pepper trade began to acquire an identity intrinsically connected with it.

2.  This, he said, “fetched for them the surname of Pfeffer (pepper) in Germany and Hungary. Similarly in Portugal, the surname Pimenta got allocated to some people, obviously as an identity marker, indicating their linkage to the pepper trade.”

Black Pepper: The King of Spices

3. Spawning dynasties, triggering conquests and fuelling discoveries, pepper has played an important role in shaping the world as we see it. Once accounting for over 80 per cent of the global spice trade volume, the king of spices was likely the primary reason behind the colonisation of the East.

4. Black pepper is indigenous to the Malabar Coast which largely corresponds to the present-day state of Kerala. Around 1322, Odoric of Pordenone travelled to southwest India and wrote that the Malabar region’s “pepper is as abundant as grain in our land”.

5. There is archaeological evidence to show people were using pepper as early as 2000 BCE in ancient India. The spice is believed to have been exported to other parts of Asia and North Africa. The earliest evidence of pepper being consumed outside of the Indian subcontinent comes from Egypt  — the mummified remains of Ramesses the Great from 1213 BCE had peppercorns in the nostrils.

6. In 70 AD, the Periplus Maris Erythraei, an anonymous merchant’s guide to the Mediterranean, recorded information on trade between Rome and the ancient Indian port of Muziris. Pepper was immensely popular among the Romans, with Marcus Gavius Apicius the historian estimating that 80 per cent of Roman recipes contained the spice.

This fascination for the spice even took an economic toll as Pliny the Elder wrote in Natural History: “There is no year that India does not drain the Roman Empire.”

7. The port town of Muziris, located on the mouth of the delta of the Periyar river, was a hub of trade, linking Southeast Asia, Africa, West Asia and Europe, exporting pepper, beads and silk and importing gold coins and grain among other things. No one is certain exactly how but gradually Muziris fell off the map. But the many influences that blew in with the trade winds through it, endured.

8. Once the Roman Empire collapsed, other groups started taking advantage of the spice routes they vacated, with Arabs, in particular, becoming a dominating force. They acted as middlemen and key facilitators in the trade, connecting the spice-producing regions, particularly India, with consumers in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. By the Middle Ages, due to its exorbitant demand and equally exorbitant price, every maritime power was attempting to seize some part of the spice trade. Genoa, for example, became a popular trading centre by the 14th century, with pepper accounting for 40 per cent of the value of all goods entering its ports.

Artists are putting the final touches on a painting depicting cross-cultural encounters at the International Spice Routes Conference in Kochi on Tuesday. (Express Photo by Devyani Onial)

9. By 1511, the Portuguese controlled most of the spice trade from the Malabar region, importing two million kilograms of spices from India annually between 1500 and 1600. However, this dominance came at a steep price. The journey between Portugal and India was a dangerous one, with nearly 30 per cent of vessels never making it back.

10. This trade of pepper along the Asia coasts also helped spread Islam further east, soon extending from East Africa to the southern coast of China. It brought with it not just Islamic ideas but also the Arabic language, Sharia courts, and unique business customs.

BEYOND THE NUGGET: World Spice Organisation

1. The World Spice Organisation (WSO) is a collaborative platform that unites all stakeholders in the spice industry—farmers, processors, academics, and end-users. Its mission is to work collectively towards sustainable development.

2. It was established in 2011 with the objectives of achieving Food Safety and Sustainability in the spice sector. Over the years, WSO has undertaken several initiatives in sustainability, biodiversity and food safety.

3. In November 2025, WSO organised the 4th National Spice Conference (NSC) under the theme “The Spice Route Ahead: Safe, Sustainable and Scalable,” in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. The conference also showcased the National Sustainable Spice Program (NSSP).

4. The NSSP is a flagship initiative of the WSO aimed at promoting sustainable and food-safe cultivation models. It brings together stakeholders from public and private sectors on one platform, to address social, economic, and environmental issues in the spices industry in India. This platform was established by WSO in collaboration with Spices Board, GIZ, IDH- The sustainable Trade Initiative and Rainforest Alliance.

Post Read Question

(1) Following are characteristics of an area in India: (UPSC CSE 2010)

1. Hot and humid climate

2. Annual rainfall 200 cm

3. Hill slopes up to an altitude of 1100 meters

4. Annual range of temperature 15C to 30℃

Which one among the following crops is you most likely to find in the area described above?

(a) Mustard

(b) Cotton

(c) Pepper

(d) Virginia tobacco

(2) Consider the following statements:

1. Black pepper is indigenous to the Malabar Coast of India.

2. Recently, the 4th edition of the International Spice Routes Conference was organised in Kerala.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

(Sources: wsospice.org, Pepper: The magic spice from Kerala that triggered global trade, drained the Romans and spawned new empires )

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