The spice of life

          Most people give very little thought to how the world was constructed, being contented in living in it and taking part in its many pleasures and sorrows. But for the few that do it is fascinating to think that gardeners, and their plants have been the driving force behind our race. Most often driven by our stomachs humanity must feed them, with what? Plant life, and animal life dependent on plant life. So the question remains on how this has impacted the world? Well thousands of years ago in the fertile crescent in parts of Asia, and atop the highest mountains in the Americas there were gardeners. People that manipulated the soil, the waters of the region, and the plant life it produced to create life sustaining foodstuffs that allowed civilizations to grow, armies to march,and the oceans to be spanned. While in this blog the beginnings will be looked at in the following weeks at the moment we'll start at the end and work our way back. Globalization it began with a vine. The empires which dominated and eventually became the world we know today began with the sailing ships upon the seas. But why would these empires exert themselves by producing vast fleets, ultimately exhausting their timber, and placing enormous amounts of financial risks on themselves through allowing their peoples to further encourage such endeavors? The answer is a spice. A flavor which invigorated their bland grains, and meats into zesty robustly flavored confections. The people adored them, and the people demanded them. Profit was the point, the high prices they brought meant taxes, money in the empires coffer. And so it began The spice trade was born, and humanity connected because of the flavor of plant life. The indies produces cumin, bay leaf, cinnamon, ginger, garlic, and perhaps one of the most influential of all Pepper. Black, white, what did it matter, well beloved it added a flavor to every meal. To this day its in every house, right next to the salt shaker. Now common it was once a prized commodity that held a high price and drove global commerce. uniting humanity for the first time in thousands of years in totality. Be it good or bad it encouraged cultural exchange, built the glorious west, even if the east fell as an effect, and led to the discovery of a continent  and set of civilizations isolated from the world for ten thousand years. And it will even make you sneeze. 

Thanks of reading , 
The tulip guy:
Clark Roberts