The Chemistry of the Portuguese Empire II: Eugenol

This is the second post inspired by the book Napoleon’s Buttons – 17 Molecules that Changed History, by Penny Le Couteur & Jay Burreson.

Myristica fragrans, the nutmeg tree, and Syzygium aromaticum, the clove tree, are precious plants that originally could be found only on the Molucca Islands.

Just as for black pepper, the paramount importance of nutmeg and clove, and the role they had in shaping history, lies in their chemistry. Eugenol in clove and isoeugenol in nutmeg are two aromatic molecules very similar in structure and with a smell close to that of ginger. They only differ in a double bond position (in red in the figure).

Produced by the plants for protection against animal grazing, insects eating and microorganisms’ infections, these substances full of aroma have been used for centuries in traditional medicine as analgesic, antiseptic and to treat a series of diseases.

These spices were traded for centuries by Chinese, Malay, and Arab merchants, arriving in Europe after a lengthy route along which their price and value increased constantly. They were a major reason for Afonso de Albuquerque to conquer Ceylon and Malacca in 1511, while he looked for indications on how to reach the Banda Island and other spice locations. Venetian merchants were quickly ruled out from the spice commerce between the Moluccas and Europe.

In the 17th century, the Dutch replaced the Portuguese in the control of clove and nutmeg trade. Curiously, it was the Dutch botanist Maartyn Houttuyn who described and gave the scientific name Myristica fragrans to the nutmeg plant in 1774.

The Dutch tried to protect their monopoly as hard as they could, but eventually clove cultivation started in the French colony of Mauritius and then spread along the East African coast. Nutmeg cultivation, on the other hand, proved more difficult to export, since the plant requires specific soil characteristics and climatic conditions. However, tropical areas provided suitable conditions and today Grenada in the Caribbean is the major producer of the spice. [Silvana Munzi]

Fernão de Oliveira: a Globalization Agent of Iberian Maritime Knowledge

Fr Fernão de Oliveira (1507-1581?) was a significant author in 16th century nautical science. In 1555, he published the Arte da Guerra do Mar (The Art of Sea Warfare) and around 1570 he wrote another work, which remained in manuscript, named Ars Nautica (a treatise on nautical construction). In 1580, he also wrote the Livro da Fábrica das Naus (The Book on Shipbuilding). Oliveira’s works are intimately connected with his adventurous life between Portugal and Europe.

Oliveira completed initial studies in Évora at a Dominican Convent. He then went to Spain for unclear reasons. After his return, he published the first ever Portuguese grammar in 1536, and became the preceptor of important figures at the Portuguese court. During the 1540s, his life took other paths. In 1541 he intended to travel to Italy, but he only went as far as France. His maritime knowledge impressed the French baron of Saint Blanchard, who employed him as his pilot. By this time, Oliveira had already learned much on board Spanish, Italian and French ships in European waters. When France invaded England in 1545, Oliveira participated in the expedition and was captured by the English in a naval fight. Brought to Henry VIII’s court, Oliveira gave his contributions to the English art of naval construction. When he returned to Portugal in 1547, he was jailed by the Inquisition because of his sympathies for Henry VIII’s position towards Rome. Soon afterwards he was released, but by the time of his death (circa 1580), Oliveira had been imprisoned again by the Inquisition. While working on his books, he also considered leaving Portugal again. In 1566, the Spanish ambassador in Lisbon reported that Oliveira received proposals to pass to France. He did not depart because the Spanish ambassador prevented him from going to France by enlisting him in the service of Philip II. It remains unknown whether Oliveira left Portugal to serve Philip II, but it seems improbable.

Throughout his career, Father Oliveira became an object of attention for the main maritime powers of the period: Spain, France and England. His ties with all of them motivated their interests in hiring him and learning from him. This is explained because as a skilled pilot, Oliveira’s 1555 Arte da Guerra no Mar (The Art of War at Sea) is the first important European treatise on maritime warfare, and the 1570 Ars Nautica is a systematic encyclopaedia on navigation. Not innocently, the Ars Nautica’s manuscript is held at the University of Leiden, as the Dutch Republic during the 1590s also became interested in Oliveira’s work for its maritime expansion.

Thus, Father Oliveira’s agitated life and works are a good example of how far an important humanist could contribute to the globalization of Iberian nautical knowledge and produce a major impact on the overall process of European maritime expansion. Nevertheless, Father Oliveira works’ circulation was not a unique case in 16th century Europe, as the circulation of maritime knowledge was truly unstoppable by any power. [Nuno Vila-Santa]

The Chemistry of the Portuguese Empire I: Piperine

This is a short series of posts inspired in the book Napoleon’s Buttons – How 17 Molecules Changed History by Penny Le Couteur & Jay Burreson, and to show that, after all, everything is about chemistry.

Before refrigerators existed, pepper mainly and other spices were crucial in storing and preserving food, and, probably, in disguising the bad taste and smell of rotten meat. The commerce of these goods was so lucrative that kings and merchants in the 15th century decided to challenge the Venetian monopoly of spice trade—the Age of Discovery was about to start.

Vasco da Gama’s voyages and the conquest of Calicut (Kozhikode) gave Portugal control over the pepper trade, and the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 sanctioned the Portuguese supremacy over the only countries where Piper nigrum, the pepper plant, grew.

Peppercorns contain an active ingredient called piperine which is responsible for the hot sensation we experience when we eat pepper. Curiously enough, this sensation is not a taste or flavor, but the response that the chemical stimulus caused by piperine evokes in our pain receptors.

Molecule of piperine

In the meantime, Columbus was looking for a western route to India. When he landed in Haiti, he found another hot spice: chili pepper. While chili peppers became soon a main ingredient in African and Asian cuisines, Europe remained faithful to pepper and piperine. However, the Portuguese dominion of the spice route was doomed to end in less than two centuries, with the English and Dutch enlarging their areas of influence in the East Indies in the 17th century. [Silvana Munzi]