How Manhattan Was Traded for Spices- A Shocking Story
of Influence   Images coutesy of:,  In 1453, the Ottoman empire
under Mehmet II conquered Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey).
This caused a great disruption for world trade as Constantinople
was the link between East and West. All trade passed through it.
Now, with a new ruler, new customs and royalties were placed on
all goods going from East to West. The European continent
couldn’t bear the high rise in the cost of goods imported. The
Europeans began producing many items locally. However, there was
one category they couldn’t produce in the continent, which was
in great demand. The price of these small items would sometimes
reach x300 their cost (yes, three hundred times). This category
was “spices.”  Imagine if you could control a product that costs
say 10,000 and sell it for 3,000,000.  The problem was that the
European powers didn’t know where the spices were sourced from.
They had to go through difficult terrains under the Ottoman’s
rule.  Whoever coul