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Article: China and the trade in cloves, circa 960-1435.
- Article from:
- The Journal of the American Oriental Society
- Article date:
- January 1, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 American Oriental Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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INTRODUCTION
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT COMMODITIES in early intra-Asian and Euro-Asian trade was cloves. Cloves originated in the Moluccas, in particular from the islands of Ternate, Tidore, Moti, Makian, Batjan, and Ambon. From these islands cloves were either shipped north, through the Celebes and Sulu Seas into the South China Sea, or sent west, via Ambon and the Java Sea to various destinations in western Indonesia and continental southeast Asia. From such places as Malacca or Palembang cloves were further distributed to the countries and ports bordering the Indian Ocean and, ultimately, to the Near East and Europe. In some cases, ports in western Indonesia and ...