Mondays – Spice and the Making of Modern Europe
6/9 @ 11:00 AM/CH
Instructor: Professor Judy Okun
While we may take them for granted today, spices have been prized as luxury items throughout much of history. Food preservation, medicinal purposes, and flavoring are just some of the reasons for their allure. From an inconspicuous point of origin in Southeast Asia, we will investigate how a few unique spices created the impetus for Western Europe’s incredible trans-oceanic voyages of the 15th through 17th centuries and its establishment as a center of world commerce, power and wealth.