The Hindu Business Line : Pepper riches

“What investment banking is to the ambitious and the acquisitive today, the pepper trade was to the Romans — the most direct route to great riches,” writes William J. Bernstein in A Splendid Exchange: How trade shaped the world ( www.landmarkonthenet.com ).

Alas, the Romans suffered a big fall, and so have the investment bankers. Yet, the book is an ideal read for those who would like to bask in the history of commerce, and know about things such as how the new luxuries such as Chinese silk and Indian wildlife, borne on the trade winds, electrified the Roman Empire’s affluent.

“Monkeys, tigers, cockatoos, and rhinoceroses were not uncommon sights in the capital; Latin-speaking parrots became all the rage; and Romans prized the tusks of both Indian and African elephants, using the ivory to adorn furniture, weaponry, chariots, jewellery, and musical instruments.”

But what was to become part of everyday life in Rome was the Malabar pepper, arriving in bulk “to flavour the otherwise bland wheat- and barley-based Mediterranean cuisine of rich and poor Romans.”

Bernstein makes a mention of the one surviving cookbook from the era, apparently written by a Roman named Apicius, who called for pepper in 349 of the 468 recipes. “The Romans poured pepper not just into their main courses, but also into their sweets, wines, and medicines.”

Ideal for studying over the weekend.

Spice trade

One of the nodal points in the maritime history of the British Empire involves the establishment of a commercial venture known as the East India Company, which was founded on the last day of 1600, writes K. R. A. Narasiah in Madras: Tracing the growth of the city since 1639 ( www.nhm.in ). “Its original name when founded by a royal charter was ‘The Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies.’ As its name suggests, the company was the enterprise of London businessmen who grouped themselves under the chairmanship of the Lord Mayor to make money by importing spices.” The English first landed on the west coast of India and built a Trading House, or ‘factory’ as they called it, in Surat under the protection of the Mughal Governor of Gujarat, informs the author. “The company began to trade in cotton and silk piece goods, indigo, saltpetre, and spices from south India.”

When the company first entered the spice trade, each voyage was a separate business venture with its own subscribers or stockholders, describes Narasiah. “This approach lasted nearly a dozen years. In 1612, the company switched to temporary joint stocks and finally to permanent joint stocks in 1657…”

Engaging account.

Truth lessons

Learning to be a moral person takes maturity, experience, and time, writes Betsy Brown Braun in Just Tell Me What to Say: Sensible tips and scripts for perplexed parents ( www.harpercollins.com ). Like all other aspects of development, it is a process that is complicated and requires a parent to be consistent and patient, she explains. “Learning to tell the truth is just that… a lesson to be learned.”

One of the tips in the book is about the need for explaining ‘white lies’ — a form of politeness and manners of a sort, with no malice or hurtfulness, but with the express purpose of protecting someone’s feelings. Another tip is about why you should praise the child’s truthfulness. “When your child tells you the whole story, owns his misdeeds, and takes responsibility, go out of your way to praise his truth-telling. Behaviour that is praised is likely to be repeated,” counsels Braun.

Useful takeaways.

D. MURALI
BookPeek.blogspot.com

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