Kochi, Jan 6 (PTI) Experts at the International Spice Routes Conference on Tuesday said Kerala’s transformation into a major spice trade hub since ancient times was shaped by the contributions of people from diverse countries and cultures over the centuries.
Speaking at the three-day conference on the theme ‘Spice Routes: People, Goods and Ideas in Motion’, which began at the historic Bolgatty Palace here, they highlighted Kerala’s emergence as a prominent Spice Route and a melting pot of cultures.
The January 6-8 conference is being organised by the Muziris Heritage Projects in collaboration with the Kerala Tourism Department.
India’s “first conference of its kind”, the event has been conceived as an intellectual and cultural platform to reconnect the ancient Spice Route with contemporary global discourse.
Addressing the opening session, Kerala Tourism Director Sikha Surendran said that long before modern borders were drawn, these routes shaped the world through the exchange of goods, ideas and cultures.
Noting that Muziris stood at the centre of global movement, she said it was not merely a port but a space where civilisations met, negotiated and learned from one another.
“From this coast, spices carried the scent of Kerala to distant lands, while ideas returned, transforming societies, cultures and ways of life. In an age of rapid change and renewed global movement, they remind us that heritage is not static,” she said.
Surendran said the conference was a call to reimagine the spice routes as living networks of culture, creativity and cooperation, rooted in communities, guided by ethics and open to the world.
Elaborating on Kerala’s historic spice trade, Michael Tharakan, former vice-chancellor of Kannur University, said the inter-portal trade convention of the 1920s between the British, the Madras Government and the Travancore and Kochi governments established Kochi as the major port on the coast, emerging as a centre of colonial trade.
Pius Malekandathil, former professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said that when trade in European markets stagnated due to feudalisation, pepper and other spices from Malabar reached Europe and North Africa through Arab trading networks.
He said pepper from Kerala was among the key commodities traded at Mediterranean and Atlantic ports as early as the 8th century.
“In Germany, pepper was commonly used as a medicine in the 14th and 15th centuries. The city of Cologne had 45 shops selling 91,342 pounds of pepper, 45,354.5 pounds of dried ginger and 800.5 pounds of green ginger between 1452 and 1459,” Malekandathil said.
Commenting on plantation labour politics, Chhaya Goswami, Head and Associate Professor at Somaiya Vidyavihar University, said financial instruments such as hundis (bills of exchange) and kinship-based credit networks enabled Indian capitalists to navigate and circumvent British restrictions on slavery.
She said these mechanisms ensured economic continuity even as formal abolition policies came into force.
Participating online, Fahad Bishara of the Doha Institute, Qatar, said mobility was one of the defining features of Indian Ocean history, with enduring connections forged through commerce and trade.
S Swaminathan, Secretary of the Kerala Travel Mart Society, also addressed the gathering.
The conference has drawn a wide cross-section of participants, including academicians and historians, archaeologists, diplomats, policymakers, tourism stakeholders, artists, cultural practitioners and performers.
The event also signals Kerala’s intent to tap into growing global demand for high-value, experiential and culturally immersive travel. PTI TGB SSK
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