Sugar, Pepper, Precious Stones: The Economic Impact of the Portuguese Overseas Expansion in the German World around 1500
Abstract
At the beginning of the early modern history three luxury merchandises triumphed in Germany: sugar, spices – especially pepper – and precious stones. All these mentioned commodities were already well-known in the territory of the Holy Roman Empire, but it was at the turn of the fifteenth century to the sixteenth century that these treasures gained a new dimension in various parts of that Empire as a result of the Portuguese overseas expansion. We will also see that, at this time, there were significant changes in relation to the main protagonists of the Portuguese-German trade.
No alvorecer da Modernidade três mercadorias de luxo impuseram-se na Alemanha: açúcar, especiarias – sobretudo pimenta – e pedras preciosas. Todos estes produtos mencionados eram já bem conhecidos no território do Sacro Império Romano-Germânico, mas é na viragem do século XV para o século XVI, que estas preciosidades ganharam, em várias partes do Sacro Império, uma nova dimensão em consequência da Expansão Portuguesa. Veremos também que, precisamente nesta altura, se registaram mudanças significativas em relação aos principais protagonistas do comércio luso-germânico.
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