Spain vs Portugal: The Spice Race

Spain vs Portugal: The Spice Race

From Dan Snow's History Hit by History Hit

June 21, 2026 · 38 min · Episode 1807

About this episode

The episode discusses the intense competition between Spain and Portugal for control of the spice trade in the 16th century.

What happens when tiny volcanic islands become the most valuable real estate on Earth? In the 16th century, Portugal and Spain launched a deadly race to control the global spice trade, sparking an age of empire, violence and globalisation. Historian Roger Crowley joins us to tell the extraordinary story of the ruthless spice race that reshaped the entire world. Roger's book is called "Spice: The 16th-Century Contest that Shaped the Modern World". Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore. You can hear our episode with Roger about the rise and fall of Venice here - https://shows.acast.com/dansnowshistoryhit/episodes/the-rise-and-fall-of-venice . We need your help! Let us know what you want from Dan Snow's History Hit by filling in our anonymous survey here: https://forms.gle/PvgayWLkWGjYT4St6 Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe . You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com . Hosted on Acast. See…

People in this episode

Host: Dan Snow

Guest: Roger Crowley

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: History Hit, Acast, YouTube

Books & works: Spice: The 16th-Century Contest that Shaped the Modern World

Places: Venice

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