TWENTY years of research has been gathered together for a new book by former BBC World Service journalist Nicholas Nugent, who lives in Williton.

‘The Spice Ports’ is a geographical history of the spice trade, one of the earliest instances of global maritime trade.

It features chapters on 12 ports which were instrumental to the trade and can be traced as a linear narrative or read as independent studies, threaded with cultural and political histories.

The book boasts images from Mr Nugent’s personal collection and the British Library archive, as well as full colour double page map spreads.

It gives a wide-ranging account of a fascinating period of global history using original maps and contemporary artists’ views to tell the story of how each port developed individually, while also encouraging the reader to consider contrasting points of view of the benefits and the damages of the maritime spice trade.

Mr Nugent is a map enthusiast and spent the best part of 20 years gathering content for his book.

He said: “I found it incredibly fascinating how spices like nutmeg and clove spurred maritime trade and colonial rivalry for access to the ports covered in the book.

“Spices are an everyday part of our lives, indeed, some of our most loved dishes would not be what they are without them.

“But rarely do we stop to think of their origins.

“How did a spice like nutmeg uniquely found on a remote group of islands in the far reaches of Indonesia end up so ubiquitous?

“I was fascinated also by how developments in ship building, map making, and navigational instruments are so tied to the spice trade.”

The book shows how globalisation became possible once sailors could master the winds and the sea and develop the skills of ship building and navigation.

Traders then took advantage of sea routes to seek out exotic spices and other commodities, as long-distance trading and empire building began.

Mr Nugent said: “The courage and initiative of these early entrepreneurs embody ideas and attitudes that still impress us today.

“Lessons from both history and geography combine in this fascinating study of the spice ports, lavishly illustrated with antique maps and city views.”

The book’s 12 contrasting chapters each has about 8,000 words and span the continents from Venice to Batavia, modern Jakarta, Lisbon to Malacca, London to Bombay, now Mumbai, as well as New York, Cape Town, and Singapore.

‘The Spice Ports’ is not just about history and geography but also provides a context for cultural learning in literature, architecture, and science.

It explores the science of Copernicus and Galileo, traces the botanical studies of Darwin, Wallace, Rumphius, and da Orta, follows the pioneering voyages of Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand Magellan, and map making of Ptolemy and Linschoten, among others.

Fascinating developments such as word origins, naval technology, and early economic concepts, and the whole ‘intertwining breadth of the history of ideas’ are also covered

‘The Spice Ports’ is available from all major bookstores and online retailers.