The Empire of Japan is far more complex that I thought.

I'm going to write more in dept about this on my Substack soon:
chronocarta.substack.com

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This monopoly was so profitable, it forced rival nations to a radical solution: find another way.

The quest to bypass Venice and the Mamluks launched the Age of Discovery.

Columbus sailed west and Vasco da Gama around Africa.

All for a taste of the spice trade.

After the final journey over the Alps or by the sea, the spices reached the consumers.

The total markup from a farmer in Indonesia to a kitchen in Germany was about 18,000% for rare cloves.

For pepper about 5,000%

From Alexandria and Beirut, Venetian state-owned war galleys took over.

Price in Venice: ~80-100 ducats

Genoan trade network operated mostly from Levantine ports like Beirut, Tripoli and Latakia.

The goods were offloaded on the tiny island of Hormuz.

Then packed for desert travel and loaded onto camels.

Massive caravans of thousands of camels went through the deserts.

Local guides led them from well to well.

Eventually reaching the ports on the coast.

Jeddah was a major hub where thousands of Arabs traveled to.

Some goods were offloaded here to feed their demand.

The rest went on to Quseer, where camel convois transported the goods to river barges waiting on the Nile.

From here, it was an easy trip to Cairo and Alexandria.