Spicy breezes from the strategic Isle of the Indian Ocean

By B. Nimal Veerasingham

Rev. Reginald Heber, while writing in his Journal of a voyage to India in 1823, took great length in capturing a moment of pure tranquility, infused with an aromatic phenomenon, in phrasing the lyrics from the famous hymn, From the Greenland’s Icy mountain. The famous quotation, “What though the spicy breezes – Blow soft over Ceylon’s Isle; though every prospect pleases – And only man is vile”, appears and comes alive in the lyrics of the same hymn. He was penning his experience to illustrate that ‘though we were now too far off Ceylon to catch the odors of the land, yet it is, we are assured, perfectly true that such odors are perceptible to a very considerable distance … and from Ceylon, at thirty or forty miles, under certain circumstances, a yet more agreeable scent is inhaled’.

Spices have dominated our landscape and our lives from times immemorial and continue to dominate our geographical and geological position in the world. The two most daring sea voyages that changed the world are related to finding spices in lands that were yet to be (re)discovered. On one of those voyages Christopher Columbus in 1492 failed to find India but did land in the Americas. The second was the one Vasco da Gama in 1497 made; he reached India and returned laden with a cargo of pepper. Thus, two of the most significant voyages of world history were triggered by the Europeans’ desire for spices, especially pepper, at the time.

What started as the entry of European merchants and navies to conquer the waves of the Indian Ocean in search of spices, also dealt a death blow to local maritime commerce and placed the almost 34 littoral States of the Indian Ocean at the mercy of Europeans. Although the use of spices predated the times of Egyptian Pharaohs; it gained notoriety with the advent of sea routes in the age of expansion and through the profound appetite for its variety of uses by the European consumers. The Indian Ocean and spice trade became synonymous in the eyes of Europeans with the ability to obtain aromatic treasures. The vast majority of the desired spices grew in the diverse agro-climatic regions of the Indian Ocean’s territorial states. Out of the 109 spices recognized by the International Standardization Organization, these states are home to at least 80 of them.

The trade was often followed by the flag, especially when referring to the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English. These empires had the advantage of not only as being seasoned seafarers, but had sizable fleets to transport and dominate the sea.

When I was in Lisbon, years ago, out of curiosity, I engaged a well-informed guide to find answers to some questions. I asked him how it had been possible that Portugal, one of the least populated countries in Europe (approximately with about 10 million), could venture out into the seas so far while daring their lives unto the unknown. He smiled and pointed to his hairline of slightly yellow, faded and brittle strands and said that it told the story of his ancestors. “This is what, exposure to salty sea water does to your DNA” he said. With outright exposure to the Atlantic Ocean, they were good fishermen. However, once they were able to cross greater distances for fishing, they became adventurers who sought out to look for more than just fish. Navigating around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa opened up their world to the greater wealth of the Indian Ocean – the spices.

But before the times of conquering the seas and the colonial ambitions of Europeans, spices were reaching their shores via the ‘spice route’, also known as the ‘maritime silk route’. This network of almost 15,000 km of sea and land routes from the East to the West via the Mediterranean towards Europe. The Republic of Venice made exorbitant profits in the Middle Ages by exercising its naval power to have a monopoly in supplying spices arriving from the East for distribution in Europe.

Sri Lanka’s role in the spice route has become clearer through recent archeaological findings. During the 1^st millennium, the ancient port of ‘Mantai’ situated on the North-Western coast of Sri Lanka, near Mannar, was ideally located to act as a trade and transport hub between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. The Sealinks Archeaological Project and excavations of 2009-2010 in Mantai yielded extensive archaeobotanical remains, including clove discovered which, dating back to AD 900-1100. The spice, which is native to Maluku Islands in Indonesia, is around 7,000 km away from Mantai by sea. It is unlikely that merchants from Sri Lanka ever visited Indonesia; trade may have spread across the Bay of Bengal from Southeast Asian ports. Mantai entered its main phase of occupation in AD 650 and continued to flourish into the second millennium AD.

Historians are still trying to ascertain what impact spices had on Sri Lanka (Ceylon) during the times of colonialism.

The Portuguese stayed for almost 150 years, followed by Dutch for another 140 years, and English for another 130 years. That’s a long period of time, to sit as kings of spices (nearly 400 years) in this country we call home. That time span is nearly equivalent to that of the Roman Empire, which changed the course of human civilization.

During this long period of stay, the colonialists knew the importance of securing the sea routes to maintain dominance of the spice trade, notably in black pepper, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon. Later added to the list was, timber, pearls, tusks, precious stones, coffee, tea and rubber.

In order to dominate the waves, they built massive forts overlooking the Indian Ocean all around the country. This grand endeavour and bold undertaking would have taken long periods of time, and we know that the Dutch completed, or modified, much of what the Portuguese had started.

The Batticaloa Fort is one of these majestic structures with moats and watch towers, complete with cannon; they still house government offices including the District Secretariat. While we were growing up not far from the fort, our father took us on family walks along Lake Road towards the fort on full moon nights. The clear reflection of a bright moon was dazzling on the waters of the Batticaloa lagoon on one side and the colonial bungalows and salty patches of open dry land stood on the other. My father told stories from the past while seated on the granite benches overlooking the fort. He would point out the man-made cavity or dugout that runs parallel to Pioneer Road and continues on to Bar Road, till it reaches the entrance of the sand bar that separated the Batticaloa lagoon from the Indian Ocean. It is a highly visible straight ditch, at least 30 – 50 feet in width and about 2-3 kilometers in length. According to my father, it was a tunnel dug out for emergency escapes from the fort’s land direction without getting spotted until one could reach the safety of the Indian Ocean. This now collapsed tunnel could be used for surprise attacks on the enemy as well since the sand bar prevents direct access of boats or ships to the fort from the ocean.

The eminent botanist and naturalist late S.V.O. Somanader of Batticaloa, who was feted by the Government of Sri Lanka by releasing of a postage stamp in his honour, has written about the construction of the fort.

Spicy…

In a letter to UK naturalist magazine Country Life in its August 6^th, 1943 edition, he mentioned that the construction had been initiated by the Portuguese in 1627, only to be rebuilt by the Dutch 55 years later. He also mentioned that thousands upon thousands of eggs and pots of wild bee honey was collected from the population of the surrounding areas of Batticaloa, to be mixed with the mortar to ensure that the masonry work was impregnable.

We are approaching almost three fouth of a century since the Europeans left our shores, only to be replaced by Regional Asian powers, all around us, both inland and surrounding Indian Ocean. They are not interested in the spice traffic in the Indian Ocean anymore, but the entire commerce, including the energy products that move between East, West, Americas, Africa and the Middle East, to ensure their superiority, prosperity and future.

‘MT New Diamond’, which caught fire, last September, about 38 nautical miles off Eastern Sri Lanka, was carrying nearly two million barrels of crude oil from Kuwait to the Indian Port city of Paradip. It was not only a close environmental disaster; it revealed that nearly 500 vessels were plying around the Southern tip of Sri Lanka daily. As the most southerly point between Middle East and East Asia, Sri Lanka is strategically located between the choke points of Red Sea/Strait of Hormuz and Strait of Malacca. This defined area sees the movement of nearly 40 percent of the world’s maritime oil, and half of world’s seaborne trade. Given the thirst for energy and commerce among East Asia’s rising economies and commerce, these Indian Ocean sea lanes are crucial. These routes may be of greater importance than those of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

It is true that India, China and US are competing to influence the smaller countries of the Indian Ocean Rim by doling out money for development and military gadgets for security. As famous oceanographer Alfred Mahan said, “Whoever controls Indian Ocean dominates Asia – the destiny of the world will be decided on its waters”.

Sri Lanka, being strategically located, has to do more than signing mortgage papers. It can enlist the support of legal bigwigs and other experts who are familiar with ‘Mare liberum’ or international laws pertaining to territorial waters and exclusive maritime economic zones. Sri Lanka should sit at the head of any table pertaining to disputes of the Indian Ocean. Additionally, Sri Lanka should help the Indian Ocean Rim countries draft new regulations pertaining to environmental issues and the safety of sea line communications. It should solicit to have a UN affiliated headquarters built in Sri Lanka, not only to work closely with the International Court of Arbitration to resolve disputes, but also to encourage and evaluate the blue economy of member states, and coordinate between regional organizations such as ASEAN, EAS, ARF and SAARC. The blue economy is greater than a country’s ‘coastal economy’ as it includes activities related to fisheries, boat and ship making, ship repairing and breaking, ports and shipping, marine biotechnology, marine construction, deep sea mining, tourism, marine renewable energy, insurance, finance and disaster management. A funding model has to be agreed upon and managed by this mechanism.

As Somanader referenced 77 years ago, we should not be limiting ourselves to providing eggs and honey for the construction of forts thereby ensuring someone’s prosperity – and not ours.