Cloves have a long history. They were well known and very popular in China and India centuries before the birth of Christ. Nevertheless, they only found their way to Europe during the heyday of the Roman Empire. In those days, the main trade centers of the spice trade were Alexandria and Constantinople. The further history of the clove tree, which comes from the Moluccas, is closely tied to that of the nutmeg tree.
History
Until the end of the Middle Ages clove trees were only found on the Moluccas. In the 15th century, the Portuguese started to set up some trading posts. At that time, both the Spaniards and the Portuguese claimed the Moluccas for themselves. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Dutch bit by bit took over control of the islands.