In brief
Few spices have changed the world like black pepper. Native to the Western Ghats of southern India, pepper from the Malabar coast was traded to Rome, carried west by Arab merchants for centuries, and in 1498 it drew Vasco da Gama to Calicut. It was once so valuable that it was called “black gold” and used as currency.
Born in the Western Ghats
Black pepper is native to the Western Ghats, the forested hills that run along India’s south-west coast. There it grows as a vine climbing the shade trees of small farms, as it still does today in Kerala.
Pepper from this coast, known as Malabar pepper, was prized for its bold, aromatic bite long before Europe knew where it came from.
Rome and the Malabar coast
In Roman times, ships sailed across the Arabian Sea on the monsoon winds to buy pepper on the Malabar coast. Pepper became one of the most sought-after goods in Rome, used in cooking and kept as a sign of wealth.
Arab traders and the spice routes
For centuries afterwards, Arab merchants carried pepper west from India’s ports, through the Middle East and on to Europe. Every hand it passed through added to its price, and the source stayed far away and little known.
1498: Vasco da Gama reaches Calicut
European powers wanted to reach the source directly. In 1498 the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama sailed around Africa and landed at Calicut on the Malabar coast. It was pepper, above all, that drew him there, and his voyage opened a direct sea route between Europe and India.
Why pepper was called black gold
For much of history, pepper was worth so much that it was called “black gold” and used as currency. A spice that now sits on every table was once a measure of wealth, and the search for it reshaped trade across the world.
Malabar pepper today
Kerala’s pepper is still known in the trade as Malabar pepper and carries a Geographical Indication (GI) tag. The United States is now by far the largest buyer of Indian black pepper, taking more than a third of India’s pepper exports by value.
Questions people ask
Why was black pepper called black gold?
Because it was so valuable for so long that it was traded like money and used as currency.
Where is the Malabar coast?
The south-west coast of India, today mostly in the state of Kerala, where black pepper has grown for thousands of years.
Does India still export Malabar pepper?
Yes. The United States is the largest buyer of Indian black pepper by value. Mahala supplies Malabar and Tellicherry grades from Kerala.