The Spice That Was Here Before Empires

Long before European ships sailed towards Ceylon, the island already had a remarkable connection with one of the world's most precious spices: cinnamon.

Evidence recorded by Sri Lanka's Department of Cinnamon Development traces the history of Ceylon cinnamon back to 1400 BC. Centuries later, references to the spice appeared in the writings of Arab travellers and merchants. By the time of the Kingdom of Kotte (14th–16th century), Ceylon was already renowned for the quality and abundance of its cinnamon.

In those days, cinnamon was gathered from trees growing naturally in the island's forests. Its fragrant bark travelled far beyond Ceylon through the ancient Indian Ocean trade routes, eventually reaching markets in the Middle East and Europe.

The island's cinnamon was valuable not simply because of its flavour, but because Ceylon was one of the world's great sources of true cinnamon.

Long before the Portuguese arrived in 1505, the secret of Ceylon's cinnamon had already made the island an important part of the global spice trade.

And then, the Europeans came.

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