Most Traded Commodities in the 17th Century?

by Shivashetty

what were the 10 (or even 5) MOST traded commodities globally in that century ? I am reading the book "Empire of the Deep" so the ask. I am guessing it could be ...Spices ? Silk ? Cotton ?

mormengil

Here are some candidates, and probable non-candidates for top 10 traded commodities in the 17th century

This list is probably Euro-centric, or at least overweighted on commodities which were traded from elsewhere to Europe. There may have been other trades in China, or S.E. Asia, or India which could be contenders.

Unlikely:

Silk - although silk had been a major trade good along the famous "Silk Road" in Roman times, the Eastern Roman Emperor, Justinian, had managed to acquire the secrets of silk production by about 550 AD, and thereafter, many parts of Europe and the Middle East learned how to produce silk. By the 17th century, Lyon in France was the center of silk production in Europe.

Cotton - Cotton fiber was traded into Europe from the Middle Ages (from Egypt) where it was spun and woven. Cotton fabric began to be traded into Europe from India by the Portuguese in the 16th century, but cotton did not really become a massive crop and trade commodity until the invention of the cotton gin, spinning jenny, and power loom allowed it to take off in the 19th century.

Tobacco: though this was taking off in the 17th century, and certainly important to Virginia, it was probably not a top 10 commodity.

Possible Candidates:

Spices: The trade between India, Indonesia and Europe was booming in the 17th century with pepper and cloves being important spices.

Sugar: The trade in sugar from the Caribbean and Canary Islands to Europe was very large.

Slaves: The Atlantic slave trade was ramping up and there were other large scale slave trades in the Indian Ocean, the Tatar slave trade (in Russian slaves) to the Middle East, and the Barbary slave trade in the Mediterranean.

Wool and woolen cloth: This was a massive trade across Europe in earlier centuries, and probably still quite large.

Linen and linen cloth: The other main fabric traded across Europe.

Salt: Very valuable for preserving food. Heavily traded from salt mines or salt flats to all other areas.

Wine (and other alcohol, such as Port, Brandy, Rum): Long traded across Europe, and now traded to European colonies.

Stock or salt fish: Salted or dried cod from Norway, Iceland or, particularly the Banks off New England and Canada was shipped in massive volumes to Europe, and the Caribbean.

Salted Herring: About 33,000 metric tons were traded each year from the Netherlands across Europe.

Grain: Grain was traded all over the place, but particularly into the Netherlands (mostly from the Baltic) where the population had outstripped the local grain supplies.

Gold and silver: Traded from rare gold and silver mines (especially those in Spanish America) to buy goods and services all over the world. Silver was probably the number one commodity traded (by value, not by volume).

There are some candidates. It will be interesting to see if others can provide more.