You will never guess what this 15 popular song titles have in common with sixteenth century asian trade!
The answer is simple: really not that much! Other then that their titles happen to feature certain objects which were commonly found in merchant cargo. (I suggest you don't bother looking into the lyrics and song meanings, because there really isn't any, other then the song title featuring a word)
Find out more in this amazing list!
First up: goods brought back to Europe
15. Black Velvet by Alannah Myles
Velvet here represents all sorts of textile products made out of cotton and silk brought back from India's major textile producer regions of Gujurat, Choromandel, Bengal. However we must make it clear that unlike later ages of EIC and VOC, textiles were a very small part of portuguese trade, only increasing since the 1590s
14. Porcelain by Moby
One of the only techno songs on the list names one of the only technological products distributed. Porcelain and other pottery originating mostly from China or less likely other SE Asian states, was often part of cargos carried back home - but in minor amounts and value. The Portuguese would procure it either directly from original countries, or more often in Malacca - a city they conquered on Malayan peninsula, a major entrepot of trade at the time
13. Cinnamon Girl by Neil Young
Cinnamon is a spice that grew extensively on island of Ceylon, modern Sri Lanka. Portuguese acquired a presence there soon enough to ship large quantities of cinnamon from there. Their conquest of the island was interrupted by the Dutch in the 1600s when they kicked them out.
12. Spice Up Your Life by Spice Girls
Nothing like little the best girl band of the 90s all time to show the importance of the various spices being brought back to Europe. By volume they weren't as large, but their value was much higher. The spices considered here nutmeg, mace, cloves originating from the Moluccas, otherwise known as Spice Islands. Portuguese had a fort on island of Ternate to secure their supply but the local forces kicked them out in 1570s.
11. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles
Nothing can show the importance of what Pepper meant for the Portuguese more then including the entire album of the freakin' Beatles! Pepper was sourced from Malabar region of India, and made 90% of cargo brought back to Portugal. Pepper was worth several times more in Europe than in India, enabling Portuguese to earn at least 90% profit on the entire cost of voyage and ships even with accounting for shipwrecked ships and other losses.
Second set: the trade throughout Indian Ocean
Other then only carrying goods to and from Europe, Portuguese wanted to take over most of the inter-Asia trade. And for Portuguese "taking over" meant conquering strategic places and bullying the competition out with violence and piracy. Still, they ferried goods all over, mostly for their own profit
10. Diamonds Are Forever by Shirley Bassey
Diamonds, pearls and other precious stones were a major commodity in the Indian ocean. Kingdoms of Pegu and Ava in SE Asia were a major exporters, and there was also diamond mines in the Deccan. Ceylon had precious stones, and Bahrain was the main pearl fishery. Portuguese took over Bahrain and Ceylon, and traded with the rest.
9. Wild Horses by Rolling Stones
Horses (not wild ones though) from Arabian peninsula and Persia were highly sought after on the Indian subcontinent, especially in the Vijayanagara Empire and the Deccan sultanates. Portuguese took over the major centers of this trade Ormuz and Goa in part to try monopolize this trade. Alternate routes quickly sprang up, but Portuguese still controlled major part of it
8. Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex
Cotton textiles, mostly from Gujarat was probably the major export of India, highly sought after from Indonesian islands to East African city states. So what better way to relate to this could there be other than with a swedish eurodance parody of american country!
7. Gold Dust by DJ Fresh
Sofala on the East African coast, or more precisely the interior where the mines were, was the major gold exporter in the Indian Ocean. Before portuguese arrival the area was dominated by Kilwa, but series of Portuguese offensives brought the port cities under tight Portuguese control.
6. Ebony & Ivory by Stevie Wonder & Paul McCartney
In the complete opposite of this wonderful pacifist song, Portuguese were major slavers, and exporters of African ivory. While most of the slaves were soon heading to Americas to work the plantations, there was still a sizable demand for slaves in Portuguese India. Black slaves were used in various private persons, but also to row the government galleys, and even to form military units.
Final countdown: what was brought from Europe to Asia
5. Quicksilver by Pearl Jam
As we will see the list is dominated by metals, and once of these was mercury/quicksilver, always sought after for various uses in alchemy, textile industry, metallurgy. Honorable mention could also go to corals, which were also a major valuable resource sought after in India, but finding a song with them in title was a bigger problem then I thought
4. Gunpowder & Lead by Miranda Lambert
To be honest, this song choice is a desperate one, as it is really hard to find something with "lead" as the noun for metal in the name, not the unrelated verb about leadership. In any case, lead was a major export by Portuguese. Gunpowder too was important, but not so much as a trade commodity
3. Silver and Gold by U2
Silver and gold in various forms, as both bars and coins and specie was a major component in the Portuguese outgoing fleets. In the early stages not yet the largest by value, but not far behind.
2. Copper Kettle by Joan Baez
Copper as a material was the single largest item Portuguese exported. Copper was already flowing to India through Egypt, and Portugal simply continued it when it decided to supersede the Red Sea route. Copper was sourced from Fugger mines in central Europe and sent in huge quantities and sold at a premium.
1. Immigrant song by Led Zeppelin
In a slight twist of the theme in the grand finale, one of the most important things being sent each year by the Portuguese Armadas were the people determined to try their luck in India. Ships were overcrowded and despite regulations, up to 500 or 1000 passengers would embark on top of the 200-400 crews and soldiers count. In the abysmal condition there was serious disease and nutritional issues, and mortality rates on the outbound trips were often 40%, and sometimes much higher
Sources are various articles on Portuguese trade
K.S. Mathew: Commodity composotion of the Indo-Portuguse trade in the early sixteenth century, Tables of various ships cargos
Om Prakash: European commercial enterprise in India, Table 1 and Table 2
S. Subrahmanyam: The Portuguese empire in Asia, 1500-1700
