A small, dried flower bud that is known for its intense aroma and warming flavour has shaped centuries of global trade, exploration and cultural exchange. Cloves, one of history’s powerful spices, come from the flower buds of an evergreen tree. It has travelled the world before coming to your kitchen shelf and flavoured your recipe.
For thousands of years, cloves, Syzygium aromaticum, grew naturally only in one place on earth – the Moluccas or a few islands and in present-day Indonesia. Islands such as Ternate, Tidore, Becan, Makiana and Moti were the sole source of cloves until the colonial era. This geographic exclusivity made cloves rare, valuable and fiercely desired far beyond Southeast Asia.
Upon the first discovery of the clove forests, everyone was captivated by the aroma and elegance of this tropical evergreen tree that must always see the sea to flourish. For many years, the Moluccas Islands belonged to the Dutch East Indies and the Dutch authorities aimed to maintain their monopoly by eliminating every clove tree that thrived elsewhere. By the early 1800s, the French set up a smuggling operation to carry clove tree seedlings to the islands of Pemba and Zanzibar.
Austronesian sailors, some of the world’s earliest navigators, established maritime trade routes as early as 1500 BC. Cloves travelled westward through these routes across Asia and into the Middle East. Archaeological evidence from Terqa, Syria, dated around 1700 BC, shows that cloves had reached the Near East long before the Roman era.
Cloves were first introduced in the Ramayana and Charaka Sanhita in India as medical essentials. In China, the Han dynasty used it to sweeten their breath before addressing the emperor. Later, Vietnam and Sri Lanka addressed these as a spice.
By the Middle Ages, it was considered a luxury item. It was believed to ward off disease, preserve the body and mask unpleasant odours. In fact, they placed it alongside pepper, ginger and saffron, symbolising wealth, power and global connections.
European colonial forces, in the 17th century, dominated clove production by taking control of the spice islands. Smuggling eventually broke the monopoly. In contrast to nutmeg, clove trees were abundant throughout the Moluccas, rendering complete control nearly unattainable. Clove seedlings were transported to islands like Mauritius and Madagascar, turning these areas into a new centre of production.
Beyond trade and empire, cloves have long been valued for their healing properties. In traditional medicine systems across Asia and the Middle East, cloves were used to aid digestion, relieve toothache, soothe sore throats and ease respiratory discomfort.
Rich in eugenol, a natural compound with antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and mild analgesic qualities, cloves were often applied in oil form or brewed as a warming infusion. They were also believed to stimulate circulation and strengthen immunity, especially during colder months.
Today, cloves are not just in their island origins. Indonesia remains the world’s largest producer, though much of its harvest is consumed domestically. Madagascar, Tanzania, Sri Lanka and Comoros are also major producers. Yet despite this global spread, its story remains inseparable from the spice islands, a reminder that even the smallest spice can change the course of history.
