History
•
Portuguese occupied Ceylon where they had the
monopoly on cinnamon trade until 1638 when they
were overthrown by the Ceylon kingdom of Kandy
with the help of the Dutch
•
Cinnamon monopoly was under the Dutch monopoly
for 150 years
•
Ceylon was taken over by the British in 1784 after
th A l D t h W
e ng o‐ u c ar
•
By 1800, cinnamon was no longer an expensive and
rare spice
•
Its cultivation in other parts of the world began
•
Cassia which has a similar flavor began to be used and
was becoming popular
Background
•
Cinnamon species:
–
Cinnamomum verum
(Ceylon cinnamon) – most
commonly used in the Western world
–
Cinnamomum aromaticum
(Cassia cinnamon or
Chinese cinnamon – originates from southern China
and is typically less expensive than Ceylon cinnamon
C. verum
(left) and
C. burmannii
( right)
