Little Big History - Cinnamon

Cinnamon has been traded and used for centuries after its discovery in South East India
(Ceylon) in 2800 B.C. Through this cinnamon has developed from an inner tree bark to become
one of the most sought after and used spice commodities globally. But how did this happen?
Why did Cinnamon become one of the most important imports/exports for ancient civilisations
throughout history? And how has the use of cinnamon changed as centuries progressed?

Skinned from the inner bark of the several hundred trees part of the Cinnamonmum family, the
spice Cinnamon originates from South Asia. True Cinnamon or Ceylon Cinnamon1, considered
the highest quality, is produced from the Cinnamomum verum tree, grown in abundance in Sri
Lanka and South East India.2 Ceylon grows profusely in full sun to part shaded areas, bearing
clusters of small star shaped flowers, which develop into dark purple fruit that is said to smell
faintly like the aroma Cinnamon of puts.3 Cassia, more pungent in flavour and aroma, can be
found in the Philippines and South China, due to historical trade. However despite their
similarities, Cassia and Ceylon are not the same, Cassia not even Cinnamon itself (thus why
Ceylon is also referred to as True Cinnamon).

Cassia, being vaguely similar to True Cinnamon or Ceylon Cinnamon but as James D’Alwis
suggest in his journal article published in The Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic
Society of Great Britain & Ireland, “Attempts were made to improve the quality of the spice
grown at Quilon, but none could be made to compete with that of Ceylon in taste or in
fragrance”.4

Cinnamon trade over time has contributed directly to the beginnings of war and the continuation
of the industrial revolution, in Europe and India. The value of cinnamon is largely dependent on
the accessibility, scarcity, and labour required, and from the origins to just before the industrial
revolution - extremely valuable when globalisation was developing and new territory was still
being discovered. “In medicines moreover a double dose is said to be equivalent in strength to a
single dose of cinnamon,”5 is how Pliny describes the power and significance of cinnamon. In
fact, it is proven that there were numberless sacrifices presented to the deities of the Greco-
Roman societies, celebrated with the use of cinnamon, at funerals too.6 It demonstrates,
through rituals which were imperative at the time and respect for the dead, that cinnamon was a
treasured substance. It has led to the search for more convenient, efficient, and cheaper ways
to source it, as well as some empires throughout time attempting to take control of cinnamon
production and distribution. A notable example is the Dutch empire in the 1800’s, that took over
cinnamon production in Ceylon, developing the reaping and quality of cinnamon to an extent
further than any other production. Increasing mass production while cinnamon is an expensive,
1
M. Dornier et al., “Cinnamon: history, production and principal characteristics.,” Fruits 55, no. 6 (2000):
421–32.
2
Lalith Suriyagoda et al., “‘Ceylon Cinnamon’: Much More than Just a Spice - Suriyagoda - 2021 -
PLANTS, PEOPLE, PLANET - Wiley Online Library,” accessed August 12, 2022,
https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ppp3.10192.
3
Amy Grant, “Ceylon Cinnamon Growing - Information About Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Plants,”
Gardening Know How, accessed August 22, 2022,
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/ceylon-cinnamon/ceylon-cinnamon-care.htm.
4
James D’Alwis, “Cinnamon,” The Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great
Britain & Ireland 3, no. 12 (1860): 372–80.
5
Pliny the Elder, Natural History, vol. 24, 1–37 vols., 77AD.
6
John Capper, “The Cinnamon Trade of Ceylon, Its Progress and Present State,” Journal of the Royal
Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 8 (1846): 368–69.

By Grace Connell, Hannah Ford & Kara Lotter

crucial commodity - until it became commonly available in the 1900’s - led to significant changes
in social structure. Sri Lanka (Ceylon) became colonised by the Dutch, industrious and profit-
focused when it came to the production of cinnamon, largely due to cultural disconnect between
the spice and the culture of the Dutch. The worth of cinnamon can be seen as valuable in a
cultural sense, and by its scarcity, significantly impacting the way society and human experience
works over time.  

The use of cinnamon has little been changed over the hundreds of years in which cultures and
societies have been using cinnamon. Even though cinnamon was once used as an ingredient in
religious rituals7 for some cultures - for example, how the Egyptians used cinnamon in their
embalming rituals8 9 - cinnamon was also widely used for its flavouring, fragrance and medicinal
properties10. In China and India there have been written notes of the use of cinnamon in
medicine, for example in an Indian medicinal book called the “Shusruta”11 there is record of
cinnamon being used in treating “Snake poisoning”12, “Elephantiasis”13, and “Rheumatism”14.
Similarly, in our post-modern world, Cinnamon Bark oil and the bark itself has shown prevalent
properties of being used in the treatment of diabetes, gastrodynia and other issues regarding
the stomach15. However, despite its medical properties cinnamon is more commonly used as a
spice or fragrance16. During the Roman era cinnamon had been used in funerals to fend off the
odour of the dead bodies, adding to this they also used cinnamon in their baths to make them
more luxurious17; hinting that cinnamon was used and bought as a luxury for only the rich to
use18. Currently, we use cinnamon as a flavouring for liquors, confectionary, pharmaceuticals,
soaps, candles, etc19. As a result of the spice trade, cinnamon has become more accessible for
us now, thus allowing us to use cinnamon in a more practical and attainable way for everyone to
use.
Cinnamon, once a rare commodity is now available for a majority of western households across
the globe, achieved through centuries of trade and industrialisation, which allows for the
continuing change of its use across areas such as medicine, incense and flavouring.

7
D’Alwis, “Cinnamon” (p.372-378)
8
Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Cinnamon | Plant, Spice, History, & Uses | Britannica,” cinnamon,
December 13, 2021, https://www.britannica.com/plant/cinnamon.
9
Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, “Interesting Highlights in the Colorful History of Cinnamon,” The Spruce
Eats, accessed August 1, 2022, https://www.thespruceeats.com/history-of-cinnamon-1807584.
10
Dr. D.A Patil and Dr. D.A Dhale, “Spices and Condiments : Origin, History and Applications,” accessed
August 12, 2022, https://viewer.ebscohost.com/EbscoViewerService/ebook?
an=608532&callbackUrl=https%3a%2f
%2fdiscovery.ebsco.com&db=nlebk&format=EB&profId=eds&lpid=&ppid=&lang=en&location=&isPLink=F
alse&requestContext=. (p.120-121)
11
D’Alwis, “Cinnamon.” (p.377)
12
D’Alwis. “Cinnamon.” (p.377)
13
D’Alwis. “Cinnamon.” (p.377)
14
D’Alwis. “Cinnamon” (p.377)
15
Dr. D.A Patil and Dr. D.A Dhale, “Spices and Condiments : Origin, History and Applications.” (p.120-
121)
16
Dr. D.A Patil and Dr. D.A Dhale. “Spices and Condiments : Origin, History and Applications.” (p.120-
121)
17
Pallavi Kawatra and Rathai Rajagopalan, “Cinnamon: Mystic Powers of a Minute Ingredient,”
Pharmacognosy Research 7, no. Suppl 1 (June 2015): S1–6, https://doi.org/10.4103/0974-8490.157990.
18
D’Alwis, “Cinnamon.” (p.378)
19
Dr. D.A Patil and Dr. D.A Dhale, “Spices and Condiments : Origin, History and Applications.” (p.120-
121)

By Grace Connell, Hannah Ford & Kara Lotter

Bibliography:

Adi K.Berglez. “(1) European Monopoly Strategies in the Early Modern Indian Ocean Spice
Trade | Adi Berglez - Academia.Edu.” Accessed August 10, 2022.
https://www.academia.edu/63586924/European_Monopoly_Strategies_in_the_Early_Mo
dern_Indian_Ocean_Spice_Trade.
Amy Grant. “Ceylon Cinnamon Growing - Information About Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Plants.”
Gardening Know How. Accessed August 22, 2022.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/ceylon-cinnamon/ceylon-
cinnamon-care.htm.
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Great Britain & Ireland 3, no. 12 (1860): 372–80.
Dornier, M., H. Lallemand, N. Pirot, and M. Reynes. “Cinnamon: history, production and
principal characteristics.” Fruits 55, no. 6 (2000): 421–32.
Dr. D.A Patil and Dr. D.A Dhale. “Spices and Condiments : Origin, History and Applications.”
Accessed August 12, 2022. https://viewer.ebscohost.com/EbscoViewerService/ebook?
an=608532&callbackUrl=https%3a%2f
%2fdiscovery.ebsco.com&db=nlebk&format=EB&profId=eds&lpid=&ppid=&lang=en&loc
ation=&isPLink=False&requestContext=.
Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Cinnamon | Plant, Spice, History, & Uses | Britannica.”
cinnamon, December 13, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/plant/cinnamon.
Kawatra, Pallavi, and Rathai Rajagopalan. “Cinnamon: Mystic Powers of a Minute Ingredient.”
Pharmacognosy Research 7, no. Suppl 1 (June 2015): S1–6.
https://doi.org/10.4103/0974-8490.157990.
Lalith Suriyagoda, Anoma Janaki Mohotti, Alistair M. Hetherington, and Chalinda K.
Beneragama. “‘Ceylon Cinnamon’: Much More than Just a Spice - Suriyagoda - 2021 -
PLANTS, PEOPLE, PLANET - Wiley Online Library.” Accessed August 12, 2022.
https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ppp3.10192.
Peggy Trowbridge Filippone. “Interesting Highlights in the Colorful History of Cinnamon.” The
Spruce Eats. Accessed August 1, 2022. https://www.thespruceeats.com/history-of-
cinnamon-1807584.
Pliny the Elder. “Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, BOOK XXXIII. THE NATURAL HISTORY
OF METALS.” Accessed August 25, 2022. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?
doc=Perseus%3Aabo%3Aphi%2C0978%2C001%3A33.

By Grace Connell, Hannah Ford & Kara Lotter