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September 10th, 2026
Daily puzzle · Medium · Streets map
Theme: Cities Built on the Spice Trade
Long before refrigeration, spices were worth fortunes, and the ports that handled them grew fabulously rich. Zanzibar's Stone Town anchored the clove trade of East Africa, while Malacca controlled the strait through which nutmeg, pepper, and cloves flowed between the Indies and the world. Cochin's harbor drew Arab, Chinese, and European traders for pepper long before the Portuguese arrived, and tiny Banda Neira was once fought over for its nutmeg groves alone. Goa, seized by Portugal in 1510, became the hub of its Asian pepper and spice empire for centuries.
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Zanzibar City, TanzaniaZanzibar's Stone Town was once the world's leading exporter of cloves.
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Malacca, MalaysiaMalacca controlled the strait that funneled spices between Asia and Europe.
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Kochi, IndiaKochi's harbor was a major center of the historic pepper trade.
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Goa, IndiaGoa served as the capital of Portugal's spice-trading empire in Asia.
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Banda Neira, IndonesiaThis small island was once the world's only source of nutmeg.