Cinnamon is originally from the island of Ceylon, where cultivation was concentrated until the sixteenth century. To corner the cinnamon trade, the Portuguese occupied the island in 1518, after having visited it in 1506 and seen how rich in cinnamon it was. The Dutch occupied the island in 1556, and control of the cinnamon market passed to them.
It is thought that as early as the sixteenth century the Portuguese had already introduced cinnamon to Brazil, possibly brought by Jesuits. In 1750, Rocha Pitta states that the cinnamon tree arrived «in Brazil by royal order a few years ago», but »they are already so numerous in Brazil that they far outnumber those in Ceylon», from which one can conclude that the plant was already widely distributed. Bernardinho Gomes tells us that many of the cinnamon trees in Brazil «seem very old, and many undoubtedly date from the days of the Jesuits». There are indications that in 1682, of the cinnamon plants brought from India, «only one survived, at Quinta do Tanque belonging to the fathers of the Companhia de Jesus».
It was introduced to Java, possibly in 1825. It was introduced once more to Brazil, Angola and São Tomé from Ceylon at the beginning of the eighteenth century, by royal order, and was to be accomplished in the utmost secrecy, owning to the barriers of the Dutch erected to prevent the removal of cinnamon seeds or plants from the island. The aim of introducing thus and other spices into Brazil was to create a Portuguese spice-production zone to replace that which they had lost in the East.
During my research I found this challenge on the web. The challenge was to swallow a spoon with cinnamon. Well this is kinda funny so It deserves to be here.
