Which common household spice was once so valuable it was used as currency and rent payments in medieval Europe?
Black pepper
The answer was Black pepper. Here's the why, the decoys, and the source trail.
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Black pepper was so prized in medieval Europe that it was known as 'black gold.' Peppercorns were accepted as currency, used to pay taxes and rent, and even counted out individually in trade agreements. The desire to control the pepper trade helped drive the Age of Exploration.
A good trivia question makes the wrong answers feel close. Here is the clean read on the set.
- Cinnamon - a decoy; it may live near the same topic, but it does not answer this exact clue.
- Black pepper - correct answer.
- Turmeric - a decoy; it may live near the same topic, but it does not answer this exact clue.
- Paprika - a decoy; it may live near the same topic, but it does not answer this exact clue.
Black pepper is the one to remember. Black pepper was so prized in medieval Europe that it was known as 'black gold.' Peppercorns were accepted as currency, used to pay taxes and rent, and even counted out individually in trade agreements. When Alaric the Visigoth besieged Rome in 408 AD, he demanded 3,000 pounds of black pepper as part of the city's ransom.
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Sources: Wikipedia — Black pepper