[llm_trw]

The wildest thing about European colonialism is that it was kicked off to get more spices for European food. Then in the worlds most bizarre twist European food gave up all spices a few centuries later and colonies had to invent something else to sell back to the colonial centre.

[dredmorbius]

"All the spices", save for tea, coffee, and sugar, which continued to be imported in quantity. And are addictive to boot.

A century or so later, laudenum.

The spice trade itself didn't shrink so much as it was subsumed by other trade, I think, particularly as shipping capacity, reliability, and safety increased.

[llm_trw]

Other than sugar none of those are spices used for food.

And even sugar became much less commonly used to in Europe.