CAT 2024 Slot 2 · VARC · RC passage 2: Medieval Demand for Spices

The full passage and all 4 questions (Q13–Q16) from CAT 2024 Slot 2, with answers and solutions.

The passage below is accompanied by four questions. Based on the passage, choose the best answer for each question.

[S]pices were a global commodity centuries before European voyages. There was a complex chain of relations, yet consumers had little knowledge of producers and vice versa. Desire for spices helped fuel European colonial empires to create political, military and commercial networks under a single power.

Historians know a fair amount about the supply of spices in Europe during the medieval period - the origins, methods of transportation, the prices - but less about demand. Why go to such extraordinary efforts to procure expensive products from exotic lands? Still, demand was great enough to inspire the voyages of Christopher Columbus and Vasco Da Gama, launching the first fateful wave of European colonialism. . . .

So, why were spices so highly prized in Europe in the centuries from about 1000 to 1500? One widely disseminated explanation for medieval demand for spices was that they covered the taste of spoiled meat. . . . Medieval purchasers consumed meat much fresher than what the average city-dweller in the developed world of today has at hand. However, refrigeration was not available, and some hot spices have been shown to serve as an anti-bacterial agent. Salting, smoking or drying meat were other means of preservation. Most spices used in cooking began as medical ingredients, and throughout the Middle Ages spices were used as both medicines and condiments. Above all, medieval recipes involve the combination of medical and culinary lore in order to balance food's humeral properties and prevent disease. Most spices were hot and dry and so appropriate in sauces to counteract the moist and wet properties supposedly possessed by most meat and fish. . . .

Where spices came from was known in a vague sense centuries before the voyages of Columbus. Just how vague may be judged by looking at medieval world maps . . . To the medieval European imagination, the East was exotic and alluring. Medieval maps often placed India close to the so-called Earthly Paradise, the Garden of Eden described in the Bible.

Geographical knowledge has a lot to do with the perceptions of spices' relative scarcity and the reasons for their high prices. An example of the varying notions of scarcity is the conflicting information about how pepper is harvested. As far back as the 7th century Europeans thought that pepper in India grew on trees "guarded" by serpents that would bite and poison anyone who attempted to gather the fruit. The only way to harvest pepper was to burn the trees, which would drive the snakes underground. Of course, this bit of lore would explain the shriveled black peppercorns, but not white, pink or other colors.

Spices never had the enduring allure or power of gold and silver or the commercial potential of new products such as tobacco, indigo or sugar. But the taste for spices did continue for a while beyond the Middle Ages. As late as the 17th century, the English and the Dutch were struggling for control of the Spice Islands: Dutch New Amsterdam, or New York, was exchanged by the British for one of the Moluccan Islands where nutmeg was grown.

Question 13 · RC Inference Questions

In the context of the passage, the people who heard the story of pepper trees being guarded by snakes would be least likely to arrive at the conclusion that
  1. A
    it is not advisable to go to India to harvest the pepper themselves.
  2. B
    this is why pepper is so hot.
  3. C
    pepper is costly for good reason.
  4. D
    it is no surprise that the pepper supply is so limited.
Pick an option, then check.
Answer & solution

Answer: Option B

The passage uses the snake story to explain how geography shaped Europeans' ideas of scarcity and high prices: pepper trees were 'guarded' by serpents, and the only way to harvest was to burn the trees.

Option 1 (better not go to India to harvest it yourself) follows from the danger of poisonous snakes.

Option 3 (pepper is costly for good reason) follows, because the passage ties such stories to 'the reasons for their high prices'.

Option 4 (no surprise supply is limited) follows, because the story is cited as an example of 'notions of scarcity'.

Option 2 (this is why pepper is so hot) does not follow. The story explains why peppercorns are 'shriveled' and black – from burning – not why pepper tastes hot. Heat is not part of the lore.

Shortcut: in a 'least likely conclusion' question, check what the passage says the story explains. Here it explains scarcity, price and the black shrivelled look – not taste.

Hence, the answer is option 2.

Question 14 · RC Inference Questions

It can be inferred that all of the following contributed to a decline in the allure of spices, EXCEPT:
  1. A
    changes in the system of medical treatment.
  2. B
    changes in European cuisine.
  3. C
    increase in the availability of spices.
  4. D
    the development of refrigeration techniques.
Pick an option, then check.
Answer & solution

Answer: Option C

The passage gives several reasons spices were prized, and the loss of each would reduce their allure.

Option 1 (changes in medical treatment): spices 'began as medical ingredients' and were used to balance food's humoral properties and prevent disease. A shift away from that system would reduce their appeal.

Option 2 (changes in European cuisine): spices were 'appropriate in sauces' in medieval recipes; changing tastes in food would weaken demand.

Option 4 (refrigeration): the passage notes 'refrigeration was not available' and some spices had antibacterial uses; refrigeration would remove that use.

Option 3 (more spices available) is not supported. The passage links allure to exoticism and perceived scarcity, but never suggests that more supply reduced their attraction; it also says the taste for spices continued beyond the Middle Ages, with the English and Dutch still fighting over the Spice Islands.

Shortcut: in an 'all EXCEPT contributed' question, list the reasons the passage gives for the original demand. Each option that removes one of those reasons is a contributor; the option that matches none is the exception.

Hence, the answer is option 3.

Question 15 · RC Inference Questions

If a trader brought white peppercorns from India to medieval Europe, all of the following are unlikely to happen, EXCEPT:
  1. A
    Europeans would doubt the story of pepper harvesting.
  2. B
    medieval maps would be used as navigational aids.
  3. C
    pepper would no longer be considered exotic.
  4. D
    the price of spices would decrease.
Pick an option, then check.
Answer & solution

Answer: Option A

The passage says the snake-and-fire story 'would explain the shriveled black peppercorns, but not white, pink or other colors'. So white peppercorns would expose a gap in the story – Europeans would have reason to doubt it.

Option 1 is therefore the one outcome that is likely, which makes it the answer to 'all are unlikely EXCEPT'.

Option 2 is unlikely: medieval maps were vague, placing India near the Garden of Eden; one shipment would not turn them into navigation aids.

Option 3 is unlikely: a white peppercorn would not by itself make pepper ordinary when India was seen as distant and exotic.

Option 4 is unlikely: one trader's cargo would not lower the price of spices in general.

Shortcut: read the double negative carefully – 'all are unlikely EXCEPT' means find the one likely outcome. The passage's own remark about white peppercorns points straight to it.

Hence, the answer is option 1.

Question 16 · RC Inference Questions

In the context of the passage, which one of the following conclusions CANNOT be reached?
  1. A
    The spice trade was a driver of colonial expansion.
  2. B
    Tobacco was more marketable than spices.
  3. C
    Colonialism was motivated by the demand for spices.
  4. D
    India was colonised for its spices and gold.
Pick an option, then check.
Answer & solution

Answer: Option D

Option 1 can be concluded: 'Desire for spices helped fuel European colonial empires'.

Option 2 can be concluded: spices 'never had... the commercial potential of new products such as tobacco, indigo or sugar'.

Option 3 can be concluded: demand for spices 'was great enough to inspire the voyages of Christopher Columbus and Vasco Da Gama, launching the first fateful wave of European colonialism'.

Option 4 cannot be concluded. The passage never says India was colonised, let alone for spices and gold. Gold appears only in a comparison – spices never had the allure of gold and silver – and India appears only on medieval maps.

Shortcut: in a 'CANNOT be concluded' question, look for an option that joins two things the passage mentions separately. Here 'India' and 'gold' both appear, but never together and never with colonisation.

Hence, the answer is option 4.

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