[1] “Cinnamon in medieval Europe,” Medium, https://indomedieval.medium.com/cinnamon-in-medieval-europe-da32bf836221 (accessed May 1, 2024).
[2] J. Lee, “Cinnamon: A complete guide to types, flavors, and how to use them,” King Arthur Baking, https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2021/11/04/cinnamon-a-complete-guide-to-types-flavors-and-how-to-use-them (accessed May 1, 2024).
Cinnamon comes in many varieties, all subspecies of the same tree. These are below identified by their place of origin and their Latin Name:
China (Cinnamomum cassia)
Indonesia (Cinnamomum burmannii)
Vietnam (Cinnamomum loureirii)
Sri Lanka (Cinnamomum verum) [2]
*Speculation. As the Portuguese were trading parners with the English and the portuguese were trading with india, Sri Lankan cinnoman is a good guess for 16th cen England
cinnamon in England
Anglo Portuguese relations throughout the Middle Ages went through various stages, but for the most part the english and the portuguese were close allies. Every king of portugal from the late 1300s was a knight of the Garter, one of the highest honors in the English court. From approximately 1380 until 1580 the Portuguese and English were allies this ended officially when the king of Spain became the king of Portugal deposing the Portuguese monarchy who fled to England to try to win back their throne. During this time 1580 to 1640 the Portuguese were under Spanish rule and therefore fought them in the Anglo-spanish war.
Prior to 1500 cinnamon in England would most likely have come via the Silk Road it would most likely have been Chinese in origin although it is possible that it could have been Sri Lankan or Indonesian but more unlikely . From approximately 1500 to approximately 1580 the Portuguese had a virtual monopoly on the spice trade. Although the Silk Road had not completely stopped it was far more expensive and far slower so most spices were coming through the closely held secret of how to get to India and the Middle East by the Portuguese. In 1580 an Englishman made his way to India and then to the Far East unlocking the secret of how to get there. By 1602 this meant the English shut up the East India trading company? To bring spices from the Far East. Although the Englishman made it there in 1580 between 1580 and 1600 they still struggled to reach there and didn't have much trade coming back to England. Because the English were at war with the Portuguese starting in 1580 and didn't establish their trade routes until 1602 it seems most likely that cinnamon would have come from Sri Lanka via the Portuguese prior to 1580, may have come through back channels from the Portuguese from 1580 to 1600 or have come via the spice Rd. Wish became more popular for English training during this time and it would have been Chinese cinnamon. After 1602 it is most likely that the cinnamon in England would have come the English traders from Indonesia and therefore would have been cassia cinnamon.