True Cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka. The Cinnamon used in North America
is from the cassia tree which is grown in Vietnam, China, Indonesia, and
Central America.
Cinnamon has been popular since ancient times. Egyptians imported it from
China in 2000 BC. In the Middle Ages, the source of cinnamon was a mystery
to the western world. Arab traders brought the spice via overland trade
routes to Alexandria in Egypt, where it was bought by Venetian traders
from Italy who held a monopoly on the spice trade in Europe.
Portuguese traders finally discovered Ceylon (Sri Lanka) at the end of the
fifteenth century, and restructured the traditional production of
cinnamon. The Dutch captured Sri Lanka in 1636 and established a system of
cultivation that exists to this day.
In ancient Egypt cinnamon was used medicinally and as a flavoring for
beverages. It was also used in embalming, where body cavities were filled
with spiced preservatives. In the ancient world cinnamon was more precious
than gold.
This is not too surprising though, as in Egypt the abundance of gold made
it a fairly common ornamental metal. It was commonly used on funeral pyres
in Rome. Nero, emperor of Rome in the first century AD, burned a years
supply of cinnamon on his wife’s funeral pyre — an extravagant
gesture meant to signify the depth of his loss.
It also grows plentifully in Malabar, Cochin-China, Sumatra and Eastern
Islands. It is also been cultivated in the Brazils, Mauritius, India,
Jamaica, etc.