Why rich merchants were nicknamed 'pepper sacks'.
In the Middle Ages, pepper travelled thousands of kilometres from India to Europe, through many hands and customs posts. By the end it was so expensive that it served as currency and dowry. Merchants trading it were mockingly called 'Pfeffersäcke', pepper sacks. The search for a direct sea route to the spices drove Vasco da Gama around Africa in 1498.
Useful: To know what drove an era, look at what it paid absurd amounts for.
Source: de.wikipedia.org