Chios, one of the largest islands in the Eastern Mediterranean, became internationally known during the 13th century due to the production of the Chios mastic in twenty one villages on the south, the resin of the mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus L. var. chia (Desf. ex Poiret) DC.), to which many beneficial properties and uses had already been attributed in the antiquity. The international demand for mastic led the various conquerors of Chios to prohibit free trade and lay down a system for monopoly distribution. After the island was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1566, following a period of almost two centuries of Genoan rule (1346 to 1566), the valuable product of Chios Mastic constitutes one of the monopolies of the Ottoman Empire.
For further information on chios mastic and chios mastic trade from the 17th through to the 19th Century visit
http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/21006/i1547-3465-08-153.pdf?sequence=1
Dr. Dimitrios G. Ierapetritis
