Nathaniel's Nutmeg

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Milton paints a portrait of a Europe obsessed with nutmeg and other spices - not merely as luxurious additions to a meal, but as (they thought) a cure for everything from the common cold to the Bubonic plague. Don't be misled by the title, although Nathaniel Courthope has a very significant role to play in this history, he is only in the story for a very short period. The island that became Maluka was fought over in the early 17th century by the British and the Dutch, because of the nutmeg there. After riding out the gale, Sir Hugh re-established contact with the Confidentia and both headed towards the coastline. And everyone wanted it - the Spanish, the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English, though the last two were the greatest foes.

In that it succeeds admirably and in a modest scholarly way, written by a true scholar with his prejudices shown like medals, the best.

In short, the British gave up their claim to the spice trading on the island of Run in exchange for the right to keep their colony in Manhattan. Well, I felt it was a flaw to title the book Nathaniel's Nutmeg and tell so much about others and so little about Nathaniel. Would you believe that nutmeg formed the basis for one of the most bitter international conflicts of the 17th century, and was also intimately connected to the rise to global pre-eminence of New York City? He can at times seem to glorify the English, while putting some of their bitter rivals, such as the Dutch, in a less delicate light.

If not for the treaty, the metropolitan area of New York City today would have a significant Dutch-speaking population, just like the people of Louisiana today have a significant French (Cajun)-speaking population. First, is that the popularity of nutmeg caused the rise of the East India Company, which becomes the British overseas representation of His (or Her) Majesty’s government. This book details the history of spices, their importance, their cost, the explorers who dared to find them, and the wars that subsequently developed because of them. Consider the humble jar of nutmeg pushed to the back of your kitchen cupboard, among all the other spices that you hardly ever use. Some of which involved siege warfare and some crazy torturings (the Dutch were pretty ruthless even to fellow Europeans).After lengthy negotiations, Ivan sent the English commander back to England with a letter conferring trading privileges upon a group of merchants in London. I had no clue about the race for the Spice Islands or just how important spices were to Europe in the 17th century. This was a fascinating book about the Spice race, that time in history when the great powers of Europe were looking for the fastest ways to the East and the competition to control the spice trade was at its height. Throughout the book, there are several historical events that are worth noted, as it is absent from most major historical books today.

I can say this book is like a collection of letters or journals compiled into the form of a book with a few explanations here and there.

He and the other swashbuckling characters of the East India trade are all but unknown today, but they swashed their way to creating the greatest Metropolis of our time.