Nathaniel's Nutmeg
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Consider the humble jar of nutmeg pushed to the back of your kitchen cupboard, among all the other spices that you hardly ever use. 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? Strange but true; nutmeg was one of the most prized commodities in Renaissance Europe, and its fascinating story is told in Giles Milton's delightful book Nathaniel's Nutmeg.
The book deals with the competition between England and Holland for possession of the spice- producing islands of South-East Asia throughout the 17th century. Packed with stories of heroism, ambition, ruthlessness, treachery, murder, torture and madness, Nathaniel's Nutmeg offers a compelling story of European rivalry in the Tropics, thousands of miles from home, and the mutual incomprehensibility which often comically characterised relations between the Europeans and the local inhabitants of the prized islands.
At the centre of the story lies Nathaniel Courthope, a trusty lieutenant of the East India Company, who took and held the tiny nutmeg-producing island of Run in the face of overwhelming Dutch opposition for more than five years, before being treacherously murdered in 1620. Courthope's heroism led to the English taking the Dutch colony of Manhattan in revenge for the death of Courthope and the loss of Run. The subsequent peace deal between the two nations gave Holland Run and the British Manhattan; New York was born. As Milton wittily remarks, although Courthope's death "robbed England of her nutmeg, it gave her the biggest of apples".
Inevitably inviting comparisons with Dava Sobel's Longitude, Nathaniel's Nutmeg is a charming story, which throws light on a spicy, neglected slice of early Europe's fascination with the East. --Jerry Brotton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'A magnificent piece of popular history...This is a book to read, reread, then read again to your children.' -- Nicholas Fearn, Independent on Sunday 'Beautifully touching...To write a book that makes the reader, after finishing it, sit in a trance, lost in his passionate desire to pack a suitcase and go, somehow, to the fabulous place - that, in the end, is something one would give a sack of nutmeg for.' -- Philip Hensher, Spectator 'Giles Milton tells his adventurous and sometimes grisly tale with relish...The thoroughness and intelligence of his research underpins the lively confidence with which he deploys it.' -- John Spurling, Times Literary Supplement 'Milton has created a truly gripping tale of jingoistic pride, atrocious cruelty, avarice and double-dealing!His research is impeccable and his narrative reads in part like a modern-day Robert Louis Stevenson novel. Once embarked upon the journey of the book, one is loath, sometimes unable -- as were the characters within it -- to turn back and abandon it.' -- Martin Booth, Sunday Times
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book well exceeded my expectations. I thought I would be learning a bit about nutmeg and the islands where it grows, when in fact, I understood how colonialism and the British Empire began. Another fact suddenly hit me when reading this book: When I was a kid, I thought than marine explorers such as Magellan were setting up on their years long journey simply pushed by the desire to go where no (white) man has ever been, to discover and push themselves just like an Everest climber would do. Well, if you thought that too, think again. Most people in marine exploration were driven by trade and gain. A single cargo of spices and nutmeg brought back to London would repay the whole expedition and bring immense profits to those in charge.
Nathaniel's Nutmeg tell the story of the decades long struggle between the fledging British East Indian Company and the Dutch East Indian Company set up by merchants in the 16th and 17th centuries. I felt a bit sorry for the British who constantly suffer from lack of fire and manpower. In fact, I felt I could not give the full five stars to the book (I would easily give 4.5), because this long struggle at such a disadvantage for the British is almost unbearable, and wore me down little by little.
Fortunately, the author kept a gold nugget in store for us at the end. The sacrifice of our hero Nathaniel Courthope was not made in vain, for the Dutch eventually agreed to exchange Run, the last English Nutmeg producing Island (on paper only) for the island of Manhattan (New Amsterdam), which was to be renamed New York. If only these men knew at the time how they were changing the world!
The book is very readable and well illustrated with maps of the world, and the spices islands. I felt this was extremely helpful and left me asking for even more maps and illustrations! Alltogether, a must read!
Nathaniel's Nutmeg tell the story of the decades long struggle between the fledging British East Indian Company and the Dutch East Indian Company set up by merchants in the 16th and 17th centuries. I felt a bit sorry for the British who constantly suffer from lack of fire and manpower. In fact, I felt I could not give the full five stars to the book (I would easily give 4.5), because this long struggle at such a disadvantage for the British is almost unbearable, and wore me down little by little.
Fortunately, the author kept a gold nugget in store for us at the end. The sacrifice of our hero Nathaniel Courthope was not made in vain, for the Dutch eventually agreed to exchange Run, the last English Nutmeg producing Island (on paper only) for the island of Manhattan (New Amsterdam), which was to be renamed New York. If only these men knew at the time how they were changing the world!
The book is very readable and well illustrated with maps of the world, and the spices islands. I felt this was extremely helpful and left me asking for even more maps and illustrations! Alltogether, a must read!
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
To sum up: Extremely interesting but hard going. I thought I was going to read the story of Nathaniel but he was hardly mentioned and it was really a record of the various expeditions to, primarily, the spice islands in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. I had no idea the effect the spice race had on English and European history (not to mention that of the spice islands themselves) and the hardships that people went through are unimaginable (who'd have thought it of the Dutch!). I had to read it in stages and I got a bit lost at times with all the names and places - a summary on each chapter somewhere would have helped.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Most interesting book about Nutmeg but not very much about Nanthaniel himself. Makes good reading on a beach.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A bit repetitive, one expedition after another
I bought this book because I'd read White Gold and found it utterly riveting. However, although Nathaniel's Nutmeg is a good book along the same lines, it is not a page turner. Read more
Published 1 month ago by B&B Owner
spice of life
very very interesting story, has inspired me to research and learn about the spice trade. I was given this book as a xmas present, and was pleasantly surprised. Read more
Published 7 months ago by janjo
Nathaniels Nutmmeg
For me, certainly this ranks as one of the top ten books I have read. Thoroughly interesting throughout and a great read from cover to cover. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Tony Richman
One of the Best books I ever read
This book will become a classic its simply brilliant. It traces the history of not only the spice trade but how world trade and discovery of trade routes new lands, wars,... Read more
Published 14 months ago by C. Dunning
Lovely book, shame about the title
This book provides a fascinating and well-researched history of the spice trade in the East Indies, in particular the struggle over nutmeg and mace in the Indonesian Banda islands... Read more
Published 15 months ago by A. C. Dickens
Super
Yet another little book that should be compulsery reading in the all schools. It is truly a gripping tale, and it is true! Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mw R. Moore
The search for spices
The book relates the history of exploration of the East Indies based upon the economics driving the spice trade. Read more
Published on 26 Mar 2009 by Mr. James Ferguson
spice of a long forgotton life
A really interesting tale, well researched, but maybe lacking a central character, since the story provides a history of 16th century travel rather than details of Nathaniel as... Read more
Published on 30 Dec 2008 by M. French
What more do you want?
This was the first book of his that I read and was absorbed immediately.
I am a teacher of History and it is always great to feel like you have also re-discovered a great... Read more
I am a teacher of History and it is always great to feel like you have also re-discovered a great... Read more
Published on 2 April 2008 by A. Goodall
A consolidated history of the spice trade
Giles Milton has consolidated the history of the spice trade into a readable but detailed account of the Dutch and English trading companies. Read more
Published on 29 Feb 2008 by Joshua E. Cole
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