Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
411 used & new from £0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Nathaniel's Nutmeg: How One Man's Courage Changed the Course of History
 
See larger image 

See 1 customer image
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Nathaniel's Nutmeg: How One Man's Courage Changed the Course of History (Paperback)

by Giles Milton (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £5.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.00 (25%)
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, July 7? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
41 new from £0.01 361 used from £0.01 9 collectible from £0.01
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 16 used & new from £0.01
Audio CD (Audiobook) £14.99 £14.24 14 used & new from £5.68
Audio Cassette (Audiobook) 12 used & new from £0.01

Frequently Bought Together

Nathaniel's Nutmeg: How One Man's Courage Changed the Course of History + White Gold + Samurai William: The Adventurer Who Unlocked Japan
Price For All Three: £18.97

Show availability and shipping details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

White Gold

White Gold

by Giles Milton
4.9 out of 5 stars (17)  £5.99
Big Chief Elizabeth: How England's Adventurers Gambled and Won the New World

Big Chief Elizabeth: How England's Adventurers Gambled and Won the New World

by Giles Milton
4.5 out of 5 stars (13)  £5.99
Samurai William: The Adventurer Who Unlocked Japan

Samurai William: The Adventurer Who Unlocked Japan

by Giles Milton
4.0 out of 5 stars (13)  £6.99
Sea of Glory: The Epic South Seas Expedition 1838-42

Sea of Glory: The Epic South Seas Expedition 1838-42

by Nathaniel Philbrick
5.0 out of 5 stars (3)  £6.99
The Caliban Shore: The Fate of the Grosvenor Castaways

The Caliban Shore: The Fate of the Grosvenor Castaways

by Stephen Taylor
4.3 out of 5 stars (7)  £6.99
› Explore similar items

Product details

Product Description

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.

Nicholas Fearn, Independent on Sunday
‘A magnificent piece of popular history. ... This is a book to read, reread, then read again to your children.’

See all Product Description

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below
(2)
(1)
(1)
See all 5 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Nathaniel's Nutmeg: How One Man's Courage Changed the Course of History
88% buy the item featured on this page:
Nathaniel's Nutmeg: How One Man's Courage Changed the Course of History 4.0 out of 5 stars (37)
£5.99
Samurai William: The Adventurer Who Unlocked Japan
4% buy
Samurai William: The Adventurer Who Unlocked Japan 4.0 out of 5 stars (13)
£6.99
Big Chief Elizabeth: How England's Adventurers Gambled and Won the New World
3% buy
Big Chief Elizabeth: How England's Adventurers Gambled and Won the New World 4.5 out of 5 stars (13)
£5.99
White Gold
3% buy
White Gold 4.9 out of 5 stars (17)
£5.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

37 Reviews
5 star:
 (19)
4 star:
 (6)
3 star:
 (7)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (37 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Rediscovering history the best possible way, 20 Jun 2001
I loved this book- just loved it. Not only is the subject fascinating, it is well researched, beautifully written and a gripping story. Starting with literature such as Shakespeare and Chaucer, Milton sets the stage by taking us back to the fifteenth and sixteenth century to trace the use of nutmeg and spices in the Western world and to build a picture of its importance and popularity.

He then diversifies and constructs a deeply layered and satisfying picture of the historical development of the importation of Nutmeg to the west. In fact, for a long time no one in the west even knew where it came from at all. The Spice route was necessarily complicated and so would travel mysterious routes to reach Constantinople where the Venetian monopoly would bring it further west. The bizarre, sometimes hilarious (and usually tragic ) attempts to find and claim the Spice Islands followed and then the amazing and a courageous story of Nathaniel Courthorpe follows.

Milton's book is a beautifully written, he easily blends the diverse elements of the story, the political situation, the personalities, the competing countries and so on to build a profoundly satisfying and personal book. The detail in it is drawn out and only adds to the richness of the book. I really enjoyed his style and will search out "TheRiddle and the Knight', one of Milton's earlier books, next.

Nathaniel's Nutmeg reminded me a lot of two other gems of books I have read recently, 'The Arcanum' by Janet Gleeson and Dava Sobel's 'Longitude'. If you liked either of those books, then try this. (or if you liked this try either of these) The purpose behind all these books is that they take a small piece of history, something that was pivotal at the time, but has been long forgotten. In this case the finding of, and establishment of a colony for Nutmeg.

This is a book I will have great pleasure in re-reading regularly.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing and don't expect to find out about Nathaniel!, 18 Jan 2002
By A Customer
I was very disappointed with this book, perhaps after unconciously absorbing some of the shop window hype I expected to get under the skin of a real-life adventurer and get an insight into a mostly forgotten but fascinating episode of my nation's history. Unfortunately what I found I got was largely a description of a procession of over-optimistic and mostly failed attempts by England to establish a trade with the eastern 'spiceries' of the day.
Primarily I felt that there was no real connection on a personal level to the men that I was reading about. The book all too easily fell into the type of history that I was taught at school, in that the characters seem almost to be portrayed as autonomous marionettes who willingly (and knowingly) seem to accept their role as history and the hand that fate dealt them, rather than men living in their present, with all the familiar uncertainties, foibles and failings.
This disconnection maybe because the author chooses to use the words of the men of the time from documents that still survive (which is admirable and interesting), but then the rest of his narrative seems too anxious to hurry along to describing the next voyage, rather than expanding upon the story with his own interpretation of events and of the personalities involved. It seems that when a tricky bit of descriptive prose is required he hides behind 'olde fashyoned wordes', or doesn't bother at all, rather than coming up with something original and challenging himself (not that I could do any better).
I think the book would have been vastly improved by drastically reducing the cast and the period of time it focusses on but as this isn't the case the end of the book feels rather rushed in an attempt to squeeze everything in.
Sadly Nathaniel hardly figures at all. He doesn't feature until half way through the book and only then for a chapter or two.
The book also features some of the strangest censorship I've ever seen in a book; using the word p*ssed in entirety but in the very same sentence, obliterating what I presume to be sh*t with ****. Why?! The book then describes various horrendous tortures in graphic detail; so what's all that about?!
Nevertheless I did learn a few interesting things about the age but if you want to really connect with the people of the past and have a fantastic read at the same time, try Simon Schama's History of Britain.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A potential ripping yarn that "lacks the vital spark", 29 May 2001
By A Customer
The action of Nathaniels nutmeg cuts between the merchants of London and Holland, the dangers of the high seas and the prizes of the East Indies. The problem is Milton dwells too much on the developments before the main story, this builds up the expectation of the reader so that in the end Nathaniel Courthopes story is a bit of an anti-climax. Milton's treatment of Courthope is nothing less than hero worship and Milton repeatedly laments that Nathaniel has been cheated out of his place in history. However this is a fine story which is well worth reading.

But, one small thing which has nothing to do with Giles Milton. The cover quotes Phillip Henscher who when reviewing the book for Spectator said that this book " Makes you want to pack your bags and go off travelling to find that special place" I would have thought that the effect of this book would be the complete opposite - to make the modern reader think " Isn't it great I'm not a 17th century sailor dying of malnutrition!"

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars All this just to spice up our lives!
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... Read more
Published 1 month ago by M. J. Parsons

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 3 months ago by Mr. James Ferguson

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 6 months ago by M. French

5.0 out of 5 stars 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
Published 15 months ago by A. Goodall

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 16 months ago by Joshua E. Cole

3.0 out of 5 stars A difficult read
As a keen reader of historical fiction, I fear it's not that easy to make the cross-over into non-fiction historical literature and I'll admit that I did find this book a bit of... Read more
Published on 15 Nov 2006 by MaryAnne

5.0 out of 5 stars A great adventure
This is one of the best books i have read in recent years. It is very well written and researched. If you like the sea and stories associated with the sea you will enjoy... Read more
Published on 4 Sep 2006 by S. Foreman

5.0 out of 5 stars The King Of Popular History
Milton is, without a doubt, the singular most interesting historian to grace us. He brings epochs of history to life, and fills his works with fascinating facts, rather than the... Read more
Published on 11 Jul 2006 by Mr. D. J. Read

3.0 out of 5 stars Good in parts
This is a readable but workmanlike essay about the European domination of the Spice Islands. It is well-researched and includes a number of original sources. Read more
Published on 6 Sep 2005 by brother-juniper

4.0 out of 5 stars Can an island be worth THAT much?
We take things for granted now that people 400 years ago did not. A sack of peppercorn, cloves or nutmeg could have made a mans fortune then, whereas it is commonplace today. Read more
Published on 30 Sep 2004 by Mr P R Morgan

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject







i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Health & Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

Elemis Resurface and Renew Skin Care Gift Set of 4 Products
From soap to shavers, massagers to mascara, stock up on your daily essentials or truly pamper yourself.

›Discover Health & Beauty

  

More From Giles Milton

Samurai William: The...

Samurai William: The Adventurer Who...

Samurai William tells how, in 1598, William Adams, an English seaman... Read more
£7.99 £6.99

 

A Close Shave

Philips Nivea Coolskin HS8060 Moisturizing Rotary Shaving System
For all types of hair removal, stay smooth with Amazon.co.uk.

›Discover Shaving & Hair Removal

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates