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Nathaniel's nutmeg, or, The true and incredible adventures of the spice trader who changed the course of history / Giles Milton.
LIBRA HD9211.N883 I55 1999
Available from offsite location
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Milton, Giles.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Nederlandsche Oost-Indische Compagnie.
- Nutmeg industry--Indonesia--Maluku--History--17th century.
- Nutmeg industry.
- Spice trade--Indonesia--Maluku--History--17th century.
- Spice trade.
- Nederlandsche Oost-Indische Compagnie--History.
- Courthope, Nathaniel.
- Coen, Jan Pieterszoon, 1587-1629.
- Coen, Jan Pieterszoon.
- History.
- Indonesia--History--1478-1798.
- Indonesia.
- Maluku (Indonesia)--History.
- Maluku (Indonesia).
- Indonesia--Maluku.
- Physical Description:
- xi, 388 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm
- Edition:
- First American edition.
- Other Title:
- Nathaniel's nutmeg
- True and incredible adventures of the spice trader who changed the course of history
- Place of Publication:
- New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999.
- Summary:
- The tiny island of Run is an insignificant speck in the middle of the Indonesian archipelago. Just two miles long and half a mile wide, it is remote, tranquil, and these days largely ignored.
- Yet, 370 years ago, Run's harvest of nutmeg (a pound of which yielded a 3200% profit by the time it arrived in England) turned it into the most lucrative of the Spice Islands, precipitating a battle between the all-powerful Dutch East India Company and the British crown. The outcome of the fighting was one of the most spectacular deals in history: Britain ceded Run to Holland but in return was given Manhattan. This led not only to the birth of New York but to the beginning of the British Empire.
- Such a deal was due, in part, to the persistence of one man. Nathaniel Courthope and his small band of adventurers were sent to Run in October 1616 and for four years held off the massive Dutch Navy. Nathaniel's Nutmeg centers on the remarkable showdown between Courthope and the Dutch Governor General, Jan Coen, and the brutal fate of the mariners racing to Run--and the other corners of the globe--to reap the huge profits of the spice trade.
- A brilliant adventure story of unthinkable hardship, savagery, the navigation of uncharted waters, and the exploitation of new worlds, Nathaniel's Nutmeg is a remarkable chapter in the history of the colonial powers by a writer who has been hailed as "the new Bruce Chatwin" (Mail on Sunday).
- Contents:
- 1 Arctic Whirlwinds 9
- 2 Wonderfully Unwholesome Climes 41
- 3 Music and Dancing Damsels 66
- 4 In the Paws of the Lion 97
- 5 'Admiral, We Are Betrayed!' 134
- 6 A Rebel at Sea 162
- 7 The Cannibals' Country 190
- 8 The Banner of Saint George 219
- 9 Conflict between Gentlemen 245
- 10 Raising the Blood-Flag 271
- 11 Trial by Fire and Water 309
- 12 Striking a Deal 343.
- Notes:
- "First published in Great Britain in 1999 by Hodder & Stoughton"--T.p. verso.
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 375-378) and index.
- ISBN:
- 0374219362
- OCLC:
- 39905089
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