Customer Reviews

Nathaniel's Nutmeg: Or the True and Incredible Adventures of the Spice Trader Who Changed the Course of History

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Giles Milton tells a good story. His central interest in travel writing and the history of exploration are clear from the start. Most of the book recounts stories of various expeditions, not just to the Far East but also to the Arctic, the Hudson basin and Manhattan. These are mildly linked by the competition between the Dutch and British for the spice trade.

However, the accounts of the central expeditions and the conflict over the island of Run, rely almost exclusively on British journals and diaries of the time. Thus the book reflects more the English reactions and prejudices of the time rather than giving an objective historical account. The natures of the two East India companies, the peoples of the Moluccas or the Dutch process of colonisation are sketched only very briefly. Instead life on board ship, the methods of Dutch torture and the banality of the factor's lives are given extensive treatment. While these are interesting, they do not particularly help explain the machinations which led to the Dutch control over the East Indies or the British revenge in taking Manhattan. The book's one-sided use of sources begins to get irritating by the end.

Most of us know how important the spice trade was in initiating the age of exploration. But there exists surprisingly few books dealing with this aspect! Anyway, this is the book! My brother lent it to me. He said he could not put it down, and it turned out that neither could I! The book centres around a small island group called the Bandas. They were the world's only source of nutmeg - a spice worth more than its weight in gold. One ship in three was lost, usually about fifty percent of the crews perished during the journey. Still, if one ship every third year made it with a load of nutmeg its owners would make enourmous profits, and still have money to finance the next expedition. The trade, and its spin-offs, shaped world history - sometimes in unexpected ways.
Competition was fierce between the English and Dutch. Vicious wars were fought, where the vanquished were treated without mercy. The whole story is told in this little book. There are plenty of characters, heroes like the sailor and soldier Courthope, villains like the Dutch governor Speult, and fools like the failed navigator Willoughby. There is more action than in a Verhooven movie, there is drama and great tragedy. in short, not too be missed.

The only failure of this book is that it is putting too much of an emphasis on the remotest island of the Banda group (where the English were most involved), even though the rest of the archipelago was actually more important.
So those inspired to get the full picture should also read the more thoroughly-written "Indonesian Banda" by W.A.Hanna which gives a more complete and balaced account of the history of these islands.

We have all heard of the "Spice Islands'. Yet few of us know where they are, what islands make up the Spice Islands, and why they were so important. Yet wars were fought over the control of these small, and otherwise insignificant spots of land, spots that took people nine months to reach in the days of sail.

Even fewer of us know the part North America played in the war between the Dutch and the English over the Spice Islands. And I won't give away the ending of the main story in this review. To find out, you'll have to read the book!

One of the best parts of this book is at the very end, where the Author describes his travels to the Spice Islands today. the difficulity of getting there, and what the inhabitants are doing today. most history books would not have touched upon this, but Milton does an admirable job.

Well worth the time to read.

I've recently been reading spice-themed books and this one takes the cake as far a swashbuckling tales of merchants-turned-pirates, pirates-turned-merchants and the deadly struggle between the Spainsh, Portugese, English and the Dutch to control the main source of spices. Nathaniel himself only makes an apperance towards the end of the book... but it takes a through and exciting explination of the earlier history to truly understand his heroisim. This book reads like a novel yet, it's all true! The pages are interspersed with captain's log entries, letters and vivid descriptions of the voyages and lands visited on the dangerous journey (1/3 died on the way there, and 1/3 died on the way back) to the spice islands.

this is definately one of the best non fiction books i have ever come across, the authors approach keeps the material leaping of the page at you, and he really gets into the spirit of the times, thankfully, and doesnt take on this PC, holier than then attitude.
there are so many great stories here, and a lot of amazing facts, the dangers and casual diregard for life of the period are all too vividly illustrated, its hard not to be impressed with the achievements of the various merchants and explorers on their rotting timber boats, and this book really brings the period to life.

Does author Gilles Milton establish the importance of Nathaniel Courthope in World History? No. Does Milton prove the signifance of the battle over the tiny Spice Island of Run? No, not really. Is "Nathaniel's Nutmeg" a worthy addition to the history of the Spice wars? Absolutely. it is indeed a seminal account of European adventures in the East Indies circa the 16th century.
I never felt Milton established his basic premise, but I never much cared. Nathaniel's Nutmeg is so full of fascinating characters and stirring adventures that is compelling, entertaining reading.
Milton offers life at sea, government/business machinations, treachery, torture and war. The research is thorough, the story telling, captivating.

A wonderful book and story. A good book to read on a cold winter night in front of a fire. An adventure at it's best...I wish I was there...I think

A wonderful book. An adventure story at it's best. Good reading for a cold winter day in front of a fire. I wish I was there...I think...

"Nutmeg" was truly a refreshing read. Civilisations have been shaped not by the statesman or the soldier, but by the trader; the former two rising to prominence as a consequence of the endeavour of the third. Yet, how often do we read of the Gujarati merchants who "opened" and transfomed Indonesia or the exploits of Arab traders who literally brought the East to the West with all the consequences that followed at least half a dozen civilisations? For me, Milton brought the 17th century market place to life not just with a gripping account of the seamen themselves, but with accounts of the remarkably shrewd and remarkably incompetent trading houses as well as a measure of the governments of the day - some who apreciated the size of the prize (the Dutch) and those who remained shockingly oblivious (the Crown). I recommend this book for anyone who deals daily with risk and uncertainty in business.