Nathaniel's Nutmeg: How One Man's Courage Changed the Course of History in Around the World in 80 Books

Nov 30, 2008 Kay rated it liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, garden-botany, british-history-civ, exploration-adventure, commodity_history, seafaring_tales, world-civ, malay_archipelago

If I were less fond of seafaring tales, this might have been a tedious read, for the bulk of the book consists of a more-or-less chronological rendering of British voyages to the Spice Islands, with all the hardships and hazards set down in some detail. Happily, I do like seafaring tales, and even though those recounted in Nathaniel's Nutmeg became, after a time, a bit redundant, there were at the heart of the book two themes that held my interest: the origins and development of the East India C If I were less fond of seafaring tales, this might have been a tedious read, for the bulk of the book consists of a more-or-less chronological rendering of British voyages to the Spice Islands, with all the hardships and hazards set down in some detail. Happily, I do like seafaring tales, and even though those recounted in Nathaniel's Nutmeg became, after a time, a bit redundant, there were at the heart of the book two themes that held my interest: the origins and development of the East India Company and the rivalry between the English and the Dutch in the spice trade.

By far the most intriguing part of the book was the rise and near-fall of the East India Company, which went on, of course, to become the basis for the British Raj. Milton does a fairly good job of detailing how the Company got its start, found royal patronage, and set about raising money for trade voyages. Perhaps because financial news and the fate of large multinationals is a current preoccupation, I found this aspect of the book of greatest interest.

But then, too, unlike the litany of various sea captains and factors, the Company remained a steadier presence. Indeed, one problem with the book is that there are a great many dramatis personae, and it can be difficult to keep track of them all. The rivalry of the British East India Company and its counterpart, the Dutch East India Company, is clearly laid out, however, and about the Dutch in particular I learned quite a bit. (Their ultimately ascendancy, it seems, was due not only to having more and superior vessels but a streak of ruthlessness, or at least that's how Milton presents it.)

One mildly irritating aspect of the book is its title: it seems to have been chosen for alliterative effect rather than any truly significant role played by the Nathaniel in question. Milton hangs much of the narrative thread on the fact that the British ultimately seized New Amsterdam (New York) in retaliation for the seizure of the lone spice island they nominally controlled, Run. Run was defended against daunting odds by one Nathaniel Courthope, who eventually is waylaid and killed by the nefarious Dutch, who seize control of the island.

However, Nathaniel's story is but a small part of the narrative, and the book could more plausibly be called "Jan's Nutmeg," after the ruthless Dutch commander who arguably was most responsible for the Dutch gaining supremacy in the Spice Islands. Milton's conceit is that Nathaniel's defense of Run later allowed the British to make a legal claim to the island -- and get Manhattan in restitution. But it's a slender premise, to be sure, and for the first two hundred-odd pages of the book the reader is left wondering, "Where's Nathaniel?"

Still, on the whole I enjoyed the book, and it fleshed out my rudimentary knowledge of the spice trade and the origins of its two greatest players, the British & Dutch East India Companies. Milton writes well, too, and used original source material to enlivening effect.

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Nov 30, 2020 Andrea rated it it was amazing

Shelves: geography, world-history, european-history, imperialism-colonialism

I enjoyed this book and learned quite a lot, even though I thought I already knew quite a bit about the origins of European colonialism. We all learned in elementary school that Columbus was looking for “the Indies” right? And we also know that it was because people in Europe desperately wanted to buy spices. But, where were these “spice islands” and how did the international battle over the riches of the spice trade play out? And who was Nathaniel Courthope and why is he an unsung hero? This is ...more

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