Nathaniel's Nutmeg : or, The True and Incredible Adventures of the Spice Trader Who Changed the Course of History (Paperback)

from theonearmedcrab

A book with a theme, and many entertaining diversions, is "Nathaniel's Nutmeg" (1999), about the spice trade and the rivalry between colonial powers - although as a Dutchman I cannot but observe that the book has been written from a very British perspective, not necessarily always coinciding with...

from Lukerik

This really is excellent. It's a proper history of the East India Company that's been packaged as the story of Nathaniel's Nutmeg. That whole connection with changing the course of history is pretty tenuous. The great 'what if?' moment for me was the negotiations between the English and Dutch com...

from MiaCulpa

The "Random person/place/thing/event which changed the history of the world" subgenre has become crowded of late, with many an otherwise obscure person/place/thing/event lauded as the key in changing history. This example, "Nathaniel's Nutmeg", is well written and keeps one turning the pages but ...

from melydia

There's no denying this is a fascinating overview of the often bloody history of the spice trade in the 16th and 17th centuries, focusing largely on Run in the Banda Islands. I don't really agree with the premise, though, that a man who fought and failed to keep Run in the hands of the British ha...

from ladycato

The title of this is somewhat misleading; it's not simply Nathaniel Courthope's story, but that of various men over a century who fought and died over islands that don't even garner a mention on most contemporary maps. The tiny island of Run is in the Indonesian archipelago. Five hundred years ag...