A story not about the New York stock exchange |
In 1667 by the Treaty of Breda, Manhattan, a small trading center with a population of less than one thousand, was exchanged with the Island of Run. Today, the Island of Run and the story of Nathaniel’s courage find themselves in the margin of history while the name of New York is fabled around the globe. (Giles Milton) |
After reading Giles Milton's Book titled Nathaniels’s Nutmeg, I decided to travel with the Indonesian shipping company Pelni to the Once-Famed-Now-Ignored Spice Islands.
The following in taken from Amazon's web site about Nathaniel's Nutmeg:
«The tiny island of Run is an insignificant speck in the middle of the Indonesian archipelago--remote, tranquil, and now largely ignored. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, however, Run's harvest of nutmeg turned it into the most lucrative of the Spice Islands, precipitating a fierce and bloody battle between the all-powerful Dutch East India Company and a small band of ragtag British adventurers led by the intrepid Nathaniel Courthope.
«The tiny island of Run is an insignificant speck in the middle of the Indonesian archipelago--remote, tranquil, and now largely ignored. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, however, Run's harvest of nutmeg turned it into the most lucrative of the Spice Islands, precipitating a fierce and bloody battle between the all-powerful Dutch East India Company and a small band of ragtag British adventurers led by the intrepid Nathaniel Courthope.
«The Outcome Of The Fighting Was One Of The Most Spectacular Deals In History:
Britain Ceded Run To Holland, But In Return Was Given Another Small Island, Manhattan.»
Mr. Milton mentions the somewhat cruel actions done
to the local population by the colonialists.
(If you wish to learn more about the governor general of Banda, please read this interesting article about the controversial erection of a statue of Jan Pieterszoon Coen in his hometown of Hoorn. LINK)
«Bye Bye Banda» (53 secs to say goodbye)
Visiting the Banda Islands is traveling back in time. Sitting on the dock in Neira dominated by the volcano Gunung Api,
I can easily imagine the Spanish, English and Dutch sailing ships setting anchor in the bay of Banda.
Sometimes the arrival of an Indonesian built pinisi enters the Bay, The illusion of going back in time is complete.
«Bye Bye Banda»…for the moment. I shall return.
1 Comment
niceboy
7/12/2017 03:44:58 am
This was very interesting since i have also just read the book Nathaniel's Nutmeg.
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How beautiful it is to get up and go out and do something. We are here on Earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you any different.
Kurt Vonnegut.
A MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY.