359. Spice Wars: The Birth of New York (Ep 2)
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What drove the Dutch to employ samurai mercenaries in the Banda Islands?
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Hello and welcome to Empire with me, Anita Anand.
And me, William Durumple. And today's episode, the second in our amazing story of the VOC, the Forgotten East India Company, that we always omit from stories when we talk about the English East India Company. is, I think, one of the most extraordinary and little-known stories in the history of empire, at least little-known in the English-speaking world. It's about the deathly rivalry between the English and the Dutch and the two East India companies, these two corporations that were empires, these incredibly rich precursors to the great and incredibly powerful corporations of our day. And the story revolves around a spice so valuable that they were willing to torture and kill for it. And the story culminates in a 17th century deal that changed the fortune of Manhattan forever.
When we say valuable, I mean, I just want to give you an idea of how valuable. Okay. And honestly, this doesn't speak well of the kind of reading that I've been doing. But wait for wait. It's interesting. In the 1600s, nutmeg was more valuable than cocaine is today. Let that sit with you for a second. I did the sums. That's all I did.
Did you experiment?
No, I just wanted to get there very, very quickly. I did the sums. To guide us through this rather extraordinary story, we've got exactly the right man for the job. You know, he's one of the finest narrative historians working in Britain today. Giles Milton is the man. And his book, Nathaniel's Nutmeg, is an absolute rip-roaring read, which, can I tell you, he refers to as Nat's Nuts.
when he's not working which made me laugh so much nuts nuts nathaniel's not meg a fine tome currently being developed for television it is indeed yeah um dear russell crowe has got the rights and um he's doing something with it yeah yeah so i'm not quite sure where we're at with it but i'm told it's uh it's rolling along so coming to your screens in the next couple of years hopefully
What a tale. First of all, I mean, William, do you want to sort of remind us about the monopolies that existed at the time? Because we need a little bit of context.
So for those of you that missed the last episode with the wonderful Harold van der Linde, my travelling companion in Sumatra last week, we paddled up the rivers of Sumatra together and ended up with Harold eating kneecap, which is something that I have to say I avoided. I opted for noodles instead.
Giles, I wasn't there for this recording and I'm quite glad because I think it crossed a gamut of madness.
Have you never eaten kneecap?
No, I haven't. Anyway, on you go. So go on, Willie.
So the story we told, or rather the story Harold amazingly educated us about was the story of how the Dutch did the first stock market, invented the IPO, also invented how to fiddle it and did the first stock market short, invented financial regulations, all of which meant that the Dutch East India Company had far more, I think the word is capitalization, had far more cash in its coffers than the English East India Company and grew at an incredible rate, far faster than its English competitor. And we ended the episode with the English and the Dutch in competition in Batavia and Jakarta with the two sides slightly facing off, which is where Giles' story will begin today.
Yeah, and it revolves around this tiny dried seed that you might have seen in your kitchens. I mean, if you've ever made a bechamel sauce or mulled wine or pumpkin pie or in India – very much use masala chai. I mean, a staple of everyday nutmeg is your go-to spice.
Of course, masala chai's got nutmeg in it.
Masala chai's got nutmeg. If it's a good masala chai, it will have cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon. You know, it was attributed or it was credited with so many magical powers, Giles.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What drove the Dutch to employ samurai mercenaries in the Banda Islands?
0:00–7:22
2
How did nutmeg become a symbol of power and greed in the spice trade?
7:22–13:36
3
What led to the brutal competition between the English and Dutch East India Companies?
13:36–20:45
4
How did the English manage to secure Run Island despite Dutch dominance?
20:45–28:03
5
What were the consequences of the English and Dutch rivalry in the Banda Islands?
28:03–34:54
6
How did the Treaty of Breda change the fate of New York and Run Island?
34:54–42:28
7
What role did the Dutch East India Company play in the genocide of the Banda Islands?
42:28–50:19