Gang: The Mysterious Nutmeg Island (12 photos)

2,500 kilometers east of Jakarta, in the heart of the Indonesian archipelago, ten small islands are lost - Banda. For thousands of years, they remained the only place in the world where nutmeg and another valuable spice - mace (its aromatic shell) grew.





Before the arrival of Europeans, the islands were ruled by local chiefs - orang kaya, who traded with Indian and Arab merchants. And they, in turn, sold precious spices to Europeans for fabulous sums of money.



Banda Neira Island and Gunung Api

At that time, nutmeg was valued more than gold - it was believed that it saved from the plague that mowed down entire cities of Europe. The cunning Arabs carefully concealed the origin of the spice in order to maintain a monopoly. But in 1511, the Portuguese conqueror Afonso de Albuquerque revealed the secret, capturing Banda and the neighboring islands. Thus began the era of the great spice race.

The Portuguese: Unsuccessful Pioneers





View of Banda Neira with Fort Belgica in the foreground

The Portuguese tried to establish themselves on the islands, but the Bandanese resisted fiercely. They agreed only to fair trade, without colonial ambitions. In the end, the Portuguese limited themselves to rare visits, taking away ships full of nutmeg, mace, and cloves.



The capture of Banda Neira by the British squadron under Captain Cole on the morning of August 9, 1810

One day, Captain Garcia Henriques tried to build a fort on Banda Neira, but the islanders rebelled and attacked his people. After that, the Portuguese preferred to buy spices through intermediaries - it was safer that way.

The Dutch: The Iron Grip of Monopoly



The Nutmeg Fruit

The Dutch followed the Portuguese. They were much tougher. They demanded that the Bandanese sell spices only to them, but the islanders refused. They were used to pitting European merchants against each other, selling goods to the one who offered the most.



The conflict culminated when the Bandanese lured a Dutch admiral into a trap and killed 46 of his men. In response, the Dutch plundered several villages and burned local ships. Eventually, the Bandanese signed a peace treaty recognizing Dutch rule. In 1609, the Dutch built Fort Nassau on Banda Neira to control the nutmeg trade.



But the peace proved fragile. The Bandanese secretly traded with the English, Malays and Javanese, breaking the monopoly. In the end, the Dutch carried out a bloody massacre: out of 15,000 islanders, only about a thousand survived. To replenish the workforce, the Dutch brought in slaves from India and China.

The English: Cunning and the Bargain of the Century



Processing nutmeg in the Banda Islands, circa 1899-1900.

The English wanted their share of the profits, too. While the Dutch were consolidating their power, they held two tiny islands, Ai and Run. In 1615, the Dutch drove them out of Ai, but Run remained English until 1667. Then the parties made an unusual deal: the English gave Run in exchange for New Amsterdam, a Dutch colony in North America.

In 350 years, this piece of land would become Manhattan, the financial center of the world.

End of an era



Fort Belgica

During the Napoleonic Wars, when Holland came under French rule, the English briefly captured Banda. Before retreating, they took hundreds of nutmeg seedlings to Ceylon, Singapore, and India. Thus the monopoly was destroyed forever.



Today nutmeg is still grown on Banda, but the islands are not the same. Indonesia remains the leader in the spice trade, but the Bandanese themselves have not managed this business for a long time. Today, less than 20 thousand people live here: some collect nutmeg, others fish, and others receive tourists.



But Banda is still unique: its coral reefs are among the most picturesque in the world, and the sea moderates the climate, protecting the islands from extreme temperatures. It is said that the salty winds and sea rains give the local nutmeg a special aroma - perhaps the best in the world.



The history of Banda is a story of greed, blood and incredible deals. Ironically, it also became an island that was once exchanged for the future New York, and now lives a quiet life, and its main wealth is not spices, but memories of past greatness.