Nathaniel's Nutmeg: How One Man's Courage Changed the Course of History - Softcover

Milton has a terrific eye for the kind of detail that can bring the past vividly to life * The Spectator * A truly gripping tale... His research is impeccable... Once embarked upon the journey of the book, one is loath, sometimes unable... to turn back and abandon it. * Martin Booth, The Sunday Times * Giles Milton tells his adventurous and sometimes grisly tale with relish ... The thoroughness and intelligence of his research underpins the lively confidence with which he deploys it. * John Spurling, Times Literary Supplement * Beautifully touching ... To write a book that makes the reader sit in a trance, lost in his passionate desire to pack a suitcase and go to the fabulous place - that, in the end, is something one would give a sack of nutmeg for. * Philip Hensher, The Spectator * A magnificent piece of popular history . . . This is a book to read, reread, then read again to your children * Nicholas Fearn, Independent on Sunday *

In 1616, an English adventurer, Nathaniel Courthope, stepped ashore on a remote island in the East Indies on a secret mission - to persuade the islanders of Run to grant a monopoly to England over their nutmeg, a fabulously valuable spice in Europe. This infuriated the Dutch, who were determined to control the world's nutmeg supply. For five years Courthope and his band of thirty men were besieged by a force one hundred times greater - and his heroism set in motion the events that led to the founding of the greatest city on earth. A beautifully told adventure story and a fascinating depiction of exploration in the seventeenth century, NATHANIEL'S NUTMEG sheds a remarkable light on history.