The Dark Side of Nutmeg

In many ways the world of today was shaped by Europe’s desire for the ‘exotic’ spices of Southeast Asia and the Spice Islands. The quest for the control of this trade sent Portuguese, Dutch, and British explorers to all corners of the world and led to widespread colonization of distant places. Unfortunately, the thought of great gain tempted (and still tempts) people to commit great evils in the name of commerce.

Nutmeg is the classic example of this greedy quest. Although today nutmeg is second only to cinnamon as a flavoring in baked goods and drinks, centuries ago it was worth more than its weight in gold. From the seed of a tropical evergreen tree come two spices: the inner kernel is nutmeg and the thin casing on the seed is mace.The nutmeg tree is native to Southeast Asia and was specifically cultivated by the inhabitants of the Banda Islands. The Bandanese had developed important trade connections throughout SE Asia and traded regularly with both Indian and Arab traders.

As early as the 12th century Europeans valued nutmeg for its medicinal properties. The abbess, Hildegaard of Bingen discussed it, and doctors considered it helpful in balancing the body’s humors. (According to medical knowledge of the time, health depended on balancing the four humors.) As a ‘hot food’ nutmeg could mitigate the effects of cold foods like fish and vegetables. In very large quantities, nutmeg is also a hallucinogenic. It was thought to be able to ward off the common cold and even bubonic plague.

However, even though cooks, physicians, and rich people knew quite a bit about the benefits of nutmeg, no one had a clear idea of where it came from. Europeans obtained their nutmeg from Venice after the spice had been brought there by Arab traders. It wasn’t until 1511 that the Portugues ‘discovered’ the Banda Islands as the source of nutmeg. They didn’t have a large enough force at that time to take over the trade, but they could at least break up the Arab monopoly on the European market. The Portuguese tried to establish a fort on Bandaneira Island, but failed. Instead they bought nutmeg and other spices from the local growers or middlemen, paying fair prices. This system worked well for all involved for nearly a century. 

Then the Dutch came into the area. They were not interested in sharing the market. They wanted to dominate and reap all the profits. The Bandanese were used to trading with Arab, Indian and Portugues traders for practical goods like silver, medicines, certain foodstuffs, Chinese porcelain, copper or steel). They had no need for heavy woolen cloth, damask or the other Dutch items that were worthless in the tropics. The Dutch, however, were persistent in their demands. In 1609 they forced some of the Bandanese elites to sign the Eternal Compact giving the Ducth East India Complan exclusive rights to the spice trade in Banda. At the same time the Dutch strengthened Fort Nassau, their stronghold on one of the Banda Islands. The Bandanese largely ignored the treaty, that only a few of the leaders had signed. When the Dutch tried to build a fort on the island, the Bandanese killed the Dutch Admiral and several of his officers.

Meanwhile, the British were also fighting the Dutch in the area. Through the early 1600’s the two European forces had several battles with lots of death on both sides, but the Dutch eventually won, mostly driving out the British except for one small island called Run Island. 

By 1621, the Dutch wanted a more secure and more profitable hold on the nutmeg trade. Dutch forces invaded Bandaneira on the pretext that there had been treaty violations. What followed was genocide. By the end of the fierce and bloody fighting, some 14,000 Bandanese were slaughtered, leaving somewhere around 1000 natives. Many of these people were enslaved. The Dutch divided the islands into plantations, brought in slaves from other places and took complete control of the nutmeg production, selling nutmeg at about 300 times the production costs. The enslaved Bandanese, with their knowledge of nutmeg cultivation, were important in this new system, but kept in limited positions by the Dutch. Some of the remaining Bandanese escaped and established communities on nearby islands. Some of them even became nutmeg smugglers. This system lasted about 45 years.

By 1665-67, during the second Anglo Dutch war, the British remained in control of Run Island one of the smallest of the Banda island, but nevertheless important enough to prevent the Dutch from having a complete monopoly. Through the Treaty of Breda at the end of the war in 1667, The Dutch traded the island of Manhattan (considered distant and worthless at the time )for the Island of Run. Finally the Dutch had a complete nutmeg monopoly, which they kept for about 150 years. During this time cooks at all but the poorest levels of society from Europe and the Americas prized nutmeg and used it in everything from cookies and puddings to fish pies and mincemeat.

Finally during the Napoleonic wars from 1803-1815, Britain had an excuse to attach the Dutch at Fort Nassau on Bandaneira because the Dutch were part of Napoleon’s empire and, therefore, enemies to the British. British troops captured the Dutch fort in 1810 and held it until 1814. During this time the British developed nutmeg cultivation in many other British held colonies in Southeast Asia and in the Caribbean. By the time the Dutch regained control of the Spice Islands, nutmeg was no longer the scarce commodity it had been.

There’s a pretty good chance that the nutmeg you sprinkle on your French toast or your eggnog came from Southeast Asia. Indonesia is still the largest producer (up to 50%) of the world’s nutmeg. It’s heartening to think that just as the Dutch monopoly on nutmeg eventually failed, so did their attempt to wipe out the Bandanese. Bandanese culture, language, and traditions still exist in these islands. And the nutmeg they first cultivated still tempts palates worldwide.