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The Dutch Traded Manhattan for a Nutmeg Island

History worth knowing

The Dutch Traded Manhattan for a Nutmeg Island

10 min

In 1667, the Netherlands prioritized a tiny, volcanic speck in Indonesia over New York City to secure a global monopoly on a single spice. Explore how the extreme value of nutmeg once shaped international borders and fueled the first corporate wars.

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In this episode

  1. 1Intro1 min
  2. 2The Most Valuable Seed on Earth2 min
  3. 3The Monopoly of the Banda Islands3 min
  4. 4The Island of Run: The Final Obstacle2 min
  5. 5The Treaty of Breda: The Great Swap3 min
  6. 6Outro1 min

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The Dutch Traded Manhattan for a Nutmeg Island — Fylom