mapuc
12-21-22, 01:06 PM
We have had so many threads about different type of food, whether it's Pizza, steaks a.s.o.
We do not have a thread about the history behind the things we use in our Kitchen.
First post
Title: Monopoly and spice thefts
A story about Nutmeg and Cloves
Spices were an important piece in the power game of the European empires. Whoever sat on the spice trade could not only make fortunes, but also have enormous political influence in Europe. At the beginning of the 17th century, Holland was home to some of the most important spice-producing colonies in the world; The Moluccas, and the Dutch colonial power ruled its spice holdings with a heavy hand.
The spice growers on the Moluccas experienced conditions that in the colonies were otherwise only found on the sugar plantations in the Caribbean. By the end of the 1620s, the Dutch East India Company had almost exterminated the original population of the Banda Islands in the Moluccas, where the nutmeg was cultivated. The natives had either been sent away from the islands or had worked themselves to death on the plantations, so the company began importing slaves to continue the production of nutmeg.
It was the two spices, nutmeg and cloves, that were especially treasured, guarded and controlled. Both spices only grew on archipelagos in the Moluccas, and it was therefore the only place in the world that you could get them from. The Dutch East India Company, since they took control of the Moluccas from the Portuguese and the English in the early 17th century, had worked to ensure that every clove and nutmeg passed through Dutch hands.
Any attempted smuggling or unauthorized sale of spices or germinating seeds was severely punished, and the creativity of the Dutch in their spice monopoly could result in sabotage of plantations and crops.
The Dutch strategy in the Moluccas was to concentrate the cultivation of spices on individual islands, thus protecting production from foreign powers. This meant, among other things, that all clove plantations on other islands were burnt down, and Dutch expeditions were sent annually to destroy illegal trees and punish those responsible. There was a death penalty for illegal cultivation and smuggling. It was said that the Dutch guarded their spices like a jealous lover guarded his sweetheart.
The nutmeg plantations were run in the same way, and in addition, after the harvest, all nutmegs were treated with lime, so that they would not be able to germinate, and thereby grown elsewhere. To ensure that the price of nutmeg remained at the highest possible level, the Dutch initiated burnings of the spice. In 1735, tons of nutmeg must have been burned in Amsterdam alone.
However, the Dutch monopoly on the spice trade in the Moluccas could not last forever. In February 1755, the French ship "La Colombe" arrived at the island of Meyo. On board the ship was a one-armed man who had traveled far for the sole purpose of committing a crime. The man's name was Pierre Poivre (1719-1786), and he wanted to steal cloves and nutmeg from the Dutch colonies. Just finding the right islands in the Moluccas was a challenge. The Dutch had circulated false charts to confuse spies and smugglers, but Poivre was determined to get hold of the spices.
Pierre Poivre was a French missionary and botanist who had spent several years in the East as a missionary, and later as a representative of the "Compagnie des Indes Orientales" (French East India Company). It was in this connection that, during a naval battle in 1745, he was hit by a cannon ball. Poivre survived, but had to live without his right arm
The ship in the Moluccas in 1755 was the culmination of several years of planning. With his secret mission, Poivre hoped that he could not only provide France with a new source of income and himself a fortune, but also weaken the Dutch monopoly on the spice trade.
However, Poivre's attempted spice theft did not go as planned. He was unable to land on Meyo and, after almost being captured by a Dutch ship, ended up sailing away from the Moluccas and landing on Timor. Here he found a nutmeg-like tree from which he took cuttings. He brought them to the French colony "Īle de France", today's Mauritius, but since it was not real nutmeg, and the plants would not germinate, Poivre got nothing out of his efforts. In 1756 he turned his nose towards his homeland, but on the way home they were attacked by an English ship that took everyone on board prisoner.
Poivre ended up spending seven months in an Irish prison before he was finally able to make it to France, where he set about writing about his adventures in the Far East.
Markus
We do not have a thread about the history behind the things we use in our Kitchen.
First post
Title: Monopoly and spice thefts
A story about Nutmeg and Cloves
Spices were an important piece in the power game of the European empires. Whoever sat on the spice trade could not only make fortunes, but also have enormous political influence in Europe. At the beginning of the 17th century, Holland was home to some of the most important spice-producing colonies in the world; The Moluccas, and the Dutch colonial power ruled its spice holdings with a heavy hand.
The spice growers on the Moluccas experienced conditions that in the colonies were otherwise only found on the sugar plantations in the Caribbean. By the end of the 1620s, the Dutch East India Company had almost exterminated the original population of the Banda Islands in the Moluccas, where the nutmeg was cultivated. The natives had either been sent away from the islands or had worked themselves to death on the plantations, so the company began importing slaves to continue the production of nutmeg.
It was the two spices, nutmeg and cloves, that were especially treasured, guarded and controlled. Both spices only grew on archipelagos in the Moluccas, and it was therefore the only place in the world that you could get them from. The Dutch East India Company, since they took control of the Moluccas from the Portuguese and the English in the early 17th century, had worked to ensure that every clove and nutmeg passed through Dutch hands.
Any attempted smuggling or unauthorized sale of spices or germinating seeds was severely punished, and the creativity of the Dutch in their spice monopoly could result in sabotage of plantations and crops.
The Dutch strategy in the Moluccas was to concentrate the cultivation of spices on individual islands, thus protecting production from foreign powers. This meant, among other things, that all clove plantations on other islands were burnt down, and Dutch expeditions were sent annually to destroy illegal trees and punish those responsible. There was a death penalty for illegal cultivation and smuggling. It was said that the Dutch guarded their spices like a jealous lover guarded his sweetheart.
The nutmeg plantations were run in the same way, and in addition, after the harvest, all nutmegs were treated with lime, so that they would not be able to germinate, and thereby grown elsewhere. To ensure that the price of nutmeg remained at the highest possible level, the Dutch initiated burnings of the spice. In 1735, tons of nutmeg must have been burned in Amsterdam alone.
However, the Dutch monopoly on the spice trade in the Moluccas could not last forever. In February 1755, the French ship "La Colombe" arrived at the island of Meyo. On board the ship was a one-armed man who had traveled far for the sole purpose of committing a crime. The man's name was Pierre Poivre (1719-1786), and he wanted to steal cloves and nutmeg from the Dutch colonies. Just finding the right islands in the Moluccas was a challenge. The Dutch had circulated false charts to confuse spies and smugglers, but Poivre was determined to get hold of the spices.
Pierre Poivre was a French missionary and botanist who had spent several years in the East as a missionary, and later as a representative of the "Compagnie des Indes Orientales" (French East India Company). It was in this connection that, during a naval battle in 1745, he was hit by a cannon ball. Poivre survived, but had to live without his right arm
The ship in the Moluccas in 1755 was the culmination of several years of planning. With his secret mission, Poivre hoped that he could not only provide France with a new source of income and himself a fortune, but also weaken the Dutch monopoly on the spice trade.
However, Poivre's attempted spice theft did not go as planned. He was unable to land on Meyo and, after almost being captured by a Dutch ship, ended up sailing away from the Moluccas and landing on Timor. Here he found a nutmeg-like tree from which he took cuttings. He brought them to the French colony "Īle de France", today's Mauritius, but since it was not real nutmeg, and the plants would not germinate, Poivre got nothing out of his efforts. In 1756 he turned his nose towards his homeland, but on the way home they were attacked by an English ship that took everyone on board prisoner.
Poivre ended up spending seven months in an Irish prison before he was finally able to make it to France, where he set about writing about his adventures in the Far East.
Markus