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Books

Brilliant maritime powers with
ship-building capabili-
dissertation THE NUTMEG’S CURSE ties — Portugal, Spain,
Amitav Ghosh
PENGUIN France — were quick to
adopt this predator model
O DESCRIBE THIS Rs.599 and forcibly site trading
seminal work of Pages 352 centres in Asia and Africa
Texhaustive research which prompted estab-
and deductive logic as the lishment of spice, tea,
most insightful and il- rubber, tobacco and indigo
luminating explanation of multinational corpora- plantations. The outcome
the environmental crises tions, notably the Dutch A clear linear cause- of this trade-led backward
threatening Planet Earth and British East India and-effect connection integration model was
suffering floods, famine, companies promoted by between European what the author describes
pandemics, typhoons, greedy European elites, colonialism, genocide as ‘terra-forming’, i.e,
forest wildfires, shrinking are the root cause of the of indigenous people, replication of farming
polar icecaps — all at the multiple afflictions that extractive capitalism practices and land laws of
same time — written in the have sparked a planetary and climate change the European model, and
past century, would be an crisis which could be the ‘colonial settlement’, i.e,
understatement. beginning of the end of encouraging European
The downside of the the species homo sapiens. nopoly had to be created. emigration to the colonies
fascinating subject that is In this perceptive Neighbouring islands that to practice plantation
history is that 95 per- critique and indictment, hosted nutmeg forests farming, supervise ad-
cent are narratives of the author traces the were cleared. The gentle ministration and promote
five American-European climate change disaster natives who worshipped business development.
countries. These histories staring us in the face to dormant volcanoes that The inevitable out-
are chronicled by White the unique nutmeg spice endowed the air with come was comprehen-
scholars and academics forests discovered in the unique properties and sive upending of native
who perhaps unwittingly, early 17th century by VOC enabled nutmeg forests to agriculture traditions and
permitted deeply en- (Vereengide Oostindische thrive, were first brutally practices, and mass dis-
trenched white suprema- Compagnie), aka Dutch tortured as heathen sav- placement of indigenous
cist academic traditions East India Company, in ages and exterminated by populations.
and racial biases to preju- the isolated Banda Islands armed VOC mercenaries. Mass displacement,
dice their writing. off latter day Indonesia. The fantastic profits enslavement and in many
The great value of The In the 16th century earned by VOC and its cases extermination, of
Nutmeg’s Curse is that it English medical practi- stolid burgher share- native populations was
is written from a new per- tioners decreed that the holders back in Holland justified by establishment
spective of a third world exotic nutmeg peculiar to inspired the rise of the classification of non-white
non-white scholar, who the Banda Islands, cured British East India Com- races as not-quite human
incisively questions several victims of plague epidem- pany in the 17th century. It brutes. This specious,
fundamental assumptions ics sweeping Europe at the replicated the VOC model self-serving justification
of European civilisation time. Consequently nut- by establishing spice trad- covertly supported by
and culture that spread megs became so valuable ing outposts in the Indian western science, academia
across north and south that “a handful could buy subcontinent. and the church — of which
America to New Zealand a house or a ship”. And Soon these outposts capture and enslavement
and Australia in the east with the passage of years, transformed into “fac- of African tribals to serve
during the past 400-500 this tiny aromatic fruit tories” which had to be as unpaid labour in British
years, and currently domi- became “envy-inducing protected by armed merce- America is the most egre-
nates the world. symbols of luxury and naries. This was followed gious example — became
According to Amitav wealth” coveted not only by negotiating monopoly normative in settler colo-
Ghosh, a globally respect- for “materialistic satisfac- trading rights and acquisi- nies. English scholar Lord
ed conservationist and eco tions that it brings, but tion of territory from local Macaulay pronounced
warrior, acts of omission because it is desired by rajas, nawabs and satraps every British pastor’s
and commission of the others”. to secure steady supply. home library as infinitely
world’s first predator Enter VOC. A mo- Other European superior to the ancient

110 EDUCATIONWORLD JANUARY 2022