In medieval centuries, a handful of nutmegs worth more than a crate of gold in European Markets. Monopoly of the Arab and the crusade wars brought European countries in the race to find spice islands, which later sparked the clash of ...See moreIn medieval centuries, a handful of nutmegs worth more than a crate of gold in European Markets. Monopoly of the Arab and the crusade wars brought European countries in the race to find spice islands, which later sparked the clash of nations. Banda, the only place where nutmegs grew, became the place European nations fought over. The Dutch relinquished their claim to Manhattan in exchange for Rhun, a small island in Banda, an English colony, to gain monopoly of the lucrative nutmeg and mace trade. In Banda, the first slavery and massacre happened in Indonesia. But there too, the spirit of nationalism and multicultural identity was born.
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