The nutmeg's curse : parables for a planet in crisis
Ghosh, Amitav, 1956-2022
Books
Before the 18th century, every single nutmeg in the world originated around a group of small volcanic islands east of Java, known as the Banda Islands. As the nutmeg made its way across the known world, they became immensely valuable - in 16th century Europe, just a handful could buy a house. It was not long before European traders became conquerors, and the indigenous Bandanese communities - and the islands themselves - would pay a high price for access to this precious commodity. Yet the bloody fate of the Banda Islands forewarns of a threat to our present day. Amitav Ghosh argues that the nutmeg's violent trajectory from its native islands is revealing of a wider colonial mindset which justifies the exploitation of human life and the natural environment, and which dominates geopolitics to this day.
Main title:
The nutmeg's curse : parables for a planet in crisis / Amitav Ghosh.
Author:
Ghosh, Amitav, 1956-, author
Imprint:
London : John Murray, 2022.
Collation:
339 pages : illustrations (black and white), maps (black and white) ; 20 cm
Notes:
Originally published: Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2021.Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:
9781529369465 (pbk. :)
Language:
English
Subject:
BRN:
2294330