Nathaniel's Nutmeg

Milton’s account of the seventeenth-century spice wars — the Banda Islands, Nathaniel Courthope’s defence of Run, and the swap that traded it to the Dutch for Manhattan.

Why it’s on the list: Named in the replies to @typesfast asking for the best history book you’ve read — a crowd-sourced list Kyle recovered by hand and saved. A trade story where the commodity is a single tree that grew in one place.

Where I saw it: In the replies to @typesfast asking “What’s the best history book you’ve read?” (June 5, 2025). Kyle recovered the reply list by hand and saved it to his “Books To Read” Apple Note; the full transcribed list lives on What’s the best history book… (tweet).

Connections

• What’s the best history book… (tweet) — the thread this came out of; the full recovered list lives there.
• Historical Futurism — the portfolio idea this sits closest to.