Empire: World History 359. Spice Wars: The Birth of New York (Ep 2)
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May 13, 2026 
Giles Milton, narrative historian and author of Nathaniel's Nutmeg, joins to recount the Dutch East India Company’s ruthless spice wars. Hear why nutmeg was worth fortunes. Learn about Run Island’s desperate defense and the brutal Banda genocide. Discover how a treaty trading a spice island helped create New Amsterdam, later New York.
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Run Island Swore Allegiance To King James
- The English made a formal treaty claiming Run for King James, with local leaders accepting St George's rule.
- Giles reads the surviving treaty wording: King James is now, by the mercy of God, king of Run.
David Versus Goliath Siege On Run
- Nathaniel Courthope held Run with two ships and 38 men by using the island's cliffs and well-placed ship cannon to repel repeated Dutch assaults.
- Giles narrates the siege dynamic: only one landing spot existed, letting Courthope defend effectively for years.
Relief Ship Captured Under Run's Cliffs
- A relief ship, the Solomon, arrived but was intercepted and captured by the Dutch under Run's cliffs; none of the 600 jars of Arak reached Courthope.
- Giles quotes a prisoner describing Dutch cruelty in Fort Revenge's dungeons.
