Spice Islands Quotes

“The local natives were particularly curious to know why the English required such huge quantities of pepper and there was much scratching of heads until it was finally agreed that English houses were so cold that the walls were plastered with crushed pepper in order to produce heat.”
― Giles Milton, Nathaniel's Nutmeg: How One Man's Courage Changed the Course of History

“He penned a letter to the Company in London, a letter whose unfailing spirit would become legendary among the sailors of the East India Company. 'I cannot tell where you should looke for me.' he wrote, 'because I live at the devotion of the winds and seas.'
(Written by/about Captain James Lancaster, on the ship Red Dragon, during a terrible storm, 1603)”
― Giles Milton, Nathaniel's Nutmeg: How One Man's Courage Changed the Course of History

“The voyage had proved a human and financial disaster. Of the 198 men who rounded the Cape, only 25 returned alive. Worse still, two of the three ships had been lost and the one that did manage to limp into port was carrying not spices but scurvy. Lancaster had proved--if proof was needed--that the spice trade involved risks that London's merchants could ill afford. It was not until they learned that the Dutch had entered the spice race, and achieved a remarkable success, that they would consider financing a new expedition to the islands of the East Indies.”
― Giles Milton, Nathaniel's Nutmeg: How One Man's Courage Changed the Course of History