Nutmeg, the spice that flavors pumpkin pie and all dishes of the fall season, was once more expensive than gold.
While everyone knows Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue looking for a path to the Indies — and gold — the emphasis might really be on spices, and in particular, nutmeg. It was a spice so dear that in 1667 the Dutch traded the British the marshy little island of Manhattan for an Indonesian island full of nutmeg. The Dutch probably got the better deal at the time.
Nutmeg is a hard, fragrant seed of the Myristica fragrans tree. It was useful in flavoring, but was also thought of as a medicine, preservative, and perfume. Europeans thought it could cure the plague.
The problem was the Myristica fragrans tree had the unpleasant habit of growing only in the far-flung islands of Indonesia's Banda Sea. For centuries, it was available to Europe only through secret trade routes maintained by Arab traders. By the 15th century, Europeans were ready to do almost anything to get a supply of the spice and by the 1600s, trading companies waged war to get control.
The Dutch traders started transplanting the tree, including the soil, to their Asian holdings. Soon, the tree was not rare and, while the spice was still in demand, more supply meant that it was no longer more expensive than gold.
