In 1623, Dutch VOC authorities on the island of Ambon executed a group of English, Japanese, and Portuguese-allied men after accusing them of conspiracy, an episode known as the Amboyna affair that effectively ended significant English trading activity in the Moluccas. The incident reflected the broader struggle among European powers to dominate the lucrative clove and nutmeg trade of the Spice Islands. Over subsequent decades, the VOC enforced strict monopolies, including destroying surplus trees and restricting cultivation to controlled areas, to keep spice prices high.
Relevance to Trade History
Illustrates the violent competition between European trading companies for control of specific spice-producing islands and the monopolistic practices used to dominate that trade.
Read the full story in our article The Historical Spice Trade.
Source: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. See our Sources & Methodology page for how we select and verify references.