Nathaniel Courthope

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Nathaniel Courthope (born 1585;– died c. October 20, 1620) (sometimes written Courthopp) was an English East India Company officer [1] involved in the wars with the Dutch over the spice trade.

Contents

Life

He was of the wealthy cloth-maker Courthope family of Goddard's Green in Cranbrook, Kent, the son of Alexander Courthope and brother of the Peter Courthope who bought Danny House in Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, and who was painted by Cornelius Johnson. He was left £200 in his father's will.

On 13 November 1609, Courthope was hired by the East India Company to go to the Spice Islands. He left England with great fanfare and by 1616 was a factor at Sukadana in Borneo. [2]

In 1614 he was accused of purloining company resources and other offences by one dying man named, Edward Langley. [3]

On 25 December 1616, he landed his ships, Swan and Defence, on the island known as Run, the smallest (about 2 by 2.5 miles (3.2 km × 4.0 km)) of the Banda Islands, in a quest to break the Dutch hold on the nutmeg supply. He persuaded the islanders to enter an alliance with the British for nutmeg. After losing his two ships to mutiny and sinking by the Dutch, he fortified the island by erecting forts to overlook approaches from the east. [4] With 39 men and the natives, with scarce food and water (springs of which the island is devoid of) supply, he proceeded to hold off a siege of the Dutch - who outnumbered them considerably - for over 1,540 days.

Despite numerous letters from the Company's directors allowing Courthope to leave his post, and even awarding him repeatedly for his efforts, he never gave in. Even after the fleet of Sir Thomas Dale sent from England to Run had been defeated by the Dutch governor of the archipelago, Jan Pieterszoon Coen, the decision never changed.

He was shot by the Dutch, who awaited him at night having received their spy's message, while rowing towards a nearby island in a small boat with several of his men in order to support resistance of the natives and to prepare them for a rebellion. Noticing the trap, he leapt into the sea and swam for it, dying en route. [5]

The English departed without a struggle shortly after Courthope's death and their local allies - who considered themselves to be under His Majesty's reign - were being oppressed. [6]

Thanks to Courthope's defence of the island however, Britain was able to barter its legal title to the island of Run with the Dutch, for another island by the name of Manhattan. [7]

Further reading

Giles Milton's book Nathaniel's Nutmeg: Or The True and Incredible Adventure of the Spice Trader Who Changed the Course of History, gives an account of the struggle for possession of the Banda Islands. [2]

Notes

  1. "Nathaniel Courthope : Oxford Biography Index entry". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
  2. 1 2 Milton 1999.
  3. "East Indies: July 1614." Calendar of State Papers Colonial, East Indies, China and Japan, Volume 2, 1513-1616. Ed. W Noel Sainsbury. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1864. 301-313. British History Online Retrieved 11 July 2019.[ dead link ]
  4. "Fortnightly Club of Redlands, California". RedlandsFortnightly.org. 1 November 2001. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
  5. Szulinski, Cathi (30 April 2009). "The First Russian Students in England". Krotov.info. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
  6. Ratnikas, Algirdas J. "Timeline Indonesia". Timelines.ws. Archived from the original on 10 July 2010. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
  7. Marr, Andrew. "A History of the World". BBC. Retrieved 30 January 2021.

Related Research Articles

Banda Islands Volcanic islands in the Banda Sea, Maluku, Indonesia

The Banda Islands are a volcanic group of ten small volcanic islands in the Banda Sea, about 140 km (87 mi) south of Seram Island and about 2,000 km (1,243 mi) east of Java, and constitute an administrative district (kecamatan) within the Central Maluku Regency in the Indonesian province of Maluku. The islands rise out of 4-to-6-kilometre deep ocean and have a total land area of approximately 172 square kilometres (66 sq mi). They had a population of 18,544 at the 2010 Census and 20,924 at the 2020 Census. Until the mid-19th century the Banda Islands were the world's only source of the spices nutmeg and mace, produced from the nutmeg tree. The islands are also popular destinations for scuba diving and snorkeling. The main town and administrative centre is Bandanaira, located on the island of the same name.

Nutmeg Spice from Myristica fragrans

Nutmeg is the seed or ground spice of several species of the genus Myristica. Myristica fragrans is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, and mace, from the seed covering. It is also a commercial source of an essential oil and nutmeg butter. The California nutmeg, Torreya californica, has a seed of similar appearance, but is not closely related to Myristica fragrans, and is not used as a spice. Indonesia is the main producer of nutmeg and mace.

Dutch East India Company 1592–1799 Dutch trading company

The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out trade activities in Asia. It is sometimes considered to have been the first multinational corporation in the world, and it was the first company to issue stock. It was a powerful company, possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, imprison and execute convicts, negotiate treaties, strike its own coins, and establish colonies.

Jacob Le Maire

Jacob Le Maire was a Dutch mariner who circumnavigated the earth in 1615 and 1616. The strait between Tierra del Fuego and Isla de los Estados was named the Le Maire Strait in his honour, though not without controversy. It was Le Maire himself who proposed to the council aboard Eendracht that the new passage should be called by his name and the council unanimously agreed with Le Maire. The author or authors of The Relation took Eendracht captain Willem Schouten's side by proclaiming:

Jan Pieterszoon Coen Dutch colonial administrator

Jan Pieterszoon Coen was an officer of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the early 17th century, holding two terms as governor-general of the Dutch East Indies. He was the founder of Batavia, capital of the Dutch East Indies. Renowned for providing the impulse that set the VOC on the path to dominance in the Dutch East Indies, he was long considered a national hero in the Netherlands. Since the 19th century, his legacy has become controversial due to the violence he employed, especially during the last stage of the Dutch conquest of the Banda Islands, in order to secure a trade monopoly on nutmeg, mace and clove.

John Davis (explorer) English explorer and navigator (1550–1605)

John Davis was one of the chief navigators of Queen Elizabeth I of England. He led several voyages to discover the Northwest Passage and served as pilot and captain on both Dutch and English voyages to the East Indies. He discovered the Falkland Islands in August 1592.

Thomas Dale English naval commander and Virginia Colony statesman

Sir Thomas Dale was an English naval commander and deputy-governor of the Virginia Colony in 1611 and from 1614 to 1616. Governor Dale is best remembered for the energy and the extreme rigour of his administration in Virginia, which established order and in various ways seems to have benefited the colony, although he was criticised for high-handedness. He is also credited with the establishment of Bermuda Hundred, Bermuda Cittie, and the Cittie of Henricus.

Run (island) Village in Maluku Tengah, Maluku Province, Indonesia

Run is one of the smallest islands of the Banda Islands, which are a part of the Moluccas, Indonesia. It is located within Banda District (kecamatan) in Central Maluku Regency.

Giles Milton British writer and historian

Giles Milton FRHistS is a British writer who specialises in narrative history. His books have sold more than one million copies in the UK. and been published in twenty-five languages. He has written twelve works of non-fiction, a thriller, two comic novels and three books for young children. He is best known for his 2016 Sunday Times best-selling title, Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, and for his 1999 best-seller, Nathaniel's Nutmeg.

Banda Neira Island in Indonesia

Banda Neira is an island in the Banda Islands, Indonesia. It is administered as part of the administrative Banda Islands District within the Central Maluku Regency in the province of Maluku. To the south is the main town of the same name, which is the largest town in the archipelago with around 7,000 inhabitants.

Jacob Corneliszoon van Neck Dutch naval officer and explorer

Jacob Corneliszoon van Neck (1564–1638) was a Dutch naval officer and explorer who led the second Dutch expedition to Indonesia from 1598 to 1599.

Second Dutch Expedition to East Indies Second voyage of Dutch ships to East Indies in 1598–1600

The Second Dutch Expedition to East Indies was an expedition that took place from 1598 to 1600, one of the Dutch forays into the East Indies spice trade that led to the establishment of the Dutch East India Company. It was led by Jacob Cornelius van Neck.

First Dutch Expedition to East Indies First voyage of Dutch ships to Nusantara in 1595–1597

The First Dutch Expedition to East Indies was an expedition that took place from 1595 to 1597. It was instrumental in opening up the Indonesian spice trade to the merchants that eventually formed the Dutch East India Company, and marked the end of the Portuguese Empire's dominance in the region.

António de Abreu

António de Abreu was a 16th-century Portuguese navigator and naval officer. He participated under the command of Afonso de Albuquerque in the conquest of Ormus in 1507 and Malacca in 1511, where he got injured. Departing from Malacca in November 1511 with four ships, in an exploratory voyage to the 'Spice Islands' of Maluku, he led the first European expedition to reach Timor and the Banda Islands, in Indonesia, in 1512.

Governorate of Ambon

Ambon was a governorate of the Dutch East India Company, consisting of Ambon Island and ten neighbouring islands. Steven van der Hagen captured Fort Victoria on 22 February 1605 from the Portuguese in the name of the Dutch East India Company. Until 1619, Ambon served as the capital of the Dutch possessions in East Asia. In that year Batavia was founded to function as the staple port for the Dutch East India Company in Asia. The island was the world center of clove production until the 19th century. The Dutch prohibited the rearing of the clove-tree in all the other islands subject to their rule, in order to secure the monopoly to Ambon.

Governorate of the Banda Islands

The Banda Islands were a governorate of the Dutch East India Company. The governorate comprised Banda Neira, Banda Besar, Pulau Ai, Run, Banda Api, and some smaller islands.

Fort Nassau, Banda Islands

Fort Nassau was the first Dutch fort built on Banda Island, the main island of the Banda Islands, part of Maluku in Indonesia, completed in 1609. Its purpose was to control the trade in nutmeg, which at that time was only grown in the Banda Islands.

Sir Edward Michelborne, sometimes written Michelbourn, was an English soldier, adventurer and explorer. After a military career in the 1590s he tried to be appointed 'principal commander' for the first voyage of the East India Company (EIC), but was rebuffed. He subsequently became an interloper with the personal approval of King James I and set out to the far east in December 1604. Indulging in plunder as well as seeking out trade, his activities upset the EIC who complained to the Privy Council about his interloping, following his return to England in 1606.

Dutch conquest of the Banda Islands Military campaign of the Dutch East India Company from 1609 to 1621

The Dutch conquest of the Banda Islands was a process of military conquest from 1609 to 1621 by the Dutch East India Company of the Banda Islands. The Dutch, having enforced a monopoly on the highly lucrative nutmeg production from the islands, were impatient with Bandanese resistance to Dutch instructions that the Bandanese sell only to them. The Dutch used the death of a Dutch official as a casus belli for a forcible conquest of the islands. The islands became severely depopulated as a result of the massacres and forced deportations by the Dutch.

Invasion of the Spice Islands

The invasion of the Spice Islands was a military invasion by British forces that took place between February to August 1810 on and around the Dutch owned Maluku Islands also known as the Spice Islands in the Dutch East Indies during the Napoleonic wars.

References

"Courthopp, Nathaniel"  . Dictionary of National Biography . London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.