The extraordinary story of how an English adventurer, Nathaniel Courthope, went to war with the Dutch over the then fabulously valuable spice Nutmeg, and set in motion events that led five years later to the founding of New York city. A fascinating depiction of exploration and colonial rivalry in the new world in the early seventheenth century, and of the little known origins of the Big Apple. "A magnificent piece of popular history" "Independent On Sunday". "The new Bruce Chatwin" "Mail On Sunday".