Banda Neira is one of several volcanic islands that make up the Banda Archipelago. The term archipelago includes chains of islands or may be groups of islands located in a sea or other designated and named body of ocean water. Located on a group of islands located in the Banda Sea, south of Maluku, the area is central to a larger geographic region known as Indonesia, which consists of more than 17,000 islands.
The Bandanese, a tribal people, slowly advanced in numbers while remaining largely hidden from the outside world, except for contact with other tribes on neighboring islands outside their archipelago. For 8,000 years or more, the Bandanese subsisted on the bounty of the sea, on natural edible vegetation, and began farming. At some point in their history, they encountered other tribes that had tools or utensils that they had not made themselves. Rather, they had exchanged those things by sharing something on their island with outside merchants. That something, for the most part, was some kind of spice.
It is common for an isolated land to produce unique flora and fauna around the world. In the Banda Islands, a spice known as nutmeg was unique. The Bandanese, always wary of outsiders, probably accepted the help of neighboring tribes to get their nutmeg to a larger market (Japan, China, and later to Arab traders, who introduced their nutmeg to European customers) to through the largest island of Moluccas, north of the Banda Archipelago.
For the forged pots and pans, tools and weapons they obtained for their nutmeg, their traded good fortune was eventually visited by powerful trading companies from European nations, the fabled East India Companies. The Portuguese went first, then the Dutch, and finally the English. During these times, the Bandanese fought against the Europeans and lost. Through disease, fighting, murder, and enslavement, the tribal population dwindled, but it did not die out.
While a strong spice market fueled national interest, increased trade and immoral behavior towards third world people in the 15th century, what about today? Keep an eye on what your country is doing to create a monopoly or majority stake in rare earth metals (for computer chips) and lithium (for batteries in electric vehicles).
One of the Ten Commandments of God given to the Hebrews on tablets of stone was: “You shall not covet – (anything that belongs to your neighbor)”. To covet means to yearn to possess, to make yours what was yours. But cooperative trading is fine, unless it misleads the owner or takes advantage of his limited knowledge of the value of his trade good in his world.
