In a weekend feature, the Washington Post tied the popular fall pumpkin spice latte rom coffee giant Starbucks to massacres, genocide, and savagery against the people of the Banda Islands, now part of Indonesia, hundreds of years ago.
According to the article by Gillian Brockwell, titled “Pumpkin spice wars: The violent history behind your favorite Starbucks latte,” the Bandanese were known for their cultivation of nutmeg, mace, and cloves — all of which are traditional pumpkin spices.
The piece explores the history, devastation, and ultimate end of the Bandanese through horrifying treatment by the Dutch and English, who allegedly sought to destroy the island people for their precious spice crops, particularly nutmeg, and it offers a revealing look into the dark past behind spices that are now quite easily accessible across the globe at most markets.
The history told in the article reveals that the Bandanese were almost totally eradicated through war, slaughter, and slavery by the Dutch and other nations eager to control the valuable spice crops. The native population of the Banda Islands is said to have been reduced from 15,000 to 1,000 during that time. England also became interested in controlling nutmeg cultivation and feuded with the Dutch for years trying to maintain control.
Eventually, the article reveals, the Dutch settled the matter with the English by trading another island for total control of the Banda Islands. The trade was for an island in the New World called “Manhattan” in 1667.
However, the Banda monopoly on nutmeg came to an end in the mid-18th century, when the French acquired seeds for cultivation in Western Europe. Meanwhile, the first Starbucks didn’t open until 1971, and the first pumpkin spice latte wasn’t served until 2003.
