Nutmegs curse - Amitav Ghosh

In this powerful work of history, essay, testimony, and polemic, Amitav Ghosh finds the origins of our contemporary climate crisis in Western colonialism’s violent exploitation of human life and the natural environment. At the center of Ghosh’s narrative is the now-ubiquitous spice nutmeg. The history of the nutmeg is one of conquest and exploitation—of both human life and the natural environment. 

Using the story of the nutmeg as parable for our environmental crisis Ghosh interweaves this with discussions on everything from the global history of the oil trade to the migrant crisis and the animist spirituality of Indigenous communities around the world. A sharp and profound critique of Western society.