Chapter 4, Part 11 Last year, James and I explored six countries in Southeast and South Asia for six months to retrace parts of the spice route which had connected nations across both regions as well as attracted merchants from Europe to get their share […]
The Faces of Banda
Chapter 4, Part 10 Blessed with fertile soils and pristine waters, which at one point in history turned out to be a curse, the Banda Islands today is a place where avid divers go for its world-class reefs (the islands lie at the heart of […]
The Banda Islands: Land and Sea
Chapter 4, Part 9 We were in the middle of the Banda Sea, the deepest body of water in Indonesia with some parts going as deep as 7,000 m. The violent waves reared up the small boat, filled with Fiona from the Netherlands, Torben from Germany, […]
Run for Manhattan
Chapter 4, Part 8 Among the remote islands of the Bandas, Run (Rhun) is situated at the westernmost corner of the chain, some two hours away by a small boat from Banda Neira – the most populated of the Banda Islands. Like its sisters to […]
Islands that Changed the World: the Bandas
Chapter 4, Part 7 In the 16th century, upon the discovery of direct sea routes from Europe to the Spice Islands, Portugal and Spain asserted their dominance in the world’s spice trade which for centuries were traditionally controlled by the Javanese, Indian, Arab, Persian and […]
Ambon: Colonialism, Peace and Music
Chapter 4, Part 6 In 1512 the Portuguese successfully reached the fabled Spice Islands after decades of sea explorations and conquests in the Indian Ocean. Ambon (Amboina), Ternate, as well as the Banda Islands were the main ports of call for the Portuguese in the […]
Ternate: Science and Superstition
Chapter 4, Part 5 The turboprop plane which brought us from the city of Manado in North Sulawesi almost an hour earlier started its descent. Strings of verdant small islands now appeared larger from the window, and soon enough the venerable Mount Gamalama rose straight from […]
Islands that Changed the World: Ternate & Tidore
Chapter 4, Part 4 As the Age of Discovery began in the 15th century, Portugal and Castille (Spain) sent a large number of maritime missions to seek direct sea route from Europe to India and the fabled Spice Islands, as well as to discover lands […]
Impressions of Japan
Dreams do come true. It is something that we are constantly reminded about upon seeing other people’s dreams fulfilled as well as ours. However as we grow older sometimes we forget about the dreams we had when we were much younger, for there is no shortage […]
Macau: the World’s Last Portuguese Colony
Chapter 4, Part 3 Two years after the Portuguese conquest of Malacca in 1511, Jorge Álvares sailed to the Far East and became the first Portuguese to ever set foot in China – at the Pearl River Delta to be precise. However, it took another […]
Malacca: The Gateway to East Asia
Chapter 4, Part 2 At the turn of the 16th century, the Portuguese significantly increased their presence around the Indian Ocean by conquering strategic ports in the region. It was Afonso de Albuquerque, by the order of King Manuel I of Portugal, who led naval […]
Goa and Catholicism in India
Chapter 4, Part 1 For more than a millennium the area known today as Goa had been ruled by different clans, dynasties, kingdoms and sultanates before Vijayanagara took control of it in the 14th century. The once mighty southern Indian empire eventually relented control of […]
What an Amazing World! 