The Spice Islands by Chris Stowers (47 images)

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As Calcutta was to the British Empire, so the tiny and distant island of Ambon was to the Dutch. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) made this the base of its administration and favoured the Ambonese in their civil service due to the island's proximity to the source of the all-important spices - principally nutmeg, cloves and pepper. Today the Maluku islands have started to sink into obscurity and relative economic decline. Decaying Dutch forts still cling to the mangrove-covered coastline,...
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