Thanks everyone who has been watching the channel over the years. And if you are new here, welcome. Here's a playlist of other episodes you may like: ua-cam.com/play/PLvGFkMrO1ZxJldWKpSAhhnxuPYVeCt8oj.html
As an Indonesian i can said that your documentary about nutmeg is one of the best in English language, heck your's maybe even better than locals documentary. The story is so deep and interesting, not many people know about Wandan people even here in Indonesia, it's especially rare for Western people to know about this. For all off your work here i salute you.
It’s crazy the Europeans were so eager to get to the spice islands but now that spice is worthless they just forget all about it, and now you’d be lucky to find any westerner who can recognize the name Maluku/Mollucas let alone find it in a map.
@@RadenWAunless someone has a special interest or is a professor of geography, I suspect zero people would be able to find it on a map, and I think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who has even heard of these islands.
Those bandanese elders talking w tears in their eyes made me cry like a baby , this was something else you out did yourself and thank you for the dedication to a single fruit
It was such a punch in the gut to get this kind of response, which is why I left part untranslated. He was only saying his family name and that they originally fled from Rhun. But its such a heavy history.
I was crying too, but at least we should let ai record all the last speakers and immortalize the language for anyone who wants to learn it. @weirdexplorer that could be the positive twist, they managed to survive to the quantum computer finish line. Languages are more valuable than we can imagine, it is a style of thinking, the core code of unique cultures. So any gran gran children who wish to pick it up, it would never be fully lost.
Quality production. A lot of thought and effort (and time!) must have gone into it. It is the travelling to these fabulous tropical places and trying out the local food dishes that brings all the initial research to life.
when you hear him repeating drivel like spices were used to cover up spoiled food as a fact it really makes it hard to trust the rest of the 'facts' we hear in the doc.
I never thought I'd be watching a full length film about nutmeg, but this was amazing and had me captivated the entire way through. Thank you for making this wonderful film.
This vid was such a pleasant surprise. I live in Balik Pulau literally minutes from the nutmeg farms, and get my nutmeg from some of those very shops you visited ❤
@@WeirdExplorer haha yeah that spot would be the best bet. They process and make most of the stuff there. I tend to beeline there for nutmeg juice in their many assorted bottles to stock up the fridge 😊 Discovered your channel thru this vid. The algo overlords did their job well. Your content and the effort you put into it is so totally underrated.
Woah, this video is a real mix of a fruit review, historical overview, and a cultural documentary! Perhaps one of the best videos you've ever made. And a gem on youtube that's better than many movies!
I'm a Dutch old fart and I'm glad I watched this video to the end. I've been aware of the violent and lethal history of the VOC, Coen, the Banda Island and the Dutch East Indies since I was at Uni in the 1980s, but I was much surprised to learn about the Bandanese in the Kai Islands. Thanks for that! In primary school I was taught the Dutch side of colonial history, be it a bit red-faced because we lost the East Indies just two decades ago. For many Dutch that was economically or ideologically traumatic. It's only in recent years that the Dutch government is a bit more apologetic about our exploitation and abuse of Indonesia.
@@MagisterialVoyager Economically traumatic since for centuries the Dutch East Indies had been a source of income. Even the incompetent could make a fortune in the colony. Ideologically traumatic because the loss of the colony was seen as a humiliation: the thought that the Indonesians would win was - in racist Dutch eyes - impossible. Indonesian independence was only supported by the communist party, even Labour supported the colonial war. A much repeated slogan was: _Indië verloren, rampspoed geboren_ (Calamity is born when the East Indies are lost). Many Dutch men, women and children had been captive during the Japanese occupation of the East Indies and treated badly, a terrible shock to their racist mindset, and they saw the Indonesian nationalists as Japanese agents. That calamity never happened. The economic effects on a Dutch national scale were minimal thanks to post-WWII industrialisation, but the ideological trauma took decades to fade. Only in the 1980s the exploitation and abuse of the Indonesians became more widely part of the Dutch awareness, till then the colony was depicted as a heroic national enterprise, the white burden to civilize the _inlanders_ .
@@gagaklumayung7995 In hindsight it was not so much wrong, but incomplete and very biased: white men in white suits and pith helmets bringing progress to the Asians. The racism, exploitation, abuse, violence and paternalism was left out.
This is such an amazing documentary. I teach for a living and I would love to show this to my students as a way to understand the humanity of the spice trade. History and geography is so often dry, boring stuff, but then you see this and it reminds you that everything in history is real, that it happened to real people and that the effects of that history are still being felt today. It makes it feel real. Thank you for making this.
So glad to hear it. The most amazing thing with this trip was seeing the places I was reading about come to life. I really wanted to share that experience
I was once a young student. I can tell you... if I was under 18, the only thing I'd remember is Nutmeg is a hallucinogen! And the Dutch people were evil to the banded knees peoples...
@@WeirdExplorerI think something important that you missed is that the rise of the spice trade coincided with the rise of the sugar industry. Most of these spices were used in sweet porridges, drinks, and desserts. Portugal especially started sugar plantations on Madeira and the Cape Verde islands. This sugar plantation model was later spread to the Americas by the Portuguese and Spanish.
I am from Fort Smith, Arkansas, and i don't get to get out and travel, so the next best thing is to watch people like you discover the world and our histories. Thank you for sharing.
Hi! I was raised in Stuttgart, Arkansas. I'm an older woman, nearly 70 now. I have always loved social studies, geography, world cultures. I certainly agree that this is a wonderful way of keeping my heart and mind open, seeing places where I won't be able to visit. Take care & Merry Christmas!
Not sure how long you can keep up this pace, but the quality of your work with these historical pieces is amazing. I hope people watch it through to hear the story of the Bandanese and how they're barely hanging on. It's obvious by some of the comments below that people haven't done so - or have drawn the wrong conclusion from the story here. There are so many endangered cultures and languages across the world, with governments wanting to homogenise their populations and media and telecoms deterring people from speaking their own languages, and perhaps this piece will spotlight a nearly-forgotten people.
All the various shots of grinding nutmeg and nutmeg grinders as transitions was very artistic and well done. Thank you for sharing this tremendous content with us all for free.
Hard to begin ,as I was born in Rotterdam 6 months before the outbreak of WW2. In my teens I remember reading "Met Jan Pieterson naar de Kaap", a boys' adventure book .(South Africa}. Glorified Dutch history no-doubt .Emigrated to Canada in 1954 with parents@15. Became absorbed in English / Canadian culture informally without schooling. Avid reader. Only recently did I learn of some of the evil perpetrated by my ancestors regarding nutmeg . I now feel shamed and dirty because of your magnificent effort to set the record straight Thank you so much. My heart goes out to all the Bandalese decendents for the sorrows suffered on account of my ancesters.Willem Bezemer
Hey! What were you doing in my neck of the woods at 34:15 there? People flying to eastern Indonesia usually transit through Makassar, not Banjarmasin. For a moment, I got my hopes up, thinking you might have done a video in my hometown in the Indonesian province of South Kalimantan! 😆 Anyway, this is such a great video about the origin and history of nutmeg. It’s fascinating yet bittersweet because, sadly, most people today barely know about the Spice Islands (Maluku), unlike the old days when Western powers were fighting over them. As an Indonesian, I find it such a shame; not just because of the lost historical awareness but also because visiting these islands is still expensive and complicated, even for us. That’s unfortunate because Maluku is breathtakingly beautiful, with so much history waiting to be explored, from the old forts left behind by the Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch to the local culture that has endured through the centuries. I really loved how you traced the Bandanese people’s journey all the way to the Kei Islands. That’s a perspective we don’t often hear about. And when you were in Malaysia, the nutmeg products you tried were great, but they leaned more toward the modern adaptations made by the ethnic Chinese community there. Discovering how the Bandanese people themselves use nutmeg in their cuisine? Now, that’s something truly special and unique. Cheers to your adventures! Looking forward to seeing where you take us next. Keep it up! 🍻
@ Wait, you really visited Banjarmasin and even made a video here in the Indonesian province of South Kalimantan? That’s awesome! 😃 We’ve got plenty of exotic plants (and animals) in Borneo, but sadly, they don’t just hang out in the city for your convenience. You’ll need to venture out of Banjarmasin to find them, which, let’s be real, is easier said than done. Each Indonesian province is the size of a small country, so it’s basically a whole expedition. I hope you still found what you were looking for despite all that. And hey, next time you’re in town, hit me up; I’ll try to be a better tour guide than Google! 🙏 Cheers! 🍻
I friggin love this content. The depth that you go to, the length of the video, it's all what I'm here for! Reminds me of the old-fashioned history channel or Discovery. Just promise me you'll never do a segment on fruit from aliens 😉
@@WeirdExplorer OOOOOH IN THAT CASE YOU SHOULD LOOK INTO SILPHIUM!!!! It has recently been potentially rediscovered after going missing during Roman times. Its kind of obtained a legendary status, so potentially rediscovering it is almost like actually finding a legendary plant of sorts. It was a VERY famous plant in the ancient world. Natgeo ran a piece on it which is probably a good start.
@@WeirdExplorer OOOOOH IN THAT CASE YOU SHOULD LOOK INTO SILPHIUM!!!! It has recently been potentially rediscovered after going missing during Roman times. Its kind of obtained a legendary status, so potentially rediscovering it is almost like actually finding a legendary plant of sorts. It was a VERY famous plant in the ancient world.
This is ABSURDLY well done, and your pivot from "trying odd fruits guy" to...to... award-winning documentary producer / storyteller is something to behold.
As a history nerd, I actually knew about the fact that the Bandanese still live on in Kei Besar. I always wanted more details on that, so that ending bit was awesome!
I'm glad to see that the Banda islands don't look too urbanized. After learning about how Madagascar is seeing massive deforestation, I was a tad worried that these islands might have had a lot of land cleared out because of the spice trade. It does help that because nutmeg comes from the fruit, there is a big incentive to *not* cut down the trees.
Yeah! There is a lot of deforestation throughout Indonesia, mostly to grow palm oil. But the areas I visited in the Maluku islands didn't seem effected by it so much.
@@douggaudiosi14 ye its just a bit better if its native species, tho I also did see a variety of trees around the homes and the mountains at least cause of the rough landscape but maybe your eye is more keen than mine for these
Somehow when I started this video, I thought it was only 12 minutes. I watched the whole damn thing. Absolutely fascinating. I didn't know you had it in you to do a whole documentary. More like this please!
DUDE THIS WAS AMAZING! I had NO idea about any of this besides footnotes, this was an incredible spotlight. If not for this, maybe many of us wouldn't know. Thanks, man. Thanks so much, this video is my absolute favourite of yours. I can feel the effort and reverence for everything, the gravity and the highs and lows.
I cannot believed I’d finish watching an almost 2 hours documentary. Respect and gratitude for your efforts making these video! If you come KL again I’ll treat you a nutmeg cuisine!
Beautiful video we so often focus on what the European states gained from controlling the spice trade but very little on how they did it and how it affected the other end of the trade
What a slamdunk of a video. That was super interesting, and perfectly fitting to what your channel is all about - so much more information than the typical superficial info videos you tend to find on UA-cam these days. I loved it, thank you!!
unlike many youtube historical videos, this one is well researched, presented in a likable format, pronounced correctly, with correct grammar and thoroughly enjoyable. Had no problem watching it from beginning to end. Thank you for your very hard work
I'll look at nutmeg with a stink eye now. Very dark history regarding the Dutch, Portuguese, & Indonesia. 1:40:55 The old guy from Wanden stole my heart. Great informative & well researched video.
The quality content keeps coming :) I've been following you around 6-7 years and you're one of the best content creators ever. Actual content man. Please keep being a source of reference on fruit, since I don't think there's anyone out there who can replace you.
Same here! I’ve always loved learning about unique fruits and have been watching his videos for YEARS. I’ve been able to try and prepare tons of different fruits from learning through his videos.
This is so cool and nostalgic to see... I went to The Banda Islands about 15 years ago with my my family when I was a kid. It al looks exactly the same!!
I once visited Grenada on an adventure vacation, with the goal of experiencing a cacao farm and meeting a local chocolate producer. Walking down the road, I saw these large trees with split "peaches" that had dark red centers. Then I saw baskets full of, what I would later learn was mace, drying in the sun. I thought they looked like alien brains. What a cool plant....and now I know, not so cool history.
@@WeirdExplorer It's a surprisingly quick flight from NYC. You'd get a kick out of riding across the island on their "buses," which are really just vans that have been converted to have as many seats as possible. The people and culture are beautiful. I went to the Grenada Chocolate Company. The founder had a whole collection of youtube videos, and I was hoping to meet him, but it turned out he passed away after falling off a ladder. I learned that after arriving and asking if it was possible to meet him. But now the company is locally owned and operated, and you can taste the fresh chocolate as it comes out of the molds. It's the best chocolate I've ever had, and tasted like bananas. The streets around the farm and chocolate factory (really just a house) are lined with cocoa trees and nutmeg. Hopefully hurricane Beryl didn't decimate the area this past June.
This is why always believe people who had experienced genocide. One of my friends ancestors directly came from Banda. And they always support the liberation of Palestine and quick to know what Israel did for the past year is a genocide. Oppressed people know what it was like to be subjugated, humiliated, and colonized by mostly Western powers. I hope Bandanese people can be given reparations from the Dutch for the genocide that their ancestors endured.
I like nutmeg because it has a very specific flavor that seems to change whether it's put on savory or sweet things. I totally understand why it was so sought after when spices were expensive and rare. Mace is a bit like cinnamon, a bit like black pepper.
I just watch the credit. THANK YOU for making great documentary, for coming to my country Indonesia, and to show the world one little piece of Indonesian history. ❤
Man, that's awesome that the Bandanese people were able to maintain their own authority of their island. It's nice to see an example of an indigenous people able to continue being sovereign over their own land up until today. Just imagine if other indigenous populations around the world were able to fight off western/eastern powers in the same way.
I agree that it's awesome, but sovereign indigenous people directly contradict capitalism. Our system depends on eternal economic growth. Indigenous people are a market to be conquered and exploited.
@robertschnobert9090 What I'm saying is it's interesting to see an example of a people that were already playing the capitalist game when the capitalists arrived. So they were able to prosper up until today.
amazing video ❤❤ as you've grown to bigger and bigger opportunities, you've always exemplified the balance of the privilege to go & do extraordinary things, and the respect & groundedness to treat that life with respect.. amazing, keep up the great work and keep following those powerful feelings & experiences, the only one who can be you the best is you :)
Nutmeg is my favorite spice, and I've been adding Clove to my Catmint Tea as of recently. Never really thought about the history of it, and man, I want some of that fruit now! That jelly and coffee sound heavenly! I'm glad the people are still hanging in there, despite the crimes against humanity acted upon them. Hopefully one day I can find my own way out there, though I've yet to ever leave the US. If I'm not already subscribed, I will after this comment. This video was such a good watch, and I'm glad it didn't end up rotting in my Watch Next playlist.
I have a few things I want to comment on: 1) I had to spend a night in Newark airport once. It might or might not be the worst airport in the world, but it's the worst I've been through. There is hostile architecture inside the airport terminals, after security. Why? It's an airport, god forbid people be tired while traveling and want to lay down. The food prices are absolutely insane too. We're talking $15 for even a small self-checkout grab-and-go coldcut sandwich. 2) I'm enjoying the effort put into the interstitials. More of that, please. 3) The way you're pronouncing Melacca is funny to me because I know a bit of Greek and it sounds exactly like the common Greek insult μαλακα (malaka) 4) I appreciate that you're teaching the untold history here. That's the sort of thing I'm always eager to hear more about.
So happy to have been able to see this awesome movie in person. Thank you so much Jared for sharing the candied nutmeg with everyone! Keep up the amazing work.
Thank you for coming to my country, especially to Maluku. I really love fruits, so one day 6 or 7 years ago I searched for video about fruit and that's when I found your channel. I have watched yours since then. And thank you for making this video, I know this story from school and from my families, but I never go there and see it. If you stop at Penang, I would be very dissapointed.
I love that a curiosity about the spice lead to a excellent story about the people who grew it and defended themselves until it was prudent that they move to save themselves. I’ve liked nutmeg and mace for many years and have a deeper appreciation of it now. Many thanks and best wishes to the Bandanese people.
You're nuts for creating such a worthwhile video. What a treat! (After watching the video, I am glad you had such an awesome adventure. I'm sure some historians and other people would love to have done something like this. Like a 'once in a lifetime opportunity' that most humans don't/can't ever do! As someone interested and invested in history, this is such a valuable video. Not only cause it mentions stuff from 400 years ago, but because there is so much atmosphere/flavor/texture that is both modern and old. 'Time goes by but the fruit tree still stands...' or something like that.)
Bandanese are very strong people, I am happy that they triumphed over injustice and colonialism from the Portuguese ,and the Dutch. thank you for sharing the history about nutmeg and the people.❤🏆
What a beautiful documentary. You really went above and beyond on this one, thank you. My heart goes out to the beautiful people who are the descendants of those who fled the genocide. I wish there were a way they could be repatriated to their homeland if that’s what they wanted for themselves.
This is super awesome! I love Indonesia (did some travelling in Sumatra) and I love seeing the diversity within the many islands. Love this longer style of documentary. I'm sure it's a ton of work and expense but I hope to see more in the future :)
this is amazing! I was sad about the history and what happened to the original Banda people, and then you did part 3 on the Kei islands!😃, thank you for telling this story❤
This is amazing, such a blend of a documentary, scrappy vlog, and "high art indie movie"(+natural comedy) lol Some remarks: 7:48 Aha, high budget episode, we got a real knife 9:20 hehe vegeta, still trying to find the first video I saw with it 9:35 We dont actually know that, thats just a hypothesis the romans themselves suggested 34:40 The water just flying of the face hehe, appreciated 3:15 This is majestic, like something from jurassic park 37:32 Oh look, a fan waving! oh wait its just a waving fan 47:30 "hiru'ezBABY 1:01:30 Oh I get the connection now noooo 1:03:20 Even cooler to me seeing the effort and history to the landscape 1:10:08 Terrifying 1:15:44 I KNOW WHAT THAT NAME IS its all connected New York babyyy- 1:19:50 baby 1:25:00 Yea very nice seeing what seems like just a nice, healthy place 1:30:18 New baby!!! Credits, almost wanna cry, this, this was INCREDIBLE, so much knowledge, so much pain, so much beauty, info where it needed to be and emotion where it needed to be, pacing, fun, bits of music used in other videos throughout the years, awesome landscapes, interviews, connections.. hah, he's done it again
Amazing video. It deserves much more love. ❤ I didn't expect it to get so heavy but I knew it would once I saw the logo for the dutch east india company. Sadly colonization is still going on. From a descendant of colonized people it's important to preserve cultures and languages as much as possible, for future generations. I always admire indigenous people that despite all odds have managed to preserve their culture and native tongue. It's also important to not forget the history of these people, not just from the perspective of the colonizers.
This video turned out to be so much cooler than expected. What a great history lesson and a treat with all the views. Makes me want to make these trips myself.
This was incredibly well-done. You conveyed everything you learned and experienced with a casual & blunt but respectful and kind tone, and it was easy to see how much you became personally invested in this story. A lot of documentaries struggle to find the sweet spot between "too dry to spark an emotional connection", "too sanitized for the audience to grasp the weight of the events" and "gratuitous, dehumanizing indulgence in the gory details". You landed in that spot expertly -- you communicated the heaviness of the past while showing great empathy for the people both then and now. Documentaries rarely make me cry but this one hit hard. I'm grateful to have learned from such a wonderful teacher, and glad to have followed you for as long as I have.
What a wonderful documentary, so well made. I learned a lot about the dark secrets of my country. For years, I drove through the JP Coentunnel every day, ignorant of who this man was and what he'd done to deserve to have a tunnel named after him. There are activitsts that want the name changed, for instance naming it after Anthony De Krom. But that still hasn't happened. We have such a dark history, but times are changing and we are slowly acknowledging our past and coming to terms with it.
Unfortunately, teachers have to follow some syllabi written by governments. They're designed to keep people working for corporations and governments rather than becoming independent thinkers. How do I know this? Because I'm a teacher myself, I'd encourage you to keep learning outside your classroom. Just like you're doing now.
@@eoinsweetman9263 It's because there has to be a national examination that is recognised nationally at the end of the process. And that can't happen if everyone goes off on a tangent. And there is so much darkness in history (and a lot today), you can't do it all. In the UK, in the 80's we were taught about the slave trade, as the UK was involved with that.
This was such a cool direction for your content to go! I love exploring new foods withyou, but learning so much more about them and the context they have within our world brings SO much more.
From a long time viewer here… this is absolutely fantastic. You researched it well, you poured your heart into the cinematography, the stop motion transition was such a fun small touch, everything about this just screams tender love and care about a passion project. You took something that most people wouldn’t have given a second thought to, and turned it into an important and enlightening conversation. Truly truly, kudos to you for putting this piece of art into the world for us all to enjoy. Thank you!
Thank you for making this video. I learned crumbs about this story in university and i am happy that someone has taken the time and effort to highlight the history of the bandanese people themselves! This video is very important.
Very very well done. Got my full attention once the history kicked in. Brilliantly told even though its so horrific to know where to begin. My heart went out to the village chief who was asked his name but told the whole history by his reaction. Enough said.
Your content is essentially of the calibre of the documentaries I used to watch back when documentaries were more profitable for media companies to produce and air. I have been watching you for years. I am impressed. I cannot wait to see what content you will produce in the coming years! And, I hope to get to Penang at least in the next few years to try some of the nutmeg products you've introduced here. I'd love to try nutmeg jam! Cheers.
Incredible presentation! Thank you for highlighting a Peoples who have made it through the worst some monsters could dish out. May they continue on for another half a millenia.
1:46:23 correct me if I'm wrong but also one of the reasons why the Portuguese left Banda was because they've successfully cultivated nutmeg (plus blackpepper and cloves) in their colonies in southern India (in and around Goa) and Sri Lanka. It was a shorter route from there to Europe, and India/Sri Lanka also had cinnamon and tea, so what they used to travel the world for, now all grew in one place.
That was a wonderful and very human story that you started doing all because of some fruit. Part way through the video i was thinking "this could probably be edited down a little", but by the end of it i realised that all the little asides, the little hikes up the mountain and everything. Those slow scenic parts of the video gave you a sense of place and people, a glimpse into the lives of these people and where they come from; and the tragedy wrought by colonialism. Great video! I have to wonder just how many nutmeg graters do you now own though?
Fantastic production Jared. Love these longer-form segments. They remind me of the heyday of cable edutainment programming. Nat geo, discovery, the travel channel.
Magnificently done. You've been one of my favorite people to watch on UA-cam for over half a decade, and this video is something truly special. Looking forward to the next 800!
I haven't finished the video. But I just wanted to say that I absolutely love your long form videos. I already know a fair amount of the history behind nutmeg, and as I can see from the videos title. It seems like you're ACTUALLY going to get into a lot of the details that most people don't know about. And I absolutely love that you're doing that/made this video. EDIT: I absolutely loved this. And I have to now admit my full ignorance about everything nutmeg other than knowing how to use it as a spice. This was very interesting, entertaining and eye opening. Thank you for putting as much care as you did into this (And all of you're other) video.
An instant like and subscribe. This is what UA-cam is supposed to be. Just excellent. Bravo. First time I’ve come across the channel. Keep up the great work!
Absolutely amazing video, I would love to see more like it. I can’t believe how much effort and history that was put into this video! Watched every second extremely invested and so interested, I made a nutmeg snack while watching.
Amitav Gosh is one of my favorite novelists. This video is a masterpiece. Kudos for the huge amount of work you did for this video. The result is very touching. Thank you Jared.
Fun fact: nutmeg has psychotropic (and worse at higher doses) effects if you eat too much of it. Found this out the hard way when I made some wassail and dropped too many nutmeg seeds in the spice bag.
@@RaimoHöft Are you consuming 14 *fresh* nutmeg seeds? Pre-grated/powdered is not active, and anything lower than a ridiculous amount like that also will not work or stack. I can confirm it has intense effects because I tripped on nutmeg in 2016 when intentionally seeking this out. You're out for a few days with dry mouth and incapacitation, and it's not quite worth it, given other recreational drugs are out there. But it is absolutely psychotropic and the limited studies on this will confirm this to be true (search "myristicin"). But it has to be grated fresh, anything pre-grated oxidizes and has no potency. I think closer to 10 also works but I may have slightly overdone it just to ensure effects. It doesn't have the greatest of reporting, but erowid is a good site. Malcolm X allegedly tripped on nutmeg in prison to pass the time, as has Stephen Colbert for recreation.
what an interesting video, even though it almost a movie long but it felt like only half an hour. Your channel is seriously underrated for the work and effort you've put in.
Interestingly, a lot of people from that area, was forcibly moved as slaves to the Dutch Cape Colony (Cape Town) and are ancestors to certain minority groups if people here. Fantastic video!
As someone with significant Dutch heritage and history from Indonesia during those times (now Australia) it’s really interesting to think about that volcanic eruption and the timing of it, and how I probably wouldn’t exist without that eruption at that point. Don’t even have to go far down the butterfly effect wormhole, my great grandfather simply wouldn’t have gotten the important job he did there at that point, and my ‘thread’ would disappear. Of course all our histories are like this, especially with the world wars following, but I never knew of that particular eruption at that point, so it was a learning moment. I really like this long form historic deep dive format, and looking forward to more. It’s obvious how much serious work this single episode was for you. Well done, and thanks.
Outstanding documentary, Jared. This has taught me so much and has inspired me to dig deeper into many topics I did not know beforehand. Thank you so much for this amazing video, I enjoyed it so much that I wrote down way too many notes, amassing almost 3,000 words! Would love to see more in-depth long form content like this in the future
I would expect this quality from a National Geographic documentary not a guy from UA-cam, but here we are. You did an excellent job telling a story that is swept under the rug in Europe. Before today, all I knew about nutmeg is, it is a spice with a skeleton in the closet. I never knew what put that skeleton in the closet, but now I know their is more than one skeleton and who put them in there. I know their are other spices with skeletons in their respective closets.
This was such a breathtaking video.. My partner & I have been watching your channel for about 5 or 6 years by now, but I don't think I've ever actually taken the time to leave a comment. This time, however, I couldn't possibly let it pass. This has been a breathtaking documentary and an incredible journey that I would have never otherwise experienced if it wasn't for your hard work ( I'm a disabled viewer that won't be able to travel the world as I once wished ). Agriculture is the story of humans and people with the land and the sea that we inhabit, and since day 1 of finding your channel I've felt like I hit the jackpot of discovering a person with not only shared passion but a similar point of view and appreciation to just how much history and culture is there in every bite we take for granted. I'm truly at awe at the dedication and efforts you've poured into these incredible two hours. Thank you for bringing these untold stories to us, for being our guide in such distant shores. I couldn't be happier and more proud for to see just how far you've came and reached doing this job and sharing it with us! Here's to more adventures! ♥
Watch from start to finish this morning. I am humbled by your work, dedication and the strength and beauty of the Bandsnese people. This documentary should receive multiple awards in the coming years. It’s a true masterpiece. Thank you for enriching my life and my family’s ad we’ll all be watching this together very soon. THANK YOU and GOD BLESS all involved in this project. 🙏🏼
Congratulations on reaching another milestone episode, Jared! I can't thank you enough for introducing me to an incredible variety of fruits that I never even knew existed before discovering your channel. Your videos not only expand my knowledge of different fruits but also provide fascinating insights into their histories and the cultures they come from. Wishing you continued success and looking forward to the next 100 episodes (and many more beyond!)!
This was a truly unexpected journey for me (and you, apparently) that started with fruit and ended up being a historical documentary. Absolutely outstanding. This should definitely get some type of UA-cam Creator award.
Stunningly good video, you really have grown as a documentarist. Thanks for the years of great videos! And thanks for visiting finland! Man, would I have loved to show you some of my favourite cloudberry picking places :D.
Absolutely incredible production, I just stumbled on this looking for something to listen to while drawing and found myself captivated by the stories of the Bandanese people. As someone from another colonized SEA country, I feel a real kinship and empathy with these people and found myself pretty emotional at times while watching this. I know this video JUST came out 4 days ago, but it deserves so much more. This'll definitely be a rewatch for me!!
You just earned yourself a new patreon member Jared. This is probably my most favourite video of yours so far. Its informative without getting boring. Its creative and passionate. Hopefully this video would lead to more videos like it in the future where you dive deep into the history of fruits and all.
thanks so much. It's the direction I'd like to go with the channel. takes a lot more work to do, but I'm hoping to get one or two out each year that are more history focused
This is one of the absolute best documentary on nutmeg and the original Bandanese people. Thank you for doing these people justice that not even my government does to them.
I REALLY wish you'd pursued that angle at the end more. I went from thinking "basic content creator" to "potentially award winning" and "consequential for world history". I hope this draws attention to that issue. I like plants. That's why I clicked on it. But that would have been a beautiful surprise of a twist ending. If you're making documentaries, please don't be afraid to go where the story takes you. That's how the best stories are told.
Superb storytelling. Nutmeg is something I've only thought about in November and December when I encounter it in pumpkin pie and eggnog. No, wait, I also use it year round in a Moroccan stew that my family enjoys. Oh, and I also encounter it in Indian food, I suppose. But obviously, my knowledge of nutmeg has been non-existent. Now I know a little more. I'm going to watch this excellent documentary again when I can be uninterrupted and really think about it. The story of murder and oppression is not unlike the story I know of the Spanish conquest of the Native Americans in Utah and Colorado in the greedy quest for gold in the 1500s and 1600s. The work and expense you invested in this masterpiece is greatly appreciated.
Awesome video. I stumbled in here with no context for the rest of your content. There may have been one or two brief moments when I was still left with some questions or some nuance may have been missing, but as I realised, and you explained at the end of your video, around 1:42:00, History wasn't actually the original intent of this project! I think considering that you've done an amazing job with it here. Loved getting to see you get to these remote places, and talk to the locals about their perspectives. I'm already digging into some of your backlog now! Cheers
Thanks everyone who has been watching the channel over the years.
And if you are new here, welcome.
Here's a playlist of other episodes you may like: ua-cam.com/play/PLvGFkMrO1ZxJldWKpSAhhnxuPYVeCt8oj.html
Durian?
Thank you for all the work you've put in. Nobody else is documenting these fruits in such a publicly in depth way.
Dude I've been watching you for like 6-7 yrs now, I've learned so much! I can't thank you enough for all your hard work ❤
@@xiraoit9342
Several videos about different species of Durian
Any chance you could tell me the name of the song that plays around 3-4 minutes in? It’s hauntingly beautiful.
As an Indonesian i can said that your documentary about nutmeg is one of the best in English language, heck your's maybe even better than locals documentary. The story is so deep and interesting, not many people know about Wandan people even here in Indonesia, it's especially rare for Western people to know about this. For all off your work here i salute you.
It’s crazy the Europeans were so eager to get to the spice islands but now that spice is worthless they just forget all about it, and now you’d be lucky to find any westerner who can recognize the name Maluku/Mollucas let alone find it in a map.
@@RadenWAunless someone has a special interest or is a professor of geography, I suspect zero people would be able to find it on a map, and I think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who has even heard of these islands.
@@DenethordeSade.90 or Geoguessr player…🤭
@@RadenWA You'd be lucky to find any indonesian who can pinpoint anything on the map too though, so it's not really a point to make
@@pcpudfm I am an Indonesian who can pinpoint things on the map, so what’s your point?
Those bandanese elders talking w tears in their eyes made me cry like a baby , this was something else you out did yourself and thank you for the dedication to a single fruit
It was such a punch in the gut to get this kind of response, which is why I left part untranslated. He was only saying his family name and that they originally fled from Rhun. But its such a heavy history.
I was crying too, but at least we should let ai record all the last speakers and immortalize the language for anyone who wants to learn it. @weirdexplorer that could be the positive twist, they managed to survive to the quantum computer finish line. Languages are more valuable than we can imagine, it is a style of thinking, the core code of unique cultures. So any gran gran children who wish to pick it up, it would never be fully lost.
This video should get an award.
Quality production. A lot of thought and effort (and time!) must have gone into it. It is the travelling to these fabulous tropical places and trying out the local food dishes that brings all the initial research to life.
when you hear him repeating drivel like spices were used to cover up spoiled food as a fact it really makes it hard to trust the rest of the 'facts' we hear in the doc.
Not terrible for a soft city boy who doesn't consume proper protein.
✋ Second that! Amazing story and video... Dudes reaching new heights pleasure to watch!!!
its incredible OH MY GOODNESS
I never thought I'd be watching a full length film about nutmeg, but this was amazing and had me captivated the entire way through. Thank you for making this wonderful film.
You're very welcome! I had a lot of fun making this one.
I know, this was much more interesting than I'd ever expected! And...the Dutch! Just...wow!
this is not a 1:31AM thing to watch for me, ill come back and give it the respect it deserves
Yeah this one is going to give you weird dreams. 😅
@@WeirdExplorer 12:08 Yeah, it sure would.
Same here, I’m not in a place where I can watch right now but I’m so looking forward to this!
@@WeirdExplorer Spanish and Portuguese were under Muslim rule , you should have added.
…
This vid was such a pleasant surprise. I live in Balik Pulau literally minutes from the nutmeg farms, and get my nutmeg from some of those very shops you visited ❤
That is awesome! I bought bags and bags of spices and candy at Three Two food court, so good.
@@WeirdExplorer haha yeah that spot would be the best bet. They process and make most of the stuff there. I tend to beeline there for nutmeg juice in their many assorted bottles to stock up the fridge 😊
Discovered your channel thru this vid. The algo overlords did their job well. Your content and the effort you put into it is so totally underrated.
Woah, this video is a real mix of a fruit review, historical overview, and a cultural documentary! Perhaps one of the best videos you've ever made. And a gem on youtube that's better than many movies!
Agreed. Give this man a big munny Netflix deal.
Making this available to our talented homeschool co-op lids who have very active curiosities!
I'm a Dutch old fart and I'm glad I watched this video to the end. I've been aware of the violent and lethal history of the VOC, Coen, the Banda Island and the Dutch East Indies since I was at Uni in the 1980s, but I was much surprised to learn about the Bandanese in the Kai Islands. Thanks for that!
In primary school I was taught the Dutch side of colonial history, be it a bit red-faced because we lost the East Indies just two decades ago. For many Dutch that was economically or ideologically traumatic. It's only in recent years that the Dutch government is a bit more apologetic about our exploitation and abuse of Indonesia.
May I ask why it was traumatic? Is it the loss of capital and/or resource first and foremost?
I'm sure what you learned in school was not the whole story and mostly full of BS
@@MagisterialVoyager
Economically traumatic since for centuries the Dutch East Indies had been a source of income. Even the incompetent could make a fortune in the colony.
Ideologically traumatic because the loss of the colony was seen as a humiliation: the thought that the Indonesians would win was - in racist Dutch eyes - impossible. Indonesian independence was only supported by the communist party, even Labour supported the colonial war. A much repeated slogan was: _Indië verloren, rampspoed geboren_ (Calamity is born when the East Indies are lost).
Many Dutch men, women and children had been captive during the Japanese occupation of the East Indies and treated badly, a terrible shock to their racist mindset, and they saw the Indonesian nationalists as Japanese agents.
That calamity never happened. The economic effects on a Dutch national scale were minimal thanks to post-WWII industrialisation, but the ideological trauma took decades to fade. Only in the 1980s the exploitation and abuse of the Indonesians became more widely part of the Dutch awareness, till then the colony was depicted as a heroic national enterprise, the white burden to civilize the _inlanders_ .
@@gagaklumayung7995 In hindsight it was not so much wrong, but incomplete and very biased: white men in white suits and pith helmets bringing progress to the Asians. The racism, exploitation, abuse, violence and paternalism was left out.
G E K O L O N I S E E R D
This is such an amazing documentary. I teach for a living and I would love to show this to my students as a way to understand the humanity of the spice trade. History and geography is so often dry, boring stuff, but then you see this and it reminds you that everything in history is real, that it happened to real people and that the effects of that history are still being felt today. It makes it feel real. Thank you for making this.
So glad to hear it. The most amazing thing with this trip was seeing the places I was reading about come to life. I really wanted to share that experience
I was once a young student. I can tell you... if I was under 18, the only thing I'd remember is Nutmeg is a hallucinogen! And the Dutch people were evil to the banded knees peoples...
@@WeirdExplorerI think something important that you missed is that the rise of the spice trade coincided with the rise of the sugar industry. Most of these spices were used in sweet porridges, drinks, and desserts. Portugal especially started sugar plantations on Madeira and the Cape Verde islands. This sugar plantation model was later spread to the Americas by the Portuguese and Spanish.
You should feed them nutmeg as they’re watching!!!!
I am from Fort Smith, Arkansas, and i don't get to get out and travel, so the next best thing is to watch people like you discover the world and our histories. Thank you for sharing.
Same sentiment...
Southern Ontario.. 😊😊
❤ a Canadian fan...
Hi! I was raised in Stuttgart, Arkansas. I'm an older woman, nearly 70 now.
I have always loved social studies, geography, world cultures. I certainly agree that this is a wonderful way of keeping my heart and mind open, seeing places where I won't be able to visit.
Take care & Merry Christmas!
I am from Arkansas also.
Not sure how long you can keep up this pace, but the quality of your work with these historical pieces is amazing. I hope people watch it through to hear the story of the Bandanese and how they're barely hanging on. It's obvious by some of the comments below that people haven't done so - or have drawn the wrong conclusion from the story here.
There are so many endangered cultures and languages across the world, with governments wanting to homogenise their populations and media and telecoms deterring people from speaking their own languages, and perhaps this piece will spotlight a nearly-forgotten people.
All the various shots of grinding nutmeg and nutmeg grinders as transitions was very artistic and well done. Thank you for sharing this tremendous content with us all for free.
Hard to begin ,as I was born in Rotterdam 6 months before the outbreak of WW2. In my teens I remember reading "Met Jan Pieterson naar de Kaap", a boys' adventure book .(South Africa}. Glorified Dutch history no-doubt .Emigrated to Canada in 1954 with parents@15. Became absorbed in English / Canadian culture informally without schooling. Avid reader. Only recently did I learn of some of the evil
perpetrated by my ancestors regarding nutmeg . I now feel shamed and dirty because of your magnificent effort to set the record straight Thank you so much. My heart goes out to all the Bandalese decendents for the sorrows suffered on account of my ancesters.Willem Bezemer
You didn't do it. All of history and nature is awful.
Hey! What were you doing in my neck of the woods at 34:15 there? People flying to eastern Indonesia usually transit through Makassar, not Banjarmasin. For a moment, I got my hopes up, thinking you might have done a video in my hometown in the Indonesian province of South Kalimantan! 😆
Anyway, this is such a great video about the origin and history of nutmeg. It’s fascinating yet bittersweet because, sadly, most people today barely know about the Spice Islands (Maluku), unlike the old days when Western powers were fighting over them. As an Indonesian, I find it such a shame; not just because of the lost historical awareness but also because visiting these islands is still expensive and complicated, even for us. That’s unfortunate because Maluku is breathtakingly beautiful, with so much history waiting to be explored, from the old forts left behind by the Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch to the local culture that has endured through the centuries.
I really loved how you traced the Bandanese people’s journey all the way to the Kei Islands. That’s a perspective we don’t often hear about. And when you were in Malaysia, the nutmeg products you tried were great, but they leaned more toward the modern adaptations made by the ethnic Chinese community there. Discovering how the Bandanese people themselves use nutmeg in their cuisine? Now, that’s something truly special and unique.
Cheers to your adventures! Looking forward to seeing where you take us next. Keep it up! 🍻
Lots from Banjarmasin coming soon! I added a couple layovers there to see some markets.
@ Wait, you really visited Banjarmasin and even made a video here in the Indonesian province of South Kalimantan? That’s awesome! 😃 We’ve got plenty of exotic plants (and animals) in Borneo, but sadly, they don’t just hang out in the city for your convenience. You’ll need to venture out of Banjarmasin to find them, which, let’s be real, is easier said than done. Each Indonesian province is the size of a small country, so it’s basically a whole expedition. I hope you still found what you were looking for despite all that. And hey, next time you’re in town, hit me up; I’ll try to be a better tour guide than Google! 🙏 Cheers! 🍻
There's hardly anything like this on UA-cam. So raw, so moving, so informational and so adventurous at the same time!
I friggin love this content. The depth that you go to, the length of the video, it's all what I'm here for!
Reminds me of the old-fashioned history channel or Discovery. Just promise me you'll never do a segment on fruit from aliens 😉
well.. I do have some plans to review fruit that only exists in folklore and legends.. but I'll keep it on the level
@@WeirdExplorer😂😂😂
@@WeirdExplorer OOOOOH IN THAT CASE YOU SHOULD LOOK INTO SILPHIUM!!!! It has recently been potentially rediscovered after going missing during Roman times. Its kind of obtained a legendary status, so potentially rediscovering it is almost like actually finding a legendary plant of sorts. It was a VERY famous plant in the ancient world. Natgeo ran a piece on it which is probably a good start.
@@WeirdExplorer do it!! sounds interesting
@@WeirdExplorer OOOOOH IN THAT CASE YOU SHOULD LOOK INTO SILPHIUM!!!! It has recently been potentially rediscovered after going missing during Roman times. Its kind of obtained a legendary status, so potentially rediscovering it is almost like actually finding a legendary plant of sorts. It was a VERY famous plant in the ancient world.
This is ABSURDLY well done, and your pivot from "trying odd fruits guy" to...to... award-winning documentary producer / storyteller is something to behold.
This was a masterpiece of a video Jared. I am absolutely blown away.
As a history nerd, I actually knew about the fact that the Bandanese still live on in Kei Besar. I always wanted more details on that, so that ending bit was awesome!
I'm glad to see that the Banda islands don't look too urbanized. After learning about how Madagascar is seeing massive deforestation, I was a tad worried that these islands might have had a lot of land cleared out because of the spice trade. It does help that because nutmeg comes from the fruit, there is a big incentive to *not* cut down the trees.
Yeah! There is a lot of deforestation throughout Indonesia, mostly to grow palm oil. But the areas I visited in the Maluku islands didn't seem effected by it so much.
From his other videos, this was such a nice change, its always such a genuine look into the world
Mono crop farms are essentially deforestation. Just less ugly
@@douggaudiosi14 it didn't even look like that. It wasn't ordered enough to be an orchard.
@@douggaudiosi14 ye its just a bit better if its native species, tho I also did see a variety of trees around the homes and the mountains at least cause of the rough landscape but maybe your eye is more keen than mine for these
Somehow when I started this video, I thought it was only 12 minutes. I watched the whole damn thing. Absolutely fascinating. I didn't know you had it in you to do a whole documentary. More like this please!
DUDE THIS WAS AMAZING! I had NO idea about any of this besides footnotes, this was an incredible spotlight. If not for this, maybe many of us wouldn't know. Thanks, man. Thanks so much, this video is my absolute favourite of yours. I can feel the effort and reverence for everything, the gravity and the highs and lows.
I cannot believed I’d finish watching an almost 2 hours documentary. Respect and gratitude for your efforts making these video! If you come KL again I’ll treat you a nutmeg cuisine!
Beautiful video we so often focus on what the European states gained from controlling the spice trade but very little on how they did it and how it affected the other end of the trade
Your documentaries are a treasure. Thank you so much for taking the time to make them
What a slamdunk of a video. That was super interesting, and perfectly fitting to what your channel is all about - so much more information than the typical superficial info videos you tend to find on UA-cam these days. I loved it, thank you!!
unlike many youtube historical videos, this one is well researched, presented in a likable format, pronounced correctly, with correct grammar and thoroughly enjoyable. Had no problem watching it from beginning to end. Thank you for your very hard work
Someone send this to Townsends!
Was just going to comment this-you beat me to it! 😜
16:00 these death cults are bazar.
@Townsends
Hello fellow tavern dweller.
Yup haha I thought the same I guess they'll have quite a few people sending it their way.
I'll look at nutmeg with a stink eye now. Very dark history regarding the Dutch, Portuguese, & Indonesia. 1:40:55 The old guy from Wanden stole my heart. Great informative & well researched video.
The quality content keeps coming :) I've been following you around 6-7 years and you're one of the best content creators ever. Actual content man. Please keep being a source of reference on fruit, since I don't think there's anyone out there who can replace you.
👏 Well said
Same here! I’ve always loved learning about unique fruits and have been watching his videos for YEARS. I’ve been able to try and prepare tons of different fruits from learning through his videos.
This is so cool and nostalgic to see... I went to The Banda Islands about 15 years ago with my my family when I was a kid. It al looks exactly the same!!
I once visited Grenada on an adventure vacation, with the goal of experiencing a cacao farm and meeting a local chocolate producer. Walking down the road, I saw these large trees with split "peaches" that had dark red centers. Then I saw baskets full of, what I would later learn was mace, drying in the sun. I thought they looked like alien brains. What a cool plant....and now I know, not so cool history.
Cool! I would love to go to Grenada sometime, nutmeg is such an important part of their cuisine there.
@@WeirdExplorer It's a surprisingly quick flight from NYC. You'd get a kick out of riding across the island on their "buses," which are really just vans that have been converted to have as many seats as possible. The people and culture are beautiful. I went to the Grenada Chocolate Company. The founder had a whole collection of youtube videos, and I was hoping to meet him, but it turned out he passed away after falling off a ladder. I learned that after arriving and asking if it was possible to meet him. But now the company is locally owned and operated, and you can taste the fresh chocolate as it comes out of the molds. It's the best chocolate I've ever had, and tasted like bananas. The streets around the farm and chocolate factory (really just a house) are lined with cocoa trees and nutmeg. Hopefully hurricane Beryl didn't decimate the area this past June.
This is why always believe people who had experienced genocide. One of my friends ancestors directly came from Banda. And they always support the liberation of Palestine and quick to know what Israel did for the past year is a genocide. Oppressed people know what it was like to be subjugated, humiliated, and colonized by mostly Western powers. I hope Bandanese people can be given reparations from the Dutch for the genocide that their ancestors endured.
I like nutmeg because it has a very specific flavor that seems to change whether it's put on savory or sweet things. I totally understand why it was so sought after when spices were expensive and rare. Mace is a bit like cinnamon, a bit like black pepper.
I just watch the credit. THANK YOU for making great documentary, for coming to my country Indonesia, and to show the world one little piece of Indonesian history. ❤
Man, that's awesome that the Bandanese people were able to maintain their own authority of their island. It's nice to see an example of an indigenous people able to continue being sovereign over their own land up until today. Just imagine if other indigenous populations around the world were able to fight off western/eastern powers in the same way.
I agree that it's awesome, but sovereign indigenous people directly contradict capitalism. Our system depends on eternal economic growth. Indigenous people are a market to be conquered and exploited.
@robertschnobert9090 these people sell things for a living... they are capitalists
@robertschnobert9090 What I'm saying is it's interesting to see an example of a people that were already playing the capitalist game when the capitalists arrived. So they were able to prosper up until today.
amazing video ❤❤ as you've grown to bigger and bigger opportunities, you've always exemplified the balance of the privilege to go & do extraordinary things, and the respect & groundedness to treat that life with respect.. amazing, keep up the great work and keep following those powerful feelings & experiences, the only one who can be you the best is you :)
I’m very happy to hear this.
Nutmeg is my favorite spice, and I've been adding Clove to my Catmint Tea as of recently. Never really thought about the history of it, and man, I want some of that fruit now! That jelly and coffee sound heavenly!
I'm glad the people are still hanging in there, despite the crimes against humanity acted upon them. Hopefully one day I can find my own way out there, though I've yet to ever leave the US.
If I'm not already subscribed, I will after this comment. This video was such a good watch, and I'm glad it didn't end up rotting in my Watch Next playlist.
I have a few things I want to comment on:
1) I had to spend a night in Newark airport once. It might or might not be the worst airport in the world, but it's the worst I've been through. There is hostile architecture inside the airport terminals, after security. Why? It's an airport, god forbid people be tired while traveling and want to lay down. The food prices are absolutely insane too. We're talking $15 for even a small self-checkout grab-and-go coldcut sandwich.
2) I'm enjoying the effort put into the interstitials. More of that, please.
3) The way you're pronouncing Melacca is funny to me because I know a bit of Greek and it sounds exactly like the common Greek insult μαλακα (malaka)
4) I appreciate that you're teaching the untold history here. That's the sort of thing I'm always eager to hear more about.
Well done documentary. Finding the Banda people was a good full circle. Excellent job. ❤
So happy to have been able to see this awesome movie in person. Thank you so much Jared for sharing the candied nutmeg with everyone! Keep up the amazing work.
Thanks for coming out Ryan! Nice meeting you :)
Thank you for coming to my country, especially to Maluku. I really love fruits, so one day 6 or 7 years ago I searched for video about fruit and that's when I found your channel. I have watched yours since then.
And thank you for making this video, I know this story from school and from my families, but I never go there and see it.
If you stop at Penang, I would be very dissapointed.
I love that a curiosity about the spice lead to a excellent story about the people who grew it and defended themselves until it was prudent that they move to save themselves. I’ve liked nutmeg and mace for many years and have a deeper appreciation of it now. Many thanks and best wishes to the Bandanese people.
Absolutely captivating documentary. I'll never look at nutmeg the same again. I teared up when the Bandanese descendants spoke Banda!
You're nuts for creating such a worthwhile video. What a treat!
(After watching the video, I am glad you had such an awesome adventure. I'm sure some historians and other people would love to have done something like this. Like a 'once in a lifetime opportunity' that most humans don't/can't ever do! As someone interested and invested in history, this is such a valuable video. Not only cause it mentions stuff from 400 years ago, but because there is so much atmosphere/flavor/texture that is both modern and old. 'Time goes by but the fruit tree still stands...' or something like that.)
Glad you liked it!
I love nut
Bandanese are very strong people, I am happy that they triumphed over injustice and colonialism from the Portuguese ,and the Dutch. thank you for sharing the history about nutmeg and the people.❤🏆
What a beautiful documentary. You really went above and beyond on this one, thank you. My heart goes out to the beautiful people who are the descendants of those who fled the genocide. I wish there were a way they could be repatriated to their homeland if that’s what they wanted for themselves.
This is super awesome! I love Indonesia (did some travelling in Sumatra) and I love seeing the diversity within the many islands. Love this longer style of documentary. I'm sure it's a ton of work and expense but I hope to see more in the future :)
this is amazing! I was sad about the history and what happened to the original Banda people, and then you did part 3 on the Kei islands!😃, thank you for telling this story❤
This is amazing, such a blend of a documentary, scrappy vlog, and "high art indie movie"(+natural comedy) lol
Some remarks: 7:48 Aha, high budget episode, we got a real knife 9:20 hehe vegeta, still trying to find the first video I saw with it 9:35 We dont actually know that, thats just a hypothesis the romans themselves suggested 34:40 The water just flying of the face hehe, appreciated 3:15 This is majestic, like something from jurassic park 37:32 Oh look, a fan waving! oh wait its just a waving fan 47:30 "hiru'ezBABY 1:01:30 Oh I get the connection now noooo 1:03:20 Even cooler to me seeing the effort and history to the landscape 1:10:08 Terrifying 1:15:44 I KNOW WHAT THAT NAME IS its all connected New York babyyy-
1:19:50 baby 1:25:00 Yea very nice seeing what seems like just a nice, healthy place 1:30:18 New baby!!!
Credits, almost wanna cry, this, this was INCREDIBLE, so much knowledge, so much pain, so much beauty, info where it needed to be and emotion where it needed to be, pacing, fun, bits of music used in other videos throughout the years, awesome landscapes, interviews, connections..
hah, he's done it again
Amazing video. It deserves much more love. ❤ I didn't expect it to get so heavy but I knew it would once I saw the logo for the dutch east india company. Sadly colonization is still going on. From a descendant of colonized people it's important to preserve cultures and languages as much as possible, for future generations. I always admire indigenous people that despite all odds have managed to preserve their culture and native tongue. It's also important to not forget the history of these people, not just from the perspective of the colonizers.
This is amazing. I love this long form style of video. It’s a travel channel show meets a bbc style documentary
This video turned out to be so much cooler than expected. What a great history lesson and a treat with all the views. Makes me want to make these trips myself.
This was incredibly well-done. You conveyed everything you learned and experienced with a casual & blunt but respectful and kind tone, and it was easy to see how much you became personally invested in this story. A lot of documentaries struggle to find the sweet spot between "too dry to spark an emotional connection", "too sanitized for the audience to grasp the weight of the events" and "gratuitous, dehumanizing indulgence in the gory details". You landed in that spot expertly -- you communicated the heaviness of the past while showing great empathy for the people both then and now. Documentaries rarely make me cry but this one hit hard. I'm grateful to have learned from such a wonderful teacher, and glad to have followed you for as long as I have.
Maybe your most beautiful work to date. Stunning (and sad) stories
What a wonderful documentary, so well made. I learned a lot about the dark secrets of my country. For years, I drove through the JP Coentunnel every day, ignorant of who this man was and what he'd done to deserve to have a tunnel named after him. There are activitsts that want the name changed, for instance naming it after Anthony De Krom. But that still hasn't happened. We have such a dark history, but times are changing and we are slowly acknowledging our past and coming to terms with it.
why can't our teacher teach history as interesting as this 😢
Unfortunately, teachers have to follow some syllabi written by governments. They're designed to keep people working for corporations and governments rather than becoming independent thinkers. How do I know this? Because I'm a teacher myself, I'd encourage you to keep learning outside your classroom. Just like you're doing now.
Not allowed, their remit is to teach you how to sit down, shut up and produce work. It's not their fault, they're shackled by the syllabus.
@@eoinsweetman9263 It's because there has to be a national examination that is recognised nationally at the end of the process. And that can't happen if everyone goes off on a tangent. And there is so much darkness in history (and a lot today), you can't do it all. In the UK, in the 80's we were taught about the slave trade, as the UK was involved with that.
This was such a cool direction for your content to go! I love exploring new foods withyou, but learning so much more about them and the context they have within our world brings SO much more.
From a long time viewer here… this is absolutely fantastic. You researched it well, you poured your heart into the cinematography, the stop motion transition was such a fun small touch, everything about this just screams tender love and care about a passion project. You took something that most people wouldn’t have given a second thought to, and turned it into an important and enlightening conversation.
Truly truly, kudos to you for putting this piece of art into the world for us all to enjoy. Thank you!
Thank you for making this video. I learned crumbs about this story in university and i am happy that someone has taken the time and effort to highlight the history of the bandanese people themselves! This video is very important.
Very very well done. Got my full attention once the history kicked in. Brilliantly told even though its so horrific to know where to begin. My heart went out to the village chief who was asked his name but told the whole history by his reaction. Enough said.
Your content is essentially of the calibre of the documentaries I used to watch back when documentaries were more profitable for media companies to produce and air. I have been watching you for years. I am impressed. I cannot wait to see what content you will produce in the coming years! And, I hope to get to Penang at least in the next few years to try some of the nutmeg products you've introduced here. I'd love to try nutmeg jam! Cheers.
Outstanding presenation Jared! So original! You should get an award for this.
Incredible presentation! Thank you for highlighting a Peoples who have made it through the worst some monsters could dish out. May they continue on for another half a millenia.
Your stop motion is fantastic! I swear there is nothing quite as magical as seeing someone take the time to frame by frame make these things!🤩
Wow, thank you! I am brand new to it. Still figuring it out as I go.
@@WeirdExplorer You are very welcome!😄
One of the few filmic techniques that isn’t ruined by knowing how the sausage is made.
1:46:23 correct me if I'm wrong but also one of the reasons why the Portuguese left Banda was because they've successfully cultivated nutmeg (plus blackpepper and cloves) in their colonies in southern India (in and around Goa) and Sri Lanka. It was a shorter route from there to Europe, and India/Sri Lanka also had cinnamon and tea, so what they used to travel the world for, now all grew in one place.
Dude!!! Another amazing long video. I am going to stop it now and watch it with my son later! I am so glad you're doing this. Great job!
So happy to hear it. Thanks
Possibly the best UA-cam channel I''ve seen so far in my life! A++. Excellent work. Such an impressive documentary! I enjoyed every second of it.
That was a wonderful and very human story that you started doing all because of some fruit. Part way through the video i was thinking "this could probably be edited down a little", but by the end of it i realised that all the little asides, the little hikes up the mountain and everything. Those slow scenic parts of the video gave you a sense of place and people, a glimpse into the lives of these people and where they come from; and the tragedy wrought by colonialism. Great video!
I have to wonder just how many nutmeg graters do you now own though?
Fantastic production Jared. Love these longer-form segments. They remind me of the heyday of cable edutainment programming. Nat geo, discovery, the travel channel.
what an excellent video you made!
you even go back to Banda the second time.
cheers from Indonesia!
Magnificently done. You've been one of my favorite people to watch on UA-cam for over half a decade, and this video is something truly special. Looking forward to the next 800!
I haven't finished the video. But I just wanted to say that I absolutely love your long form videos.
I already know a fair amount of the history behind nutmeg, and as I can see from the videos title. It seems like you're ACTUALLY going to get into a lot of the details that most people don't know about. And I absolutely love that you're doing that/made this video.
EDIT: I absolutely loved this. And I have to now admit my full ignorance about everything nutmeg other than knowing how to use it as a spice.
This was very interesting, entertaining and eye opening.
Thank you for putting as much care as you did into this (And all of you're other) video.
An instant like and subscribe. This is what UA-cam is supposed to be. Just excellent. Bravo. First time I’ve come across the channel. Keep up the great work!
Absolutely amazing video, I would love to see more like it. I can’t believe how much effort and history that was put into this video! Watched every second extremely invested and so interested, I made a nutmeg snack while watching.
Amitav Gosh is one of my favorite novelists. This video is a masterpiece. Kudos for the huge amount of work you did for this video. The result is very touching. Thank you Jared.
Fun fact: nutmeg has psychotropic (and worse at higher doses) effects if you eat too much of it. Found this out the hard way when I made some wassail and dropped too many nutmeg seeds in the spice bag.
Hypothetically, how many lmao
Never had any effect on me... and I am always quite generous with nutmeg in mashed potatos! 😋
@@RaimoHöft Are you consuming 14 *fresh* nutmeg seeds? Pre-grated/powdered is not active, and anything lower than a ridiculous amount like that also will not work or stack. I can confirm it has intense effects because I tripped on nutmeg in 2016 when intentionally seeking this out. You're out for a few days with dry mouth and incapacitation, and it's not quite worth it, given other recreational drugs are out there. But it is absolutely psychotropic and the limited studies on this will confirm this to be true (search "myristicin").
But it has to be grated fresh, anything pre-grated oxidizes and has no potency. I think closer to 10 also works but I may have slightly overdone it just to ensure effects. It doesn't have the greatest of reporting, but erowid is a good site. Malcolm X allegedly tripped on nutmeg in prison to pass the time, as has Stephen Colbert for recreation.
This is so good. What a happy combo of all of your type of videos. We can tell it took a lot of work and its much appreciated
what an interesting video, even though it almost a movie long but it felt like only half an hour. Your channel is seriously underrated for the work and effort you've put in.
Interestingly, a lot of people from that area, was forcibly moved as slaves to the Dutch Cape Colony (Cape Town) and are ancestors to certain minority groups if people here.
Fantastic video!
As someone with significant Dutch heritage and history from Indonesia during those times (now Australia) it’s really interesting to think about that volcanic eruption and the timing of it, and how I probably wouldn’t exist without that eruption at that point. Don’t even have to go far down the butterfly effect wormhole, my great grandfather simply wouldn’t have gotten the important job he did there at that point, and my ‘thread’ would disappear. Of course all our histories are like this, especially with the world wars following, but I never knew of that particular eruption at that point, so it was a learning moment.
I really like this long form historic deep dive format, and looking forward to more. It’s obvious how much serious work this single episode was for you.
Well done, and thanks.
Wow! Amazing content. Thank you very much for bringing to light such an incredible and diverse story.
I visited Grenada so I was familiar with nutmeg fruits , jams and such, but I had no idea about the history. Good job! impressive!
Outstanding documentary, Jared. This has taught me so much and has inspired me to dig deeper into many topics I did not know beforehand. Thank you so much for this amazing video, I enjoyed it so much that I wrote down way too many notes, amassing almost 3,000 words! Would love to see more in-depth long form content like this in the future
the reverse video there from the well known seed to the fruit was clean af. well done
Thankyou for documenting a history that is almost buried. And congratulation on the 800th videos, thats truly an amazing achievement 🎉
I would expect this quality from a National Geographic documentary not a guy from UA-cam, but here we are. You did an excellent job telling a story that is swept under the rug in Europe.
Before today, all I knew about nutmeg is, it is a spice with a skeleton in the closet. I never knew what put that skeleton in the closet, but now I know their is more than one skeleton and who put them in there. I know their are other spices with skeletons in their respective closets.
This was such a breathtaking video.. My partner & I have been watching your channel for about 5 or 6 years by now, but I don't think I've ever actually taken the time to leave a comment. This time, however, I couldn't possibly let it pass. This has been a breathtaking documentary and an incredible journey that I would have never otherwise experienced if it wasn't for your hard work ( I'm a disabled viewer that won't be able to travel the world as I once wished ). Agriculture is the story of humans and people with the land and the sea that we inhabit, and since day 1 of finding your channel I've felt like I hit the jackpot of discovering a person with not only shared passion but a similar point of view and appreciation to just how much history and culture is there in every bite we take for granted. I'm truly at awe at the dedication and efforts you've poured into these incredible two hours. Thank you for bringing these untold stories to us, for being our guide in such distant shores. I couldn't be happier and more proud for to see just how far you've came and reached doing this job and sharing it with us! Here's to more adventures! ♥
thanks so much 🙏
This is a fascinating story. Thank you for expanding the scope of your exploration, to include the BIG picture. Incredible.
Watch from start to finish this morning. I am humbled by your work, dedication and the strength and beauty of the Bandsnese people. This documentary should receive multiple awards in the coming years. It’s a true masterpiece. Thank you for enriching my life and my family’s ad we’ll all be watching this together very soon. THANK YOU and GOD BLESS all involved in this project. 🙏🏼
Wow, thank you!
@ i couldn’t stop watching. GREAT WORK! Thank you so very much. 🙏🏼
Congratulations on reaching another milestone episode, Jared! I can't thank you enough for introducing me to an incredible variety of fruits that I never even knew existed before discovering your channel. Your videos not only expand my knowledge of different fruits but also provide fascinating insights into their histories and the cultures they come from. Wishing you continued success and looking forward to the next 100 episodes (and many more beyond!)!
This was a truly unexpected journey for me (and you, apparently) that started with fruit and ended up being a historical documentary. Absolutely outstanding. This should definitely get some type of UA-cam Creator award.
Stunningly good video, you really have grown as a documentarist. Thanks for the years of great videos! And thanks for visiting finland! Man, would I have loved to show you some of my favourite cloudberry picking places :D.
Absolutely incredible production, I just stumbled on this looking for something to listen to while drawing and found myself captivated by the stories of the Bandanese people. As someone from another colonized SEA country, I feel a real kinship and empathy with these people and found myself pretty emotional at times while watching this. I know this video JUST came out 4 days ago, but it deserves so much more. This'll definitely be a rewatch for me!!
You just earned yourself a new patreon member Jared. This is probably my most favourite video of yours so far. Its informative without getting boring. Its creative and passionate.
Hopefully this video would lead to more videos like it in the future where you dive deep into the history of fruits and all.
thanks so much. It's the direction I'd like to go with the channel. takes a lot more work to do, but I'm hoping to get one or two out each year that are more history focused
This is one of the absolute best documentary on nutmeg and the original Bandanese people. Thank you for doing these people justice that not even my government does to them.
I REALLY wish you'd pursued that angle at the end more. I went from thinking "basic content creator" to "potentially award winning" and "consequential for world history". I hope this draws attention to that issue.
I like plants. That's why I clicked on it. But that would have been a beautiful surprise of a twist ending. If you're making documentaries, please don't be afraid to go where the story takes you. That's how the best stories are told.
Superb storytelling. Nutmeg is something I've only thought about in November and December when I encounter it in pumpkin pie and eggnog. No, wait, I also use it year round in a Moroccan stew that my family enjoys. Oh, and I also encounter it in Indian food, I suppose. But obviously, my knowledge of nutmeg has been non-existent. Now I know a little more. I'm going to watch this excellent documentary again when I can be uninterrupted and really think about it. The story of murder and oppression is not unlike the story I know of the Spanish conquest of the Native Americans in Utah and Colorado in the greedy quest for gold in the 1500s and 1600s. The work and expense you invested in this masterpiece is greatly appreciated.
Wow. This is a real tour de force! I appreciate your sensitivity as you center the people while discussing their difficult experiences.
Awesome video. I stumbled in here with no context for the rest of your content. There may have been one or two brief moments when I was still left with some questions or some nuance may have been missing, but as I realised, and you explained at the end of your video, around 1:42:00, History wasn't actually the original intent of this project!
I think considering that you've done an amazing job with it here. Loved getting to see you get to these remote places, and talk to the locals about their perspectives.
I'm already digging into some of your backlog now!
Cheers