Hi David On a strictly technical basis, I am "in charge" although I can barely type at the moment. As you know, I am a strict proponent of history before genealogy.....therefore all historical digressions are welcome. If we didn't have such a fine potential staff in that quarter on carib-L I would have to go out and recruit some....but lucky me, I need not bother myself with such difficulties....I merely have to stir the pot Cod C.M. Codrington("american version # 1952) Editor: Carib GenWeb "Historic Antigua and Barbuda" web-site Co-Administrator: Carribean-L@rootsweb.com Member: Barbados Museum Historical Society, Museum of Antigua and Barbuda Historical and Archaeological Society. -----Original Message----- From: David Watson [mailto:family.watson@utoronto.ca] Sent: Monday, June 16, 2003 12:05 PM To: CARIBBEAN-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Nutmeg - History - Grenada British Empire Sir Joseph Banks et al. >Richard Allicock wrote >I was hoping to hear.... [from] David Watson on whether the crediting of >Sir Joseph Banks with the introduction of the Nutmeg to Grenada in >1784 was in Dr. Groome's book No, Banks wasn't credited by Groome. I think Groome would have if he had had any evidence - in his small way he was a Banks of Grenada, and I think they shared the same alma mater, and they certainly shared the same obsession with natural history. I am wondering what this has to do with genealogy, but it seems to have sparked an interest. I hope whoever is "in charge" will bear with us. Nutmegs are so important to Grenada - like oil to Saudi Arabia. I've read a lot over the years about nutmeg agriculture, and I think we're dealing with three things - why is everything in threes? - the general desperate desire, for science and profit, to grow spices. People who did this in the beginning, couldn't match the expertise of the Dutch. Lots of trials and lots of failures. It is actually quite tricky to grow nutmegs, certainly in commercial quantities; that's hardly news to any farmer. So we have an "introductory period" when plants went into the ground and generally failed. - then, in Grenada, some managers go to Penang to assist with sugar production, and they learn to cultivate nutmeg, they learn some secrets. They bring back the nutmegs and the secrets and experiment. - lots of failures again, but they persevere and have a factor to help, Thomson Hankey (that's the name of a company,) whose families have a produce relationship with Grenada. I think we're now into the 1860s. - luck now plays a part, as does clever agricultural techniques. Some pestilence in Indonesia, a good factor (Thomson Hankey,) smart planters (I'm sure you are right, Richard, they were Scottish,) and away you go. You can hardy believe your luck. That seems to have been four points, oh well. In 1955 hurricane Janet destroyed 80% of Grenada's nutmegs. But they bounced right back, planting new trees and using the opportunity to improve the planting techniques. Also, the marketing system of cooperatives in Grenada has served all growers, large and small, over the years. How many of you on this list are interested in this esoteric discussion? David Watson ==== CARIBBEAN Mailing List ==== Before posting a query, check to see if the question has already been asked on the List. All messages posted to CARIBBEAN-L are archived by date or thread at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/CARIBBEAN. You can search the archives at http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl?list=CARIBBEAN. --- Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.489 / Virus Database: 288 - Release Date: 6/10/03 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.489 / Virus Database: 288 - Release Date: 6/10/03