Banda Islands, Island group in Maluku, Indonesia.
Banda is an island group in Maluku, Indonesia, formed by ten volcanic islands that rise from ocean depths of around 6 kilometers (nearly 4 miles). The inhabited islets spread across a total land area of roughly 172 square kilometers (about 66 square miles) and show steep slopes covered with dense tropical greenery, while some craters remain visible.
Portuguese seafarers reached the islands in the early 16th century and began shipping nutmeg to Europe. Dutch merchants later took control and expelled or killed many locals to monopolize the spice trade.
Locals call the archipelago Kepulauan Banda, a name that comes from the Malay word for this part of the Moluccas. Fishermen still paddle narrow boats between the reefs, while village gardens grow occasional nutmeg trees whose dried outer shells once traded as mace.
Regular flights land on Banda Neira, the main island, while ferries depart from the mainland several times a month depending on weather. Lodging options are mostly in the only town, with some guesthouses occupying restored colonial buildings.
Until the mid-19th century, nutmeg trees grew nowhere else on Earth, so European traders could charge extremely high prices for decades. A single kilogram of nutmeg sometimes fetched the same value in Amsterdam as several cows.
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