Written by Marco Ramerini.
On this page I want to write about an interesting book that has just been published. The book tells the story of the spice islands and focuses on the fortifications that Europeans built on these islands to control their trade.
The story narrated in Simon Pratt’s book begins with the first contacts with Europeans and reaches up to the present day. The book is full of photographs, some of which are aerial, which illustrate the current state of conservation of the Portuguese, Spanish, English and Dutch fortresses built on these islands.
In addition to the historical part that extends over about 200 pages, there is an interesting part of about 100 pages dedicated to the cataloging of the forts divided by islands. There are chapters dedicated to the forts of Ternate, Tidore, Ambon, the Banda islands and the other spice islands (Makian, Morotai, Motir, Bacan and Halmahera).
An excellent book, full of photographs and ancient maps of the forts of the Moluccas Islands. This is a great book for anyone who wants to know more about the history of the Spice Islands. But it is also a detailed tool for those who want to visit these islands and learn about an important aspect of their history.
It’s over 300 pages in full colour, so it really goes into some depth, with lots of photos that will help you appreciate the beauty of the Spice Islands.
The book “Spice Islands Forts. An illustrated history and catalogue” by Simon Pratt” is on sale on Amazon.
