Nathaniel Courthope (born 1585;– died c. October 20, 1620) (sometimes written Courthopp) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

officer involved in the wars with the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

over the spice trade.

Life

He was of the wealthy cloth-maker Courthope family of Goddard's Green in Cranbrook, Kent, the son of Alexander Courthope and brother of the Peter Courthope who bought Danny House in

Hurstpierpoint Hurstpierpoint is a village in West Sussex, England, southwest of Burgess Hill, and west of Hassocks railway station. It sits in the civil parish of Hurstpierpoint and Sayers Common which has an area of 2029.88 ha and a population ...

, Sussex, and who was painted by Cornelius Johnson. He was left £200 in his father's will. On 13 November 1609, Courthope was hired by the

to go to the

Spice Islands A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices are ...

. He left England with great fanfare and by 1616 was a

factor Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, suc ...

Sukadana Sukadana () is a town and regency seat of North Kayong Regency (Kabupaten Kayong Utara), on the island of Borneo. North Kayong regency is one of the regencies of West Kalimantan province in Indonesia. The nearest airport is Rahadi Osman-Ketapang K ...

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

. In 1614 he was accused of purloining company resources and other offences by one dying man named, Edward Langley."East Indies: July 1614." ''Calendar of State Papers Colonial, East Indies, China and Japan'', Volume 2, 1513-1616. Ed. W Noel Sainsbury. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1864. 301-313
British History Online
Retrieved 11 July 2019. On 25 December 1616, he landed his ships, ''Swan'' and ''Defence'', on the island known as Run, the smallest (about ) of the

Banda Islands The Banda Islands ( id, Kepulauan Banda) are a volcanic group of ten small volcanic islands in the Banda Sea, about south of Seram Island and about east of Java, and constitute an administrative district (''kecamatan'') within the Central ...

, in a quest to break the Dutch hold on the

nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed or ground spice of several species of the genus ''Myristica''. ''Myristica fragrans'' (fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg) is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, an ...

supply. He persuaded the islanders to enter an alliance with the British for nutmeg. After losing his two ships to mutiny and sinking by the Dutch, he fortified the island by erecting forts to overlook approaches from the east. With 39 men and the natives, with scarce food and water (springs of which the island is devoid of) supply, he proceeded to hold off a siege of the Dutch - who outnumbered them considerably - for over 1,540 days. Despite numerous letters from the Company's directors allowing Courthope to leave his post, and even awarding him repeatedly for his efforts, he never gave in. Even after the fleet of Sir

Thomas Dale Sir Thomas Dale ( 1570 − 19 August 1619) was an English naval commander and deputy-governor of the Virginia Colony in 1611 and from 1614 to 1616. Governor Dale is best remembered for the energy and the extreme rigour of his administration in ...

sent from England to Run had been defeated by the Dutch governor of the archipelago,

Jan Pieterszoon Coen Jan Pieterszoon Coen (, 8 January 1587 – 21 September 1629) was an officer of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the early 17th century, holding two terms as governor-general of the Dutch East Indies. He was the founder of Batavia, ...

, the decision never changed. He was shot by the Dutch, who awaited him at night having received their spy's message, while rowing towards a nearby island in a small boat with several of his men in order to support resistance of the natives and to prepare them for a rebellion. Noticing the trap, he leapt into the sea and swam for it, dying en route. The English departed without a struggle shortly after Courthope's death and their local allies - who considered themselves to be under His Majesty's reign - were being oppressed. Thanks to Courthope's defence of the island however, Britain was able to barter its legal title to the island of Run with the Dutch, for another island by the name of Manhattan.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Courthope, Nathaniel 1585 births 1620 deaths People from Cranbrook, Kent British East India Company Army officers Expatriates of the Kingdom of England in the East Indies

Life

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