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50-823: Following the successful creation of the West India Docks which opened in 1802, an act of Parliament, the East India Docks Act 1803 ( 43 Geo. 3 . c. cxxvi) set up the East India Dock Company, promoted by the Honourable East India Company . Joseph Cotton was chairman of the dock company from 1803. The foundation stone was laid on 11 March 1805 and the sluices of its floating gate opened on 26 July 1806, being ready to receive ships five days later. The docks, designed by engineer Ralph Walker , were located to

100-468: A multi-purpose grating tool . In Indonesian cuisine , nutmeg is used in dishes, such as spicy soups including variants of soto , konro , oxtail soup , sup iga (ribs soup), bakso , and sup kambing . It is also used in gravy for meat dishes, such as semur , beef stew, ribs with tomato, and European derived dishes such as bistik (beef steak), rolade (minced meat roll), and bistik lidah (beef tongue steak). In Indian cuisine , nutmeg

150-595: A Scottish family, was largely responsible for the construction of the West India Docks. He was a wealthy West Indies merchant, slave trader and ship owner, who returned to London having managed his family's Jamaica sugar plantations. Outraged at losses due to theft and delay at the extensive (continuously along the Thames for 11 miles (18 km)) riverside wharves comprising the Port of London , Milligan headed

200-754: A comprehensive nutmeg plantation system on the islands during the 17th century. As a result of the Dutch interregnum during the Napoleonic Wars , the British invaded and temporarily took control of the Banda Islands from the Dutch and transplanted nutmeg trees, complete with soil, to Sri Lanka , Penang, Bencoolen , and Singapore . From these locations they were transplanted to their other colonial holdings elsewhere, notably Zanzibar and Grenada. The national flag of Grenada , adopted in 1974, shows

250-570: A foothold in the islands. In order to obtain a monopoly on the production and trade of nutmeg, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) waged a bloody battle with the Bandanese in 1621. Historian Willard Hanna estimated that before this struggle the islands were populated by approximately 15,000 people, and only 1,000 were left (the Bandanese were killed, starved while fleeing, exiled, or sold as slaves). The Company constructed

300-456: A fragrant candy. Sliced nutmeg fruit flesh is made as manisan (sweets), either wet, which is seasoned in sugary syrup liquid, or dry coated with sugar, a dessert called manisan pala in Indonesia. In Penang cuisine , dried, shredded nutmeg rind with sugar coating is used as toppings on the uniquely Penang ais kacang . The flesh of the nutmeg fruit is also blended, in the fresh state, into

350-515: A group of powerful businessmen – including George Hibbert , the chairman of the London Society of West India Planters and Merchants who was a merchant, politician, and ship-owner – who promoted the creation of a wet dock circled by a high wall. The group planned and built West India Docks, lobbying Parliament to allow the creation of a West India Dock Company. Milligan served as both deputy chairman and chairman of

400-530: A nod to the site's past. The names of the streets on the site of the Import Dock reflect the names of some of the goods traded here: Clove Crescent, Nutmeg Lane, Coriander Avenue, Oregano Drive, Rosemary Drive and Saffron Avenue. The site of the Export Dock was converted into a residential development named Virginia Quay, with an amenity with mature trees known as Virginia Quay Park. In 1999,

450-669: A series of three docks , quaysides, and warehouses built to import goods from, and export goods and occasionally passengers to, the British West Indies . Located on the Isle of Dogs in London , the first dock opened in 1802. Following their commercial closure in 1980, the Canary Wharf development was built around the wet docks by narrowing some of their broadest tracts. Robert Milligan ( c.  1746 –1809) of

500-1168: A spice, nutmeg produces no noticeable physiological or neurological response, but in large doses, both raw nutmeg freshly ground from kernels and nutmeg oil have psychoactive effects. Such effects appear to derive from anticholinergic -like hallucinogenic mechanisms attributed to myristicin and elemicin . Myristicin—a monoamine oxidase inhibitor and psychoactive substance —can cause convulsions , palpitations , nausea , eventual dehydration , and generalized body pain when consumed in large amounts. Nutmeg may interact with anxiolytic drugs, produce allergic reactions , cause contact dermatitis , and evoke acute episodes of psychosis . Varying considerably from person to person, nutmeg intoxication may occur with side effects , such as delirium , anxiety, confusion, headaches, nausea, dizziness, dry mouth, eye irritation, and amnesia . Intoxication takes several hours to reach maximum effect, and may last for several days. Incidents of fatal poisoning from nutmeg and myristicin individually are uncommon. Nutmeg poisonings occur by accidental consumption in children and by intentional recreational use. It

550-618: A spice. Mace is the spice made from the reddish seed covering ( aril ) of the nutmeg seed. Its flavour is similar to that of nutmeg but more delicate; it is used to flavour baked goods, meat, fish, and vegetables, and in preserving and pickling. In the processing of mace, the crimson-colored aril is removed from the nutmeg seed that it envelops and is flattened out and dried for 10 to 14 days. Its color changes to pale yellow, orange, or tan. Whole dry mace consists of flat pieces—smooth, horn-like, and brittle—about 40 mm ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) long. The most important commercial species

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600-523: A stylised split-open nutmeg fruit. The Dutch retained control of the Spice Islands until World War II . Connecticut may have received its nickname ("the Nutmeg State", " Nutmegger ") from the claim that some unscrupulous Connecticut traders would whittle "nutmeg" out of wood, creating a "wooden nutmeg", a term which later came to mean any type of fraud. This narrative may have to do with

650-626: A type of smoothie (white in colour and having a fresh, ‘green’, tangy taste); or boiled, resulting in a brown liquid, much sweeter in taste, which is used in the preparation of iced drinks. In Kerala Malabar region of India, it is used for juice, pickles and chutney. The essential oil obtained by steam distillation of ground nutmeg is used in the perfumery and pharmaceutical industries. The volatile fraction contains dozens of terpenes and phenylpropanoids , including D - pinene , limonene , D - borneol , L - terpineol , geraniol , safrole , and myristicin . In its pure form, myristicin

700-439: Is a toxin , and consumption of excessive amounts of nutmeg can result in myristicin poisoning. The oil is colorless or light yellow, and smells and tastes of nutmeg. It is used as a natural food flavoring in baked goods , syrups, beverages, and sweets. It is used to replace ground nutmeg, as it leaves no particles in the food. The essential oil is also used in the manufacturing of toothpaste and cough syrups . Nutmeg butter

750-445: Is also commonly used in rice pudding . In Dutch cuisine , nutmeg is added to vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and string beans. Nutmeg is a traditional ingredient in mulled cider , mulled wine , junket and eggnog . In Scotland, mace and nutmeg are usually both ingredients in haggis . In Italian cuisine , nutmeg is used as part of the stuffing for many regional meat-filled dumplings like tortellini , as well as for

800-479: Is obtained from the nut by expression . It is semisolid, reddish-brown in colour, and has the taste and smell of nutmeg itself. About 75% (by weight) of nutmeg butter is trimyristin , which can be turned into myristic acid , a 14-carbon fatty acid , which can be used as a replacement for cocoa butter , can be mixed with other fats like cottonseed oil or palm oil , and has applications as an industrial lubricant . The earliest evidence of use of nutmeg comes in

850-734: Is the common, true or fragrant nutmeg, M. fragrans ( Myristicaceae ), native to the Moluccas (or Spice Islands) of Indonesia. It is also cultivated on Penang Island in Malaysia, in the Caribbean , especially in Grenada , and in Kerala , a state formerly known as Malabar in ancient writings as the hub of spice trading, in southern India. In the 17th-century work Hortus Botanicus Malabaricus , Hendrik van Rheede records that Indians learned

900-430: Is used in many sweet, as well as savoury, dishes. In Kerala Malabar region , grated nutmeg is used in meat preparations and also sparingly added to desserts for the flavour. It may also be used in small quantities in garam masala . In traditional European cuisine , nutmeg and mace are used especially in potato and spinach dishes and in processed meat products; they are also used in soups, sauces, and baked goods. It

950-523: Is used recreationally with the intention of achieving a low-cost high resembling psychedelics, particularly by adolescents, drug users, college students, and prisoners. Relatively large doses of nutmeg are required to produce effects; a majority of reported nutmeg intoxication cases appear to result from recreational use. Playwright and poet William Shakespeare was alleged to use nutmeg for hallucinogenic purposes as nutmeg extract along with cannabis were found in analysis of fragments of his pipe. Nutmeg

1000-486: The Virginia Quay Settlers Monument was unveiled, replacing a 1928 plaque on the site. East India Dock Basin exists now as a nature reserve, providing a tidal mudflat habitat for birds such as Kingfishers and Terns . 51°30′29.2″N 0°0′3.5″E  /  51.508111°N 0.000972°E  / 51.508111; 0.000972 West India Docks The West India Docks are

1050-611: The Banda Islands, the expedition remained for about a month, buying and filling their ships with Banda's nutmeg and mace, and with cloves in which Banda had a thriving entrepôt trade . An early account of Banda is in Suma Oriental , a book written by the Portuguese apothecary Tomé Pires , based in Malacca from 1512 to 1515. Full control of this trade by the Portuguese was not possible, and they remained participants without

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1100-536: The East India Docks were the first of the London docks to close. The original docks consisted of an Import Dock of 18 acres (73,000 m) of water, to the north of the site, and an Export Dock of 15 acres (61,000 m), to the south of the site. There was also an Entrance Dock of 2.75 acres (11,100 m) of water on the east of the site. In the late 20th century the docks were mostly filled in and only

1150-444: The London & St Katharine Dock Company from 1888, and the two companies merged as the London and India Docks Company on 1 January 1901. On 31 March 1909, the docks were taken over by the Port of London Authority , along with the other enclosed docks. While much smaller than the West India Docks or the later Royal Docks , the East India Docks could still handle East Indiamen of 1,000 tons and up to 250 ships at one time. However

1200-441: The Thames. Around the Import Dock a continuous line of five-storey warehouses was constructed, designed by architect George Gwilt and his son, also named George. The Export Dock needed fewer buildings as cargo was loaded upon arrival. To protect against theft, the whole complex was surrounded by a brick wall 20 ft (6.1 m) high. The three docks were initially separate, with the two northern docks interconnected only via

1250-570: The West India Dock Company. The docks were authorised by the Port of London Improvement and City Canal Act 1799 ( 39 Geo. 3 . c. lxix). The docks were constructed in two phases. The two northern docks were constructed between 1800 and 1802 for the West India Dock Company to a design by leading civil engineer William Jessop (with consultant John Rennie , appointed resident engineer Ralph Walker , and with input from Thomas Morris , Liverpool 's third dock engineer), and were

1300-416: The West India Docks, along with the other enclosed docks from St Katharines to Tilbury . From 1960 to 1980, trade in the docks declined to almost nothing. There were two main reasons. First, the development of the shipping container made this type of relatively small dock inefficient, and the dock-owners were slow to embrace change. Second, the manufacturing exports which had maintained the trade through

1350-628: The advent of steam power and larger ships reduced the importance of this dock. The docks played a key role in the Second World War as a location for constructing the floating Mulberry harbours used by the Allies to support the D-Day landings in France. After the war, during which all the docks were badly damaged, the East India Docks were confined to occasional Channel Islands traffic and to

1400-483: The basin at each end, and South Dock connected via a series of three basins at the eastern end. Railway access was very difficult. Under PLA control, cuts were made to connect the three docks into a single system, and the connections to the Thames at the western end were filled, along with the Limehouse basin and with it the western connection between the two northern docks. This allowed improved road and rail access from

1450-467: The docks dwindled and moved away from the local area. The docks were closed in 1981. After the closure of the upstream enclosed docks, the area was regenerated as part of the Docklands scheme, and is now home to the developments of Canary Wharf . The early phase one buildings of Canary Wharf were built out over the water, reducing the width of the north dock and middle dock. Canary Wharf tube station

1500-597: The docks had a combined capability to berth over 600 vessels. Locks and basins at either end of the Docks connected them to the river Thames. These were known as Blackwall Basin and Limehouse Basin, not to be confused with the Regent's Canal Dock also known as Limehouse Basin . To avoid congestion, ships entered from the (eastern) Blackwall end; lighters entered from the Limehouse end to the west. A dry dock for ship repairs

1550-556: The entrance basin remains, as a wildlife refuge and an attractive local amenity. Since 1994 the area has been served by its own Docklands Light Railway East India station . Developments on the site of the Import Dock include the Mulberry Place in 1992 and the Republic campus with offices, retail and public space which was largely completed in 2019. Two buildings on the campus have been renamed as Import and Export to provide

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1600-518: The first commercial wet docks in London. British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger and Lord Chancellor Lord Loughborough were assisted in the foundation stone ceremony on 12 July 1800 by Milligan and Hibbert. The docks were formally opened on 27 August 1802 when the unladen Henry Addington was hauled in by ropes. Echo , a ship laden with cargo from the West Indies, followed. For

1650-601: The following 21 years all vessels in the West India trade using the Port of London were compelled to use the West India docks by a clause in the Act of Parliament that had enabled their construction. The southern dock, the South West India Dock, later known as South Dock, was constructed in the 1860s, replacing the unprofitable City Canal , built in 1805. In 1909 the Port of London Authority (PLA) took over

1700-570: The form of 3,500-year-old potsherd residues from the island of Pulau Ai, one of the Banda Islands in eastern Indonesia. The Banda Islands consist of eleven small volcanic islands, and are part of the larger Maluku Islands group. These islands were the only source of nutmeg and mace production until the mid-19th century. It was one of the spices traded over the Austronesian maritime spice trade network since at least 1500 BCE. In

1750-556: The genus Torreya , commonly known as the nutmeg yews, have edible seeds of similar appearance, but are not closely related to M. fragrans , and are not used as a spice. Nutmeg is the spice made by grinding the seed of the fragrant nutmeg tree ( Myristica fragrans ) into powder. The spice has a distinctive pungent fragrance and a warm, slightly sweet taste; it is used to flavor many kinds of baked goods, confections, puddings , potatoes, meats, sausages, sauces, vegetables, and such beverages as eggnog . The seeds are dried gradually in

1800-465: The issue that one has to grate to obtain the spice powder, not crack a nutmeg, and this may not have been widely known by some purchasers of the product. In 2019, global production of nutmeg was 142,000 tonnes, led by Indonesia , Guatemala , and India , having 38,000 to 43,000 tonnes each and a combined 85% of the world total. Although used as a folk treatment for some ailments, nutmeg has no proven medicinal value. Ingested in small amounts as

1850-501: The maintenance of equipment including dredgers . Brunswick Wharf Power Station , a monumental brick structure with fluted concrete chimneys, was built on the site of the Export Dock in stages between 1946 and 1956; it has since been decommissioned and demolished. From the 1960s onwards, the East India Docks experienced a steady decline – as did all of London's other docks – as the shipping industry adopted containerisation , which effectively moved traffic downstream to Tilbury . In 1967

1900-523: The north and west. South Dock was also connected to the north end of Millwall Dock , its enlarged eastern lock becoming the only entrance from the Thames to the whole West India and Millwall system. Nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed , or the ground spice derived from that seed, of several tree species of the genus Myristica ; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg ( M. fragrans ) is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit : nutmeg, from its seed, and mace , from

1950-577: The north-east of the West India Docks. They were based on the existing Brunswick Dock, which had been used for fitting out and repairing ships as part of Blackwall Yard . The Brunswick Dock, which had originally been connected directly to the Thames to the south, became the Export Dock. To the north the company built a larger 18-acre (7.3 ha) Import Dock. Both were connected to the Thames via an eastern entrance basin. The company rapidly became profitable through its trade in commodities such as tea, spices, indigo, silk and Persian carpets. The tea trade alone

2000-514: The seed covering. It is also a commercial source of nutmeg essential oil and nutmeg butter. Maluku is the main producer of nutmeg and mace, and the true nutmeg tree is native to its islands. If consumed in amounts exceeding its typical use as a spice, nutmeg powder may produce allergic reactions , cause contact dermatitis , or have psychoactive effects. Although used in traditional medicine for treating various disorders, nutmeg has no scientifically confirmed medicinal value . Conifers of

2050-472: The sixth century AD, nutmeg use spread to India, then further west to Constantinople . By the 13th century, Arab traders had pinpointed the origin of nutmeg to the Banda Islands, but kept this location a secret from European traders. The Banda Islands became the scene of the earliest European ventures in Asia, to get a grip on the spice trade. In August 1511, Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Malacca , which at

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2100-504: The sixth to eighth year, and sexual reproduction bears inconsistent yields, grafting is the preferred method of propagation. Epicotyl grafting (a variation of cleft grafting using seedlings), approach grafting , and patch budding have proved successful, with epicotyl grafting being the most widely adopted standard. Air layering is an alternative though not preferred method because of its low (35–40%) success rate. The first harvest of nutmeg trees takes place 7–9 years after planting, and

2150-624: The sun over a period of 15 to 30 weeks. During this time, the nutmeg shrinks away from its hard seed coat until the kernels rattle in their shells when shaken. The shell is then broken with a wooden club and the nutmegs are picked out. Dried nutmegs are greenish brown ovoids with furrowed surfaces. The nutmegs are roughly egg-shaped, about 20.5–30 mm (0.81–1.18 in) long and 15–18 mm (0.59–0.71 in) wide, weighing 5–10 g (0.18–0.35 oz) dried. Two other species of genus Myristica with different flavors, M. malabarica and M. argentea , are sometimes used to adulterate nutmeg as

2200-468: The time was the hub of Asian trade, on behalf of the king of Portugal . In November of the same year, after having secured Malacca and learning of Banda's location, Albuquerque sent an expedition of three ships led by his friend António de Abreu to find it. Malay pilots guided them via Java , the Lesser Sundas , and Ambon to the Banda Islands, arriving in early 1512. The first Europeans to reach

2250-547: The traditional meatloaf . Nutmeg is a common spice for pumpkin pie and in recipes for other winter squashes , such as baked acorn squash . In the Caribbean, nutmeg is often used in drinks, such as the Bushwacker , Painkiller , and Barbados rum punch. Typically, it is a sprinkle on top of the drink. The pericarp (fruit covering) is used to make jam, or is finely sliced, cooked with sugar, and crystallised to make

2300-402: The trees reach full production after 20 years. Nutmeg and mace have similar sensory qualities, with nutmeg having a slightly sweeter and mace a more delicate flavour. Mace is often preferred in light dishes for the bright orange, saffron -like hue it imparts. Nutmeg is used for flavouring many dishes. Whole nutmeg can also be ground at home using a grater specifically designed for nutmeg or

2350-462: The usage of nutmeg from the Indonesians through ancient trade routes. Nutmeg trees are dioecious plants (individual plants are either male or female), which are propagated sexually from seeds and asexually from cuttings or grafting . Sexual propagation yields 50% male seedlings, which are unproductive. Because no reliable method has been found for determining plant sex before flowering in

2400-479: Was constructed connecting to Blackwall Basin. Subsequently, the North London Railway 's Poplar Dock was also connected to Blackwall Basin. The Docks' design allowed a ship arriving from the West Indies to unload in the northern dock, sail round to the southern dock and load up with export cargo in a fraction of the time it had previously taken in the heavily congested and dangerous upper reaches of

2450-737: Was constructed within the middle dock in the 1990s. Part of the original dock building was converted for use as the Museum of London Docklands in 2003. The Crossrail Place development was completed in May 2015 and the Canary Wharf Crossrail station below it was completed in September 2015. The original docks consisted of an Import Dock of 30 acres (120,000 m ) of water, later named North Dock, and an Export Dock of 24 acres (97,000 m ), later named Middle Dock. Between them,

2500-557: Was worth £30 million a year. The docks spawned further local industry, with spice merchants and pepper grinders setting up around the dock to process goods. In 1838, the two companies merged to form the East and West India Docks Company . In 1886, in the last act of a ruinous game of leapfrog with the London & St Katharine Dock Company, they built the Tilbury Docks . The East and West India Docks Company operated in cooperation with

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