RC -- Items that seem unremarkable today might once have al

[Chitturiratna]

Items that seem unremarkable today might once have altered the course of history. For centuries, the nutmeg tree grew only in the Banda Islands. Locals harvested and sold the aromatic nuts of the tree and, eventually, a spice made from these nuts became a luxury item in the European market. Seeking a monopoly over this valuable spice, the Dutch attacked the Bandas, subjugating the native people in a mostly successful attempt to control the trade.
However, one island in the Banda chain remained in the hands of the British, engendering much conflict between the Netherlands and England. Finally, the British offered to cede control of the island in exchange for New Amsterdam, a Dutch outpost in North America. The Dutch were more interested in the spice trade than in the small outpost of New Amsterdam. In 1667, the Treaty of Breda gave the Dutch complete control of the Banda Islands, and the nutmeg trade, and gave the British New Amsterdam, promptly renamed New York.

q: The passage suggests which of the following about the Banda Islands?
a. Some of the disputed territory on the islands was first annexed by the British.
b. Nutmeg was the only spice that grew on the islands.
c. Natives of the islands produced the nutmeg spice from the nuts of the nutmeg tree.
d.The Banda Islands are still in the possession of the Dutch.
e. The local economy of the islands depended on nutmeg.

OA:A

My concerns;
I agree that bcde are wrong answers but i have few concerns about option a. Banda islands are once disputed islands and the disputed is solved in the passage. So we should we call them as disputed islands when they are not. the passage didnt say that british occupied the island first. There may be a possibility that british might have got the tertiary from other nation. please expalin.

[tommywallach]

"First" doesn't have to refer to the ORIGIN of an object. If I give you a coat, I can tell people "I owned that coat first," even if I myself bought the coat off someone else. "First" just means first in a comparison with someone/something else.

Because we are told "one island remained in the hands of the British," we know that British owned them before the Dutch did, hence "first."

As for the disputed issue, I don't totally understand. They were disputed at the time (in the past), and that's the time frame we're talking about, so it's factually true.

Hope that helps!

-t