August 9, 2025 • 19 mins
Offers a vivid portrayal of 17th-century Amsterdam, focusing on the Portuguese Jewish community and the burgeoning coffee trade. It introduces Miguel Lienzo, a man seeking to restore his fortune and reputation after financial setbacks, and his complicated relationships, including with his brother Daniel, the mysterious Geertruid, and his nemesis Solomon Parido, a Ma'amad council member who wields significant influence within the Jewish community. The narrative explores themes of deception, loyalty, business intrigue, and cultural identity, particularly through Miguel's struggles with his faith, his interactions with gentiles, and his desperate attempts to succeed in a cutthroat commercial world where commodities like coffee are just beginning to gain prominence. The supplementary excerpts and bibliography highlight the novel's historical research, suggesting a blend of fiction and factual context about the period's economic and social landscape.
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You can listen and download our episodes for free on more than 10 different platforms:
https://linktr.ee/book_shelter
Get the Book now from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Coffee-Trader-Novel-David-Liss-ebook/dp/B000FBFN0G?&linkCode=ll1&tag=cvthunderx-20&linkId=675953e784330d73da90c37a48746176&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome curious minds to another deep dive. Today. We're transporting
you right into the heart of seventeenth century Amsterdam. It's
this amazing city, you know, full of freedom, but also
just ruthless ambition.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Absolutely, it's real pressure cooker.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
So picture this. You're with Miguel Ienzo, a merchant, but
he's hit rock bottom, lost everything, and he's in this grim,
smoky tavern.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Yeah, not exactly a high class.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Place, not at all, and he's looking at this dark,
kind of uninviting drink he's never seen before. He brings
the bowl close, smells it smells sharp, almost medicinal.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Right, not appealing at first glance.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
It's coffee and this one moment, this strange, bitter drink.
Well it might just offer him a path back to fortune,
but you have to wonder what's the cost to him
to everyone else.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
That's such a great starting point because it really sums
up the whole journey we're diving into today. Yeah, our
mission here is to give you a shortcut really into
understanding David List's amazing novel, The Coffee Trader. We're going
to trace the whole wild ride of Miguelian. So the
main character not just what happens, but digging into the
surprising twists, the key moments that define his well desperate
(01:10):
scramble for redemption, for power in this really vibrant but
often brutal world.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
A deep dive into all that deception and ambition exactly.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
And the shifting identities. It's what makes the story just
so gripping.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Okay, so let's unpack Miguel himself. He's not just some
random broke merchant. His background it's really key, isn't it.
He's a former converso from Lisbon.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
That's crucial.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
And the book says something like deception, even self deception,
came far too easily to him. What does that tell
us about him? Right from the start, before Amsterdam even
really gets going, Hey, it.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Tells you almost everything. It immediately pains him as well.
Morally complex, maybe ambiguous is the word. He spent his
early life pretending to be Catholic right hourly hating Jews,
showing respect for the Inquisition he must have feared. And
that's not just backstory, It's like it shapes him profoundly.
It teaches him how to live in a world built
on lies. Basically makes some good at hiding things, but
(02:07):
also means he doesn't trust anyone, not even himself.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Really, So that struggle with who he really is.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
It sets the whole stage for all the hidden truths
and moral tightropes everyone seems to walk in this book.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
And the strange contradiction in his own family. His father
calls himself a trickster and a sheet Yeah, quite the character,
but ironically he uses his shady connections, his old Christian network,
to do something genuinely good, helping Jewish families escape the Inquisition,
like Alonso Alfharonda's family. Right, they got out just in
time thanks to Miguel's dad.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
It just adds another layer, doesn't it good? Coming out
of bed, or at least out of deceit, and Miguel himself,
even growing up in all that falseness, he had this
quiet little rebellion going on.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Oh yeah, as.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
A boy he secretly went to tourist steady groups. His
father would have thought it was terrible, wicked even, But
for Miguel it was this small act of defiance, reclaiming
a piece of himself had to hide.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
That internal conflict, the outward show versus the inner truth.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
It defines him absolutely.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
And that defiance It spilled over into his personal life too,
caused a huge break with his father. He married Katerina.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Right, a devout woman, very knowledgeable, knew Hebrew well.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
But crucially, she had an insufficient dowry, and his father's
reaction just brutal. Especially after Katerina died suddenly from a fever.
He actually said, Thank Christ, that's over with horrible. What
does that kind of cruelty do to someone? Basically sends
him running right to a new life.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Oh completely, It's just devastating. It destroys any idea he
might have had about family loyalty. That coldness is what
really pushes him to leave Lisgan for Amsterdam.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Amsterdam, the city of tolerance, or so.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
He hopes exactly. He's looking for religious freedom, sure, but
also maybe a new identity, a place to belong, And
at first it seems like he finds it. The Mahmad,
the Jewish Council. There, they welcome him, help him learn Hebrew,
the liturgy. It looks like a fresh start, a taste
of the world to come. As the book puts it,
there's always a butt, isn't there always? He quickly learns
(04:06):
there's a price for that welcome. The council has absolute power.
Step out of line, you could be excommunicated. And worse,
he realizes he already has enemies on the council like
Solomon Parrito.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Ah Pareto. We'll get back to him. So this brings
us to Miguel's situation now in Amsterdam, utter desperation. Just
how bad is it?
Speaker 2 (04:26):
It's absolute rock bottom. His money's gone lost big in
the sugar market, debts piling up. Other traders literally avoid
him on the exchange like he's contagious. Used to be
someone oh yeah, hosted lavish dinner's commanded respect. Now he's
terrified of ending up in the well of debt, like
they're really poor people in the Jordan district and nobody
(04:46):
that children in beef housewise smirk debt. His desperation is palpable.
It makes him vulnerable, willing to take huge risks.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
So he's completely cornered. And maybe that's exactly why he's
open to something totally new, something he might have just
laughed off before.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
That's a great point. Yeah, his usual caution it is
just gone. He's receptive because he has nothing left to lose.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
And right then Geartruid damn, who's enters the picture.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yes, Geartruid, described as this high spirited Dutch widow has
an illicit charm. And she actually showed up about a
year before the coffee thing, saving Miguel from a shipping
scam the Indian Flower. Remember, she exposed the crooks who
duped him.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
So she already proved herself useful, right, A bit mysterious maybe,
but helpful. She keeps her life secret where she lives.
What she does just asks Miguel to make small trades.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
For her, which is already risky for him.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Super risky. The mam mod strictly forbids jews brokering for gentiles.
So he's already bending the rules for her, isn't he?
Speaker 2 (05:44):
He absolutely is. It kind of foreshadows the bigger risks,
the moral compromises he's willing to make later on. And
then comes the big moment, the turning point. Geartrud takes
him to the Golden Calf.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Her cousin, Crispine's place sounds charming.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Boy's grim, foul, smoky, smells like stale beer, And there
Miguel has his first ever taste of coffee. He describes
it rich, almost enchanting, bitterness but also less voluptuous, sharper,
and more sparing than chocolate, which he knew what clicks
in his head right then.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
It's instant, like a lightning bolt, This wondrous luxury, This
could be his way back, the thing to restore him
to his rightful place. Get the money, yes, but also
the power, the respect he craves exactly.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
He's practically vibrating with eagerness to jump into a partnership proposal,
even knowing the danger with the Mavad. He sees coffee
as this like magic potion to pull him out of
the mud.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
It's about more than just Gilder's for him. It's about
reclaiming who he is, proving himself for sure.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
But you know, big fortunes mean big problems, and Miguel
finds himself tangled in this incredibly complex web rivals, allies,
people with hidden motives, and.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Right at the top of that list Solomon Parrito. What's
the deal there? Why the intense hatred.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Corrito's a big shot, a parnat, basically a powerful leader
on the Jewish Council, huge influence, and he despises Miguel.
The bad blood goes way back.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Didn't Miguel refuse to marry Perido's daughter.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
That's part of it, yeah, Antonio. But then even worse,
Miguel later publicly exposed Perido as the father of a
maid's illegitimate child. Yeah, huge scandal, total humiliation for Perido. Ouch.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
So it's personal vengeance for Parado, not.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Justice exactly, vengeance rather than justice, as the book says,
it shows how personal grudges become political weapons in that community.
And then there's Miguel's own family drama. Adding to the mess.
His younger brother Daniel, Oh Daniel. The relationship sounds tense,
deeply tense, lifelong rivalry apparently fueled by their father, always
(07:43):
favorite Daniel, and now the ultimate humiliation for Miguel. He's
broke and has to live with Daniel. That must sting terribly,
and it just fuels Daniel's resentment. Plus Daniel is weirdly
friendly with Parido, which makes Miguel paranoid. He suspects Daniel's
feeding pairs information about his every move.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Trust is just non existent. And then there's Alonzo al Faranda.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
What a character, isn't he great? A cunning money lender,
excommunicated by the Mahmad thinks mostly to Periodo's influence.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
By the way, ah another enemy of paradox right.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Al Faronda is a master trickster himself famous for manufacturing
luck in futures trading, and he has this history with
Miguel's family, helped them escape Lisbon, remember.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Yeah, through Miguel's father's dodgy dealings.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
He's shark al Faronda. He warns Miguel about coffee, says
it brings out great passions. And he tells him that
bizarre monkey coffee story. What's that about, right?
Speaker 1 (08:36):
The coffee made from beans excreted by monkeys who only
eat the best berries. It shows al Farana's weird knowledge, right,
and his willingness to look for value in well unexpected places.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Totally. He sees the world as this big game operates
outside normal rules. He's kind of the ultimate cynic, maybe
representing a kind of cunning Miguel wants, but maybe even.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Darker and amidst all these powerful players, there's You'll Kim Waganar,
just a constant thorn in Miguel's side.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Yeah, the Dutchman Miguel ruined in a sugar deal way back.
He just won't let it go becaus this obsessive tormentor.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Gets pretty extreme, does any public confrontations, threats against Daniel's
wife Hannah, and the maid Anetchi, even leaves a pig's
head on Daniel's doorstep.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
It's grim and it shows that Miguel's past actions have
these really nasty, lingering consequences. His ambition leaves victims and all.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
This attracts the wrong kind of attention. The mammod gets
involved exactly.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Miguel gets hauled before the council, accused of irresponsible conduct,
basically hanging out with disreputable gentiles like Dokim and Prito.
Sees his chance. He tries to use this meeting to
expose Miguel's coffee dealings high stakes.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
How does Miguel get out of that?
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Pure nerve? Miguel, ever, the strategist, does something brilliant. He
turns the tables. He basically accuses the council comparing their
aggressive questioning to the Spanish Inquisition.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
WHOA, that's bold, bold.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
But it hits a nerve, especially with the other former
conversos on the council. This spirited outburst, as the book
calls it, actually works. He gets off relatively lightly, just
a temporary one day excommunication at Cherum, so a win.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Sort of, but also a massive warning shot definitely.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
It shows how precarious his position is, but also how
he's learning to play the game, even manipulate the system
meant to control them.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Okay, So with the mamaud off his back for now,
Miguel Gertrue had pushed forward with their big plan corner
the entire European coffee market.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
The sheer ambition is breathtaking, isn't it. The plan involves
using agents across Europe Amsterdam, London, Hamburg, Lovorno to simultaneously
buy up all the coffee they can find.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Secrecy must have been.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Paramount, absolutely critical. You've got the Turks guarding their coffee
plants like state secrets, death penalty for smuggling live plants,
and the Dutch East India company the voc They're already
trying to grow coffee in Ceylon and Java, gaming for
their own monopoly.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
So they're playing a danger on multiple fronts.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Usually dangerous and then the practical problem money. Miguel is
scrambling for funds. This leads him to confront a broker
named Ricardo, who owes him from an old whale oil deal.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
How does he get the money.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
He basically threatens. Ricardo says he'll expose his shady dealings
to the Mammad. It works. Ricardo cracks and reveals who
he was really fronting for in that deal. Let me
guess Yep, Daniel, his own brother.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Wow confirmation any last bit of trust gone shattered.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
And just as Miguel's dealing with that betrayal, things are
unraveling at home too with Hannah, Daniel's wife.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Right the confession scene that was powerful, She's been getting desperate,
secretly eating coffee berries Miguel stored in the cellar.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Yeah, almost like an addiction takes hold. And then Annetche,
the maid who plot twist, is secretly working for al
f Aranda.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Ah the puppet master pulls another string exactly.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
And Agie prompts Hannah, and Hannah finally confronts Miguel. She
confesses everything that she's a secret Catholic, feels totally betrayed
by being forced into this Jewish identity she doesn't understand,
wasn't taught.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
It's heartbreaking, another layer of hidden identity, hidden pain, right
under Miguel's nose while he is obsessed with his coffee scheme.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
It really grounds the story doesn't it shows the human
cost of all these grand deceptions. Meanwhile, Miguel still needs
more capital. He keeps pushing Gear through it, but he's
getting suspicious.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
He starts thinking she's working for Paradox.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Yeah, her secretiveness, her sudden trips, the way she easily
finds new agents, it all starts to look fishy to him.
He convinces himself she must be Parodo's pawn.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
So, driven by that conviction, which turns out to be
totally wrong, but he doesn't know that yet, he makes
this huge, ruthless.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Move a massive gamble. He decides to slip the script,
change the scheme to my advantage. He tells his own
agents to stand down, but he lets Geirtrud's agents, who
he thinks are Parado's agents, go ahead with buying up
all the coffee.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
His plan is to let by high, thinking he'll swoop
in later, essentially bankrupting Gear Truud, and he believes Perido
while he profits.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
It's Miguel it is most calculating, and maybe he is
most self deceived. He thinks he's finally outsmarting.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Everyone, but then the confrontation with gear Trud.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Oh, it's brilliant. He goes to her, expecting her to
be ruined, defeated, and she just drops the bombshell. She
reveals who she really is, charming Peter's good wife Mary
and her associate Hendrick. That's charming Peter itself.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
She's a professional thief, not paradise agent at all.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Nope, never worked for Parado. She's just a very, very
clever thief who wanted to get rich and respectable. She
saw Miguel, saw his access to the exchange, his desperation,
and used him, use his influence for her own score.
And then she just leaves Skipstown, leaves Miguel completely stunned.
His whole theory, his whole counterplan just evaporates. His cunning
(13:49):
was useless because he was playing against the wrong opponent entirely.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Wow, so much for being the master strategist. That revealed
just underscores the theme, doesn't It Hidden identities everywhere, even
as partner, was an illusion.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Totally and it leaves him reeling right as we head
into the final showdown on the exchange.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Okay, so it's the big day. Perido and his allies
his combination are there trying to keep the price of
coffee artificially high. What's Miguel's move Now that his geartrude
plan is toast, He.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Goes for broke a wind handle, literally trading wind. He
starts selling coffee he doesn't even own, offering it at
super low prices. It's incredibly risky, basically a massive short
cell designed to crash.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
The market, a pure gamble. Does he have any backup?
Speaker 2 (14:30):
He does? Surprisingly, alonzo Al Faranda steps in. The puppet
master makes another move. He arranges for Tedesco merchants. These
are Eastern European Jews, often outside the Amsterdam mod's control,
to start buying McGill's dirt cheat coffee contracts.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Ah breaking Perido's price control creates a panic sell off exactly.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
And then this really intense personal moment, Miguel catches Daniel's
eye across the crowded exchange floor. His brother calculate. Miguel
knows Daniel could join the selling, help him crush Parado,
maybe choose family over hate for once, but Daniel chose
not to. His bitterness runs too deep. She watches Miguel
(15:11):
but stays poorn another betrayal right there in the heat
of battle.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
It's brutal, so it looks like Parto might actually.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Hold on for a moment maybe, But then Jokim Waganar
shows up out of nowhere.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
The guy Miguel ruined, the tormentor the very.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Same and he starts shouting an even lower price for coffee.
The Miguel offered, that's the final nail in Parodo's coffin.
It seals the deal. The market collapses.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
But wait, why would you work him? Help Miguel.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Turns out, Miguel had recently, maybe calculatingly, maybe with a
shred of decency, arranged to get yuck and released from
the rest fuse the workhouse. Yeah, truly miserable place. Miguel
probably hoped to get information. But this act, whatever the motive,
pays off spectacularly. It just shows how interconnected everything is,
how one action ripples outwards.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Unbelievable. So the market tanks.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
What next, Miguel hunts down Isaiah Nuwon, the broker who
double crossed him, selling Miguel's contracted coffee to Purrido behind
his back. Miguel confronts him, contract in hand, threatens lawsuits,
mammadad intervention and newnas folds completely. He faces ruined public shame,
he gives in. Miguel gets his coffee, secures his win.
(16:18):
The price is plummeted. He's made a profit of eight
hundred guilders, a fortune back then a huge fortune, and
he yells it out on the exchange floor. Miguel Liienzo
is return. He thanks God, the terrible time is over.
The era of prosperity has begun.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
He's back on top. But like he said, what's the
human cost? What happens to Daniel?
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Daniel confronts Miguel, later calls him a villain, says Miguel
ruined him financially, and the ultimate bitter twist, accuses him
of stealing his wife, partly because of a book Miguel
gave Hannah that encouraged her. Thinking Daniel's lost everything, he
tells Miguel he's leaving Amsterdam, divorcing Hannah and suggests Hannah
should go to Miguel.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
And does she. What happens to Hannah?
Speaker 2 (16:55):
She does. Hannah, now pregnant with a daughter, takes Daniel's
bitter advice. She literally he walks over to Miguel's grand
new house. She faces this totally uncertain future, but maybe,
just maybe a freer one, She's finally acting on her
own terms.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
In a way, a strange kind of new beginning for
her and Parrito. Does Miguel confront him?
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Oh? Yes, Parito accuses Miguel of using yoke and like
a weapon. Miguel fires back, accusing Perito of using Geartruid,
even though Miguel knows that wasn't true. The rivalry continues
even in defeat.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
But the final act belongs to al Feranda. Right the
grand reveal.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
The Grand Master steps out of the shadows. Alonzo al
Faranda lays it all bare. He admits he was pulling
the strings behind a lot of the chaos.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Why what was his motive.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Revenge against Purrito? Mostly he saw Parrito as this distortion,
someone corrupted by power who needed taking down, and of course,
proving his own genius as the ultimate trickster. He admits
he manipulated annetcha Daniel's.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
Maid who he kept working for him after Daniel fired her.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Right, so he knew everything, including Geartrud's real identity as
a thief, but he deliberately kept that from Miguel. Why
to make sure Parodo's ruin was complete. If Miguel had known,
he might not have made the moves that ultimately destroyed Parodo.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
So Alfarron have played them all. Miguel thought he was
playing Paradobe. Alfarn was playing Miguel to get to Parodo. Incredible.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
It proves that no matter how clever you think you
are in this world, there might always be someone playing
a deeper game.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
So, wrapping up this deep dive into the coffee Trader,
we've really seen this incredibly complex dance, deception, ambition, survival
in seventeenth century Amsterdam. It's a world where, yeah, even
the smartest players like Miguel, like Perido end up being
ponds moved by an unseen hand.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Which leads us with a pretty provocative thought. I think
in a world like that where getting ahead, getting revenge
can just consume you, where deception, even self deception, is
almost second nature, is real wisdom found in mastering that game?
Or is it maybe found in figuring out when to
just step away from the board altogether?
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Yeah? What does it even mean to be well informed
when truth itself feels like just another illusion someone's carefully constructed.
Something to think about,
Welcome curious minds to another deep dive. Today. We're transporting
you right into the heart of seventeenth century Amsterdam. It's
this amazing city, you know, full of freedom, but also
just ruthless ambition.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Absolutely, it's real pressure cooker.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
So picture this. You're with Miguel Ienzo, a merchant, but
he's hit rock bottom, lost everything, and he's in this grim,
smoky tavern.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Yeah, not exactly a high class.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Place, not at all, and he's looking at this dark,
kind of uninviting drink he's never seen before. He brings
the bowl close, smells it smells sharp, almost medicinal.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Right, not appealing at first glance.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
It's coffee and this one moment, this strange, bitter drink.
Well it might just offer him a path back to fortune,
but you have to wonder what's the cost to him
to everyone else.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
That's such a great starting point because it really sums
up the whole journey we're diving into today. Yeah, our
mission here is to give you a shortcut really into
understanding David List's amazing novel, The Coffee Trader. We're going
to trace the whole wild ride of Miguelian. So the
main character not just what happens, but digging into the
surprising twists, the key moments that define his well desperate
(01:10):
scramble for redemption, for power in this really vibrant but
often brutal world.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
A deep dive into all that deception and ambition exactly.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
And the shifting identities. It's what makes the story just
so gripping.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Okay, so let's unpack Miguel himself. He's not just some
random broke merchant. His background it's really key, isn't it.
He's a former converso from Lisbon.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
That's crucial.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
And the book says something like deception, even self deception,
came far too easily to him. What does that tell
us about him? Right from the start, before Amsterdam even
really gets going, Hey, it.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Tells you almost everything. It immediately pains him as well.
Morally complex, maybe ambiguous is the word. He spent his
early life pretending to be Catholic right hourly hating Jews,
showing respect for the Inquisition he must have feared. And
that's not just backstory, It's like it shapes him profoundly.
It teaches him how to live in a world built
on lies. Basically makes some good at hiding things, but
(02:07):
also means he doesn't trust anyone, not even himself.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Really, So that struggle with who he really is.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
It sets the whole stage for all the hidden truths
and moral tightropes everyone seems to walk in this book.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
And the strange contradiction in his own family. His father
calls himself a trickster and a sheet Yeah, quite the character,
but ironically he uses his shady connections, his old Christian network,
to do something genuinely good, helping Jewish families escape the Inquisition,
like Alonso Alfharonda's family. Right, they got out just in
time thanks to Miguel's dad.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
It just adds another layer, doesn't it good? Coming out
of bed, or at least out of deceit, and Miguel himself,
even growing up in all that falseness, he had this
quiet little rebellion going on.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Oh yeah, as.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
A boy he secretly went to tourist steady groups. His
father would have thought it was terrible, wicked even, But
for Miguel it was this small act of defiance, reclaiming
a piece of himself had to hide.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
That internal conflict, the outward show versus the inner truth.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
It defines him absolutely.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
And that defiance It spilled over into his personal life too,
caused a huge break with his father. He married Katerina.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Right, a devout woman, very knowledgeable, knew Hebrew well.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
But crucially, she had an insufficient dowry, and his father's
reaction just brutal. Especially after Katerina died suddenly from a fever.
He actually said, Thank Christ, that's over with horrible. What
does that kind of cruelty do to someone? Basically sends
him running right to a new life.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Oh completely, It's just devastating. It destroys any idea he
might have had about family loyalty. That coldness is what
really pushes him to leave Lisgan for Amsterdam.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Amsterdam, the city of tolerance, or so.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
He hopes exactly. He's looking for religious freedom, sure, but
also maybe a new identity, a place to belong, And
at first it seems like he finds it. The Mahmad,
the Jewish Council. There, they welcome him, help him learn Hebrew,
the liturgy. It looks like a fresh start, a taste
of the world to come. As the book puts it,
there's always a butt, isn't there always? He quickly learns
(04:06):
there's a price for that welcome. The council has absolute power.
Step out of line, you could be excommunicated. And worse,
he realizes he already has enemies on the council like
Solomon Parrito.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Ah Pareto. We'll get back to him. So this brings
us to Miguel's situation now in Amsterdam, utter desperation. Just
how bad is it?
Speaker 2 (04:26):
It's absolute rock bottom. His money's gone lost big in
the sugar market, debts piling up. Other traders literally avoid
him on the exchange like he's contagious. Used to be
someone oh yeah, hosted lavish dinner's commanded respect. Now he's
terrified of ending up in the well of debt, like
they're really poor people in the Jordan district and nobody
(04:46):
that children in beef housewise smirk debt. His desperation is palpable.
It makes him vulnerable, willing to take huge risks.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
So he's completely cornered. And maybe that's exactly why he's
open to something totally new, something he might have just
laughed off before.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
That's a great point. Yeah, his usual caution it is
just gone. He's receptive because he has nothing left to lose.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
And right then Geartruid damn, who's enters the picture.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yes, Geartruid, described as this high spirited Dutch widow has
an illicit charm. And she actually showed up about a
year before the coffee thing, saving Miguel from a shipping
scam the Indian Flower. Remember, she exposed the crooks who
duped him.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
So she already proved herself useful, right, A bit mysterious maybe,
but helpful. She keeps her life secret where she lives.
What she does just asks Miguel to make small trades.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
For her, which is already risky for him.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Super risky. The mam mod strictly forbids jews brokering for gentiles.
So he's already bending the rules for her, isn't he?
Speaker 2 (05:44):
He absolutely is. It kind of foreshadows the bigger risks,
the moral compromises he's willing to make later on. And
then comes the big moment, the turning point. Geartrud takes
him to the Golden Calf.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Her cousin, Crispine's place sounds charming.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Boy's grim, foul, smoky, smells like stale beer, And there
Miguel has his first ever taste of coffee. He describes
it rich, almost enchanting, bitterness but also less voluptuous, sharper,
and more sparing than chocolate, which he knew what clicks
in his head right then.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
It's instant, like a lightning bolt, This wondrous luxury, This
could be his way back, the thing to restore him
to his rightful place. Get the money, yes, but also
the power, the respect he craves exactly.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
He's practically vibrating with eagerness to jump into a partnership proposal,
even knowing the danger with the Mavad. He sees coffee
as this like magic potion to pull him out of
the mud.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
It's about more than just Gilder's for him. It's about
reclaiming who he is, proving himself for sure.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
But you know, big fortunes mean big problems, and Miguel
finds himself tangled in this incredibly complex web rivals, allies,
people with hidden motives, and.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Right at the top of that list Solomon Parrito. What's
the deal there? Why the intense hatred.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Corrito's a big shot, a parnat, basically a powerful leader
on the Jewish Council, huge influence, and he despises Miguel.
The bad blood goes way back.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Didn't Miguel refuse to marry Perido's daughter.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
That's part of it, yeah, Antonio. But then even worse,
Miguel later publicly exposed Perido as the father of a
maid's illegitimate child. Yeah, huge scandal, total humiliation for Perido. Ouch.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
So it's personal vengeance for Parado, not.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Justice exactly, vengeance rather than justice, as the book says,
it shows how personal grudges become political weapons in that community.
And then there's Miguel's own family drama. Adding to the mess.
His younger brother Daniel, Oh Daniel. The relationship sounds tense,
deeply tense, lifelong rivalry apparently fueled by their father, always
(07:43):
favorite Daniel, and now the ultimate humiliation for Miguel. He's
broke and has to live with Daniel. That must sting terribly,
and it just fuels Daniel's resentment. Plus Daniel is weirdly
friendly with Parido, which makes Miguel paranoid. He suspects Daniel's
feeding pairs information about his every move.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Trust is just non existent. And then there's Alonzo al Faranda.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
What a character, isn't he great? A cunning money lender,
excommunicated by the Mahmad thinks mostly to Periodo's influence.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
By the way, ah another enemy of paradox right.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Al Faronda is a master trickster himself famous for manufacturing
luck in futures trading, and he has this history with
Miguel's family, helped them escape Lisbon, remember.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Yeah, through Miguel's father's dodgy dealings.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
He's shark al Faronda. He warns Miguel about coffee, says
it brings out great passions. And he tells him that
bizarre monkey coffee story. What's that about, right?
Speaker 1 (08:36):
The coffee made from beans excreted by monkeys who only
eat the best berries. It shows al Farana's weird knowledge, right,
and his willingness to look for value in well unexpected places.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Totally. He sees the world as this big game operates
outside normal rules. He's kind of the ultimate cynic, maybe
representing a kind of cunning Miguel wants, but maybe even.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Darker and amidst all these powerful players, there's You'll Kim Waganar,
just a constant thorn in Miguel's side.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Yeah, the Dutchman Miguel ruined in a sugar deal way back.
He just won't let it go becaus this obsessive tormentor.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Gets pretty extreme, does any public confrontations, threats against Daniel's
wife Hannah, and the maid Anetchi, even leaves a pig's
head on Daniel's doorstep.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
It's grim and it shows that Miguel's past actions have
these really nasty, lingering consequences. His ambition leaves victims and all.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
This attracts the wrong kind of attention. The mammod gets
involved exactly.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Miguel gets hauled before the council, accused of irresponsible conduct,
basically hanging out with disreputable gentiles like Dokim and Prito.
Sees his chance. He tries to use this meeting to
expose Miguel's coffee dealings high stakes.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
How does Miguel get out of that?
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Pure nerve? Miguel, ever, the strategist, does something brilliant. He
turns the tables. He basically accuses the council comparing their
aggressive questioning to the Spanish Inquisition.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
WHOA, that's bold, bold.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
But it hits a nerve, especially with the other former
conversos on the council. This spirited outburst, as the book
calls it, actually works. He gets off relatively lightly, just
a temporary one day excommunication at Cherum, so a win.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Sort of, but also a massive warning shot definitely.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
It shows how precarious his position is, but also how
he's learning to play the game, even manipulate the system
meant to control them.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Okay, So with the mamaud off his back for now,
Miguel Gertrue had pushed forward with their big plan corner
the entire European coffee market.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
The sheer ambition is breathtaking, isn't it. The plan involves
using agents across Europe Amsterdam, London, Hamburg, Lovorno to simultaneously
buy up all the coffee they can find.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Secrecy must have been.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Paramount, absolutely critical. You've got the Turks guarding their coffee
plants like state secrets, death penalty for smuggling live plants,
and the Dutch East India company the voc They're already
trying to grow coffee in Ceylon and Java, gaming for
their own monopoly.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
So they're playing a danger on multiple fronts.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Usually dangerous and then the practical problem money. Miguel is
scrambling for funds. This leads him to confront a broker
named Ricardo, who owes him from an old whale oil deal.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
How does he get the money.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
He basically threatens. Ricardo says he'll expose his shady dealings
to the Mammad. It works. Ricardo cracks and reveals who
he was really fronting for in that deal. Let me
guess Yep, Daniel, his own brother.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Wow confirmation any last bit of trust gone shattered.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
And just as Miguel's dealing with that betrayal, things are
unraveling at home too with Hannah, Daniel's wife.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Right the confession scene that was powerful, She's been getting desperate,
secretly eating coffee berries Miguel stored in the cellar.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Yeah, almost like an addiction takes hold. And then Annetche,
the maid who plot twist, is secretly working for al
f Aranda.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Ah the puppet master pulls another string exactly.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
And Agie prompts Hannah, and Hannah finally confronts Miguel. She
confesses everything that she's a secret Catholic, feels totally betrayed
by being forced into this Jewish identity she doesn't understand,
wasn't taught.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
It's heartbreaking, another layer of hidden identity, hidden pain, right
under Miguel's nose while he is obsessed with his coffee scheme.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
It really grounds the story doesn't it shows the human
cost of all these grand deceptions. Meanwhile, Miguel still needs
more capital. He keeps pushing Gear through it, but he's
getting suspicious.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
He starts thinking she's working for Paradox.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Yeah, her secretiveness, her sudden trips, the way she easily
finds new agents, it all starts to look fishy to him.
He convinces himself she must be Parodo's pawn.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
So, driven by that conviction, which turns out to be
totally wrong, but he doesn't know that yet, he makes
this huge, ruthless.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Move a massive gamble. He decides to slip the script,
change the scheme to my advantage. He tells his own
agents to stand down, but he lets Geirtrud's agents, who
he thinks are Parado's agents, go ahead with buying up
all the coffee.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
His plan is to let by high, thinking he'll swoop
in later, essentially bankrupting Gear Truud, and he believes Perido
while he profits.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
It's Miguel it is most calculating, and maybe he is
most self deceived. He thinks he's finally outsmarting.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Everyone, but then the confrontation with gear Trud.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Oh, it's brilliant. He goes to her, expecting her to
be ruined, defeated, and she just drops the bombshell. She
reveals who she really is, charming Peter's good wife Mary
and her associate Hendrick. That's charming Peter itself.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
She's a professional thief, not paradise agent at all.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Nope, never worked for Parado. She's just a very, very
clever thief who wanted to get rich and respectable. She
saw Miguel, saw his access to the exchange, his desperation,
and used him, use his influence for her own score.
And then she just leaves Skipstown, leaves Miguel completely stunned.
His whole theory, his whole counterplan just evaporates. His cunning
(13:49):
was useless because he was playing against the wrong opponent entirely.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Wow, so much for being the master strategist. That revealed
just underscores the theme, doesn't It Hidden identities everywhere, even
as partner, was an illusion.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Totally and it leaves him reeling right as we head
into the final showdown on the exchange.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Okay, so it's the big day. Perido and his allies
his combination are there trying to keep the price of
coffee artificially high. What's Miguel's move Now that his geartrude
plan is toast, He.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Goes for broke a wind handle, literally trading wind. He
starts selling coffee he doesn't even own, offering it at
super low prices. It's incredibly risky, basically a massive short
cell designed to crash.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
The market, a pure gamble. Does he have any backup?
Speaker 2 (14:30):
He does? Surprisingly, alonzo Al Faranda steps in. The puppet
master makes another move. He arranges for Tedesco merchants. These
are Eastern European Jews, often outside the Amsterdam mod's control,
to start buying McGill's dirt cheat coffee contracts.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Ah breaking Perido's price control creates a panic sell off exactly.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
And then this really intense personal moment, Miguel catches Daniel's
eye across the crowded exchange floor. His brother calculate. Miguel
knows Daniel could join the selling, help him crush Parado,
maybe choose family over hate for once, but Daniel chose
not to. His bitterness runs too deep. She watches Miguel
(15:11):
but stays poorn another betrayal right there in the heat
of battle.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
It's brutal, so it looks like Parto might actually.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Hold on for a moment maybe, But then Jokim Waganar
shows up out of nowhere.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
The guy Miguel ruined, the tormentor the very.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Same and he starts shouting an even lower price for coffee.
The Miguel offered, that's the final nail in Parodo's coffin.
It seals the deal. The market collapses.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
But wait, why would you work him? Help Miguel.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Turns out, Miguel had recently, maybe calculatingly, maybe with a
shred of decency, arranged to get yuck and released from
the rest fuse the workhouse. Yeah, truly miserable place. Miguel
probably hoped to get information. But this act, whatever the motive,
pays off spectacularly. It just shows how interconnected everything is,
how one action ripples outwards.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Unbelievable. So the market tanks.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
What next, Miguel hunts down Isaiah Nuwon, the broker who
double crossed him, selling Miguel's contracted coffee to Purrido behind
his back. Miguel confronts him, contract in hand, threatens lawsuits,
mammadad intervention and newnas folds completely. He faces ruined public shame,
he gives in. Miguel gets his coffee, secures his win.
(16:18):
The price is plummeted. He's made a profit of eight
hundred guilders, a fortune back then a huge fortune, and
he yells it out on the exchange floor. Miguel Liienzo
is return. He thanks God, the terrible time is over.
The era of prosperity has begun.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
He's back on top. But like he said, what's the
human cost? What happens to Daniel?
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Daniel confronts Miguel, later calls him a villain, says Miguel
ruined him financially, and the ultimate bitter twist, accuses him
of stealing his wife, partly because of a book Miguel
gave Hannah that encouraged her. Thinking Daniel's lost everything, he
tells Miguel he's leaving Amsterdam, divorcing Hannah and suggests Hannah
should go to Miguel.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
And does she. What happens to Hannah?
Speaker 2 (16:55):
She does. Hannah, now pregnant with a daughter, takes Daniel's
bitter advice. She literally he walks over to Miguel's grand
new house. She faces this totally uncertain future, but maybe,
just maybe a freer one, She's finally acting on her
own terms.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
In a way, a strange kind of new beginning for
her and Parrito. Does Miguel confront him?
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Oh? Yes, Parito accuses Miguel of using yoke and like
a weapon. Miguel fires back, accusing Perito of using Geartruid,
even though Miguel knows that wasn't true. The rivalry continues
even in defeat.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
But the final act belongs to al Feranda. Right the
grand reveal.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
The Grand Master steps out of the shadows. Alonzo al
Faranda lays it all bare. He admits he was pulling
the strings behind a lot of the chaos.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Why what was his motive.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Revenge against Purrito? Mostly he saw Parrito as this distortion,
someone corrupted by power who needed taking down, and of course,
proving his own genius as the ultimate trickster. He admits
he manipulated annetcha Daniel's.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
Maid who he kept working for him after Daniel fired her.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Right, so he knew everything, including Geartrud's real identity as
a thief, but he deliberately kept that from Miguel. Why
to make sure Parodo's ruin was complete. If Miguel had known,
he might not have made the moves that ultimately destroyed Parodo.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
So Alfarron have played them all. Miguel thought he was
playing Paradobe. Alfarn was playing Miguel to get to Parodo. Incredible.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
It proves that no matter how clever you think you
are in this world, there might always be someone playing
a deeper game.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
So, wrapping up this deep dive into the coffee Trader,
we've really seen this incredibly complex dance, deception, ambition, survival
in seventeenth century Amsterdam. It's a world where, yeah, even
the smartest players like Miguel, like Perido end up being
ponds moved by an unseen hand.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Which leads us with a pretty provocative thought. I think
in a world like that where getting ahead, getting revenge
can just consume you, where deception, even self deception, is
almost second nature, is real wisdom found in mastering that game?
Or is it maybe found in figuring out when to
just step away from the board altogether?
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Yeah? What does it even mean to be well informed
when truth itself feels like just another illusion someone's carefully constructed.
Something to think about,
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