The clove tree that defied an Empire..........and made Zanzibar it's largest producer

In the 1600's,the dutch united east India company controlled the Indonesian spice trade,and all clove trees that did not belong to them were destroyed,however one remained.
A Frenchman stole some seeds from it,and took them to other countries thereby taking away the company's monopoly trade.The dutch destroyed the clove tress in the country in order to create monopoly in the spice trade and they destroyed and burnt any clove tree that did not belong to their company.
The clove tree only used to grow on two islands in modern day Indonesia and it remained a closely guarded secret until the Portuguese and the dutch arrived in the region and captured the harbor,thereby gaining control of the clove trees,in 1602,the Dutch formed a company and they started competing for the clove trees.
Their company was called the Dutch United East India company (abbreviated VOC for the dutch title),and it soon forced the Portuguese out of the land.
Beginning in 1652,the VOC introduced a policy of extirpate,which in a way means that any clove tree not owned by the company was to be destroyed,they handled the business with so much authority that they just exported only 800 to 1000 tons out of the country,while they dumped the rest into the sea.
But one tree defied the iron grip of the Dutch,the tree grew on the slopes of the Gamalama(Popularly called the "ring of fire" because of the tongue of molten lava that it pours down the mountain into the sea) volcano on the island of Ternate,and the tree was known as "Afo". How Afo survived this policy is not known,some called it a rogue clove,a guerrilla plant waging a secret war of resistance.It was later found by a French missionary turned entrepreneur named Poivre who stole some of it's seeds in 1770.
He took the seeds to Seychelles and Zanzibar(Which is currently the world's largest clove producer)and by this singular act,he ended the VOC monopoly.

Afo which is estimated to be over 400 years old still stands today,a shadow of itself,protected by a brick wall,probably to stop locals who once tried to use it as firewood.
Either way,this ancient clove tree remains a symbol of the ultimate folly of empire,and the stubborn refusal of nature to be controlled.