Nathaniel Courthope

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

On 25 December 1616, he landed his ships, Swan and Defence, on the island known as Run, the smallest (about ) of the Banda Islands, in a quest to break the Dutch hold on the nutmeg 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.