Halmahera, formerly known asJilolo,Gilolo, orJailolo, is the largestisland in theMaluku Islands. It is part of theNorth Malukuprovince ofIndonesia, andSofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coast of the island.
Halmahera has a land area of 17,780 km2 (6,860 sq mi).[1] It is the largest island of Indonesia outside the five main islands. It had a population of 162,728 in 1995; by 2010, it had increased to 449,938 for the island itself (excluding the tip which is considered part of the Joronga Islands, but includingGebe and Ju islands) and 667,161 for the island group (including all of South Halmahera andTidore, but notTernate).[2][3] Approximately half of the island's inhabitants areMuslim and half areChristian.
Sparsely populated Halmahera's fortunes have long been closely tied to those of the smaller islands ofTernate andTidore, both off its west coast. This island was the site ofSultanate of Jailolo, one of the four kingdoms of Maluku (Maloko Kië Raha, ofTernate,Tidore,Bacan, and Jailolo) in the era beforeDutch East India Companycolonized the entire archipelago. The north of the island is also the base ofLoloda Kingdom, one of the earlier 13th century Moluccan kingdoms, but not recognized as one of the prominent four.[4]
In 1999 and 2000, Halmahera was the site of violence that began as a purely ethnic dispute between residents of (mainly Christian)Kao and (entirely Muslim)Malifut districts and then took on a religious nature as it spread through much of the North Moluccas, called theMaluku sectarian conflict. Thousands of people on Halmahera were killed in the fighting between religious militias. In June 2000, about five hundred people were killed when aferry carryingrefugees from the fighting on Halmahera sank off the northeast tip ofSulawesi island. Conspiracy theories about this event abound. A memorial to this tragedy can be found in Duma village inNorth Halmahera Regency.
Today, much transportation to the rest of Indonesia is through connections on the provincial capital,Ternate island althoughTobelo, the largest town on Halmahera, also has direct ferry and cargo sea links toSurabaya andManado.[citation needed]
Particularly, since the inauguration of the first ever directly electedbupati (regent head), Tobelo is undergoing rapid development and is aiming at rivaling Ternate's historical dominance.[citation needed] As it is surrounded by flat land, Tobelo has the potential for expansion.[citation needed] Ternate is limited by its size, being a small island which can be driven around in forty-five minutes. Also, in 2010, the provincial government moved the provincial capital from Ternate City toSofifi, a small village on the Halmahera coast oppositeTidore island.
The coastal area of Halmahera is inhabited by theTobelo people (or theO'Hoberera Manyawa (literally "people that live outside of the forest")),[5] while a small semi-nomadic related population lives on the inner parts of Halmahera, theTogutil people (or theO'Hongana Manyawa (literally "people that live inside of the forest")) with an estimated 1,500–3,000 people (according to studies of ethnologists since 2001).[6][7] Somewhere between 300 and 500 people live in isolation in the forest in theAketajawe-Lolobata National Park where they obtain their means of subsistence.[8] Uncontacted members are being threatened by a massive Indonesian mining project to produce nickel for electric car batteries.[9]
The naturalistAlfred Russel Wallace visited Halmahera, as described in his 1869 bookThe Malay Archipelago. He considered thestandardwingbird of paradise,Semioptera wallacii, to be his greatest prize.[13] It was in February 1858, on the island ofTernate (or perhaps while on Halmahera itself), between bouts of fever, that Wallace came to the idea of natural selection via the survival of the fittest. Wallace wrote his ideas during the next couple of days, and sent the historical letter toDarwin.
PT Weda Bay Nickel operates a nickel and cobalt mining project in North and Central Halmahera Regencies, theWeda Bay Industrial Park. It is one of the world's largest nickel mining operations.[14] The Indonesian government has prohibited the export of unprocessed nickel ore since 2022.[15] As a result, the ore must first be processed on the island before being exported. A total of 11 (with three more in construction) power plants have already been built for this process. The park is likely to get even bigger. Several investors have already been found willing to invest.[16] The increased demand for nickel for batteries is one of the reasons for the growth.
