 Topographic map of Bacan and other nearby islands. | |
 | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Southeast Asia |
| Coordinates | 00°36′54″S127°30′54″E / 0.61500°S 127.51500°E /-0.61500; 127.51500 |
| Archipelago | Moluccas (Maluku Islands) |
| Area | 2,719.03 km2 (1,049.82 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 2,111 m (6926 ft) |
| Highest point | Buku Sibela |
| Administration | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 117,986 (mid 2023) |
| Pop. density | 43.4/km2 (112.4/sq mi) |
TheBacan Islands, formerly also known as theBachans,Bachians, andBatchians,[1] are a group of islands in theMoluccas inIndonesia. They are mountainous and forested, lying south ofTernate and southwest ofHalmahera. The islands are administered by theSouth Halmahera Regency ofNorth MalukuProvince. They formerly constituted theSultanate of Bacan.
Bacan (Dutch:Batjan),[2] formerly also known asBachian[3][2] orBatchian,[4] is the group's largest island. Bacan Island in 2020 included about 82,387 people, of whom 7,073 lived in the capitalLabuha; it is subdivided into seven districts. The second and third-largest islands areKasiruta andMandioli.[3] Kasiruta and Mandioli each have over 11,000 inhabitants, and each is subdivided into two districts. A fourth island, Batang Lomang, forms a twelfth district within the group. There are dozens of smaller islands in the group, which had a total population of 84,075 at the 2010 Census,[5] but by the 2020 Census had risen to 111,517.[6] The official estimate as at mid 2023 was 117,986.[7]
The group is divided into twelve administrativedistricts (kecamatan) out of the thirty districts within South Halmahera Regency. They are tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census[5] and 2020 Census,[6] together with the official estimate for mid 2023.[7] The table also includes the number of administrative villages (all classed as ruraldesa) in each district and its post code.
| Kode Wilayah | Name | English name | Area in km2 | Popn census 2010 | Popn census 2020 | Popn estimate mid 2023 | Admin. centre | No. of villages | No. of islands | Post code | Island or group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 82.04.21 | Bacan Timur Selatan | Southeast Bacan | 321.13 | 6,460 | 7,493 | 8,352 | Wayaua | 7 | 1 | 97791 | Bacan Island |
| 82.04.22 | Bacan Timur Tengah | East Central Bacan | 276.28 | 5,229 | 6,158 | 6,495 | Bibinoi | 7 | 2 | 97791 | Bacan Island |
| 82.04.07 | Bacan Timur | East Bacan | 463.50 | 9,051 | 12,794 | 13,649 | Babang | 10 | 8 | 97791 | Bacan Island |
| 82.04.17 | Bacan Selatan | South Bacan | 169.21 | 13,265 | 19,560 | 21,153 | Mandaong | 10 | - | 97791 | Bacan Island |
| 82.04.08 | Bacan | (Central Bacan) | 304.69 | 19,092 | 27,045 | 28,468 | Labuha | 14 | 3 | 97791 | Bacan Island |
| 82.04.14 | Bacan Barat Utara | Northwest Bacan | 264.94 | 4,096 | 5,010 | 5,099 | Yaba | 8 | 1 | 97791 | Bacan Island |
| 82.04.09 | Bacan Barat | West Bacan | 180.78 | 3,549 | 4,327 | 4,665 | Indari | 7 | 49 | 97791 | Bacan Island |
| 82.04.18 | Batang Lomang(a) | Batang Lomang Islands | 55.81 | 6,177 | 7,655 | 7,858 | Bajo | 8 | 13 | 97790 | Batang Lomang Islands |
| 82.04.19 | Mandioli Selatan | South Mandioli | 138.81 | 5,798 | 6,936 | 7,237 | Jiko | 6 | - | 97791 | Mandioli |
| 82.04.20 | Mandioli Utara | North Mandioli | 96.79 | 2,990 | 3,809 | 3,880 | Indong | 6 | 7 | 97791(b) | Mandioli |
| 82.04.16 | Kasiruta Timur | East Kasiruta | 247.93 | 3,847 | 4,865 | 5,062 | Loleo Jaya | 8 | 6 | 97790 | Kasiruta |
| 82.04.15 | Kasiruta Barat(c) | West Kasiruta | 272.98 | 4,521 | 5,865 | 5,968 | Palamea | 10 | 25 | 97790 | Kasiruta |
Notes: (a) formally called Kepulauan Batanglomang; situated between Bacan and Mandioli Islands.(b) except for Bobodesa, which has a postcode of 97792.
(c) includes Lata Lata Island (27.9 km2, with 1,201 inhabitants in 2020), located to the northwest of Kasiruta Island, and comprising twodesa - Lata Lata and Sidanga.
Bacan Island's seven districts comprise 63 villages (desa) as follows: Bacan Timur Selatan - Liaro, Pigaraja, Silang, Tabajaya, Tabangame, Wayakuba and Wayaua. Batan Timur Tengah - Bibinoi, Songa, Tabapoma, Tawa, Tomara, Tutupa and Wayatim. Bacan Timur - Babang, Bori, Goro-Goro, Kaireu, Nyonyifi, Sabatang, Sali Kecil, Sayoang, Timlonga and Wayamiga. Bacan Selatan - Gandasuli, Kampung Makian, Kubung, Kupal, Mandaong, Panamboang, Papaloang, Sawadai, Tembal and Tuokona. Bacan (district) - Amasing Kali, Amasing Kota, Amasing Kota Barat, Amasing Kota Utara, Awanggoa, Belang Belang, Hidayat, Indomut, Kaputusan, Labuha, Marabose, Suma Tinggi, Sumae and Tomori. Bacan Barat Utara - Geti Baru, Geti Lama, Gilalang, Jojame, Lolarogurua, Nusa Babullah, Sidopo and Yaba. Bacan Barat - Indari, Kokotu, Kusubibi, Nang, Nondang, Tawabi and Wiring.
Batang Lomang's single district comprises 8 villages as follows: Bajo, Batutaga, Kampung Baru, Paisumbaos, Prapakanda, Sawangakar, Tanjung Obit and Toin.
Mandioli's two districts comprise 12 villages as follows: Mandioli Selatan - Bahu, Galala, Jiko, Lele, Tabalema and Yoyok. Mandioli Utara - Akedabo, Bobo, Indong, Leleongusu, Pelita and Waya.
Kasiruta's two districts comprise 18 villages, listed as follows with their populations in mid 2022: Kasirutu Barat - Kakupang (493), Marikapal (255), Bisori (671), Doko (809), Palamea (763), Arumamang (742), Lata Lata (640), Sidanga (631), Sengga Baru (455) and Imbu Imbu (437). Kasirutu Timur - Tawa Bacan Barat (639), Maritosa (893), Loleo Jaya (1,439), Kou Balabala (593), Loleo Mekar (437), Kasiruta Dalam (552), Jeret (374) and Tutuhu (262).
From early times, Bacan was one of the four kingdoms of Maluku together withTernate,Tidore andJailolo. The ruling elite converted toIslam in about the late 15th century. The sultan at first resided on Kasiruta Island and had political and commercial influence in northernCeram and thePapuan Islands. In 1513, the first Portuguese trading fleet to reach theMoluccas set up a trading post on Bacan which at the time was tied to theSultan of Ternate by dynastic marriages. The fleet's commander, Captain Antonio de Miranda Azevedo, left seven men on Bacan to buy cloves for the following year's expedition. Their arrogant behaviour and reported bad treatment of Bacan women led to their murder. As Ternate did not have enough stock, the ship for which the men had stayed to prepare was used by the Sultan of Ternate to fillFerdinand Magellan's last ship, which was the first ship to circumnavigate the world. A slave and two birds of paradise were given to the ship by Bacan. Bacan became a place of refuge for rebellious Ternatans. The Portuguese sent a punitive expedition against Bacan but it failed, and instead the Portuguese Governor Galvão challenged Bacan's sultan to a duel to determine who was to be subservient to whom. The challenge was accepted but the duel never took place.[8]
In 1557, Father Antonio Vaz convertedBacan's sultan and court members to Catholicism. The king was married to a daughter of SultanHairun of Ternate. Fleets from Ternate invaded the islands in 1570 and later and the king apostatized in 1575, though he was nevertheless poisoned in 1578. A community of Christians remained and were later joined by coreligionists fromTobelo andAmbon. A small Roman Catholic hospital was built by an elderly Dutch nun. Today, Protestants significantly outnumber Catholics. During the mid-19th century Moluccan travels of British naturalistAlfred Russel Wallace, Christians in the Moluccas were calledOrang Sirani (lit. "Nazarene People"), a term regularly applied to locals of European ancestry in the Malay Archipelago, thought to have been descended from the Portuguese. They had dressed in white and black and Wallace reports they dance "quadrilles, waltzes, polkas, and mazurkas with great vigour and much skill".[8]
Following the 1575 Ternatan invasion, Bacan become subservient to Ternate for periods, which was sealed through marriages. A sister and a daughter of SultanSaidi Berkat of Ternate married Bacan rulers in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. A Spanish fort was built in 1606. By this time the seat of the sultan had been moved from Kasiruta to Bacan Island. Once theDutch East India Company established hegemony in 1609, the Netherlands' power on Bacan was based in Fort Barnaveld.[8]
In 1705, the sergeant in charge of the fort and the sultan captured the English explorerWilliam Dampier, seized his ship, looted its cargo, and threatened all aboard with execution. It is thought that this was in response to Dampier violating the trade monopoly. When the sergeant's Dutch superiors heard of the incident, Dampier was released, his ship restored and the English provided with sumptuous hospitality in Ternate.[9] The chief town at the time, also known asBachian, was Amasing or Amasingkota on the island's isthmus.[3]
Ternate and Bacan were the only places in the northern Moluccas that had a Dutch curriculum school and a Protestant minister in the late 19th century. The majority of Bacan's Roman Catholics became Protestants during the Dutch colonial period.[citation needed] These Sirani wore semi-European dress andcelebrated Sundays with dancing and music.[3] TheSultanate of Bacan was treated as a Dutchprotectorate;[3] it was replaced by a council of chiefs under a Dutchcontrôleur in 1889.[2] A sultan with much reduced powers was eventually appointed in 1900. What independence remained was lost with theJapanese occupation during andIndonesian independence afterWorld War II.[10] The most significant modern town is Labuha on the west coast. Bacan has more recently been in the news due to violence betweenChristian andMuslim inhabitants of the island.
Bacan is of irregular form, consisting of two distinct mountainous parts, united by a lowisthmus, which a slight subsidence would submerge.[3] The total land area is around 1,900 km2.[citation needed] The prevailing rocks aresandstone,corallinelimestone, and pebbly conglomerate, althoughhot springs attest tovolcanic activity as well.[3] The ancient and non-volcanic rocks are especially prevalent on the south side of the island.[2] Thesulphur spring atTaubenkit has a temperature of 125 °F (52 °C) and a still more remarkable example is found atSayowang on the east coast.[3] "Amasing Hill" on the northern half consists of three smallandesiticvolcanoes: Cakasuanggi, Dua Saudara, andMount Sibela. The highest elevation on the southern half is Gunong Sabella[3] or Labua (6,950 ft or 2,120 m),[2] which the locals traditionally considered the seat of evil spirits.[3]Coal and other minerals have been discovered.[3]
During the 19th and early 20th century, large portions of the island were richly wooded, with indigenoussago,coconuts andcloves abundantly produced.[3][2] TheDutch purposefully exterminated the nativenutmeg trees: a large grove still remained as late as the 1870s[3] but it had disappeared by the onset ofWorld War I.[2] It is the easternmost point naturally inhabited byprimates, in the form of a blackmacaque which also occurs onSulawesi.[2] The world's largestbee, thegiant mason bee, occurs here and on nearby Halmahera.
By the mid-19th century, the interior of Bacan island was considered uninhabited and the coastal dwellers all non-indigenous.[3] They consisted of theChristian descendants ofPortuguese sailors (Sirani), ofMalays andPapuans, ofGalelas from northernHalmahera, and ofTomore people fromSulawesi'sBay of Tolo.[3] Prior toWorld War I, the population of the island was around13 000, including someChinese andArabs.[2] In the late 1990s, 193 of Bacan's 7,700 Christians were Protestants.[10] The whole group had a population of 84,075 at the 2010 Census, but by mid 2023 had grown to 117,986.
Severalnon-Austronesian (Papuan) languages are spoken on Bacan, the main one of which isGalela but alsoTobelo andTernate. Near the capital Labuha,Bacanese Malay was once spoken, but as of 2012 it had only handful of speakers remaining.[11]
Colonial interest in Bacan was primarily driven by thespice trade, which was flourishing inTernate,Tidore, andHalmahera. The island of Bacan was not particularly sought-after for its own resources, but rather, to assist control of the more valuable islands nearby. TheDutch East India Company paid a stipend to the Bacan sultan as compensation for the destruction of Bacan'sclove trees that was higher than the salary of the Dutch Governor onTernate and about 1/9 of that paid to theSultan of Ternate.
It is thought thatgold was washed on Bacan since at least 1774; in the mid-nineteenth century, 20 skilled Chinese gold workers were brought from westBorneo but a gold rush did not eventuate.[citation needed] During the era ofsteam power, an attempt was made to establishcoal mining on the island[3] using Japanese convicts imprisoned by the Dutch. However, following the delivery of several tons the grade of coal was deemed poor and the mining was discontinued.
From 1882, an Amsterdam merchant cleared plantations forvanilla,coffee,tobacco andpotatoes, however, his land was unsuitable and the crops succumbed to floods,drought, rot,insects androdents. Despite over ten years of large investments of capital, creditors forced him out of business in 1900 although they also did not succeed with the plantations.[9] The indigenous economy included the gathering ofpearl andmother-of-pearl, and the harvesting the resin fromdammar.
