The islands were known as theSpice Islands because of thenutmeg,mace, andcloves that were exclusively found there, the presence of which sparked European colonial interests in the 16th century.[3]
The Maluku Islands formed a singleprovince from Indonesian independence until 1999, when they were split into two provinces. A new province,North Maluku, incorporates the area betweenMorotai andSula, with the arc of islands fromBuru andSeram toWetar remaining within the existingMaluku Province. North Maluku is predominantly Muslim, and its capital isSofifi onHalmahera island. Maluku province has a larger Christian population, and its capital isAmbon. Though originallyMelanesian,[4] many island populations, especially in theBanda Islands, were massacred in the 17th century during theDutch–Portuguese War, also known as the Spice War. A second influx of immigrants primarily from Java began in the early 20th century under theDutch and continues in the Indonesian era, which has also caused a lot of controversy as the transmigrant programs are thought to be a contributing factor to theMaluku Riots.[5] Historical maritime exchanges between the Maluku Islands and neighbouring archipelagos included Philippine-built boats and tools, which Filipino craftsmen made using durable techniques that were prized across island fleets.[6]
The etymology of the wordMaluku is unclear and has been a matter of debate for many experts.[7]
The first recorded word that can be identified withMaluku comes fromNagarakertagama, anOld Javanese eulogy of 1365. Canto 14 stanza 5 mentionedMaloko, which Pigeaud identified withTernate or Moluccas.[8]: 17 [9]: 34
A theory holds thatMaluku comes from the phraseMoloko Kie Raha orMoloku Kie Raha. Inthe Ternate language,raha means "four", whilekie here means "mountain".Kie raha or "four mountains" refers toTernate,Tidore,Bacan, andJailolo (the nameJailolo has been used in the past to refer toHalmahera island), all of which have theirkolano (a local title for kings rooted inPanji tales).[10]
It is unclear what the meaning ofMoloko orMoloku is. One possible meaning is inTernate language, it meant "to hold or grasp", in which caseMoloko Kie Raha could be understood to mean "Confederation of the Four Mountains". Another possibility is that the word originates from the wordmaloko, which is a combination of theparticlema- and therootloko inNorth Halmahera languages means the variety of words relating to the location of mountains, in which case "Maloko Kie Raha" in the phrase "Ternate se Tidore, Moti se MaraMaloko Kie Raha" means "Ternate, Tidore, Moti, and Marathe place of the four mountains" or with the shifting of pronunciation ofloko towardsluku, means "Ternate, Tidore, Moti, and Marathe world of the four mountains".[11]
Australo-Melanesians were the first people to inhabit the islands at least 40,000 years ago. A later migration of Austronesian speakers arrived around 2000 BC.
Archaeological finds in Ternate include aParvati statue with lotus flowers on the bottom, which indicate the statue is from theMajapahit era and indicate the early period ofHinduism andBuddhism.[12] Other archaeological finds showed possible[clarification needed] Arab merchants began to arrive in the fourteenth century, bringingIslam. Theconversion to Islam occurred in many islands,[citation needed] especially in the centres of trade, while aboriginalanimism persisted in the hinterlands and more isolated islands.Archaeological evidence here relies largely on the occurrence of pigs' teeth, as evidence of pork eating or abstinence therefrom.[13]
Remnants ofMajapahit expeditions were also found in oral as well as archaeological sites. A story from Letvuan on the island ofKai Kecil tells of a Balinese envoy of Gajah Mada by the name of Kasdev, his wife Dit Ratngil, and eight of their children. Archaeological sites of ancient tombs found in Sorbay Bay, south of Letvuan, seem to support the story, as well as some cultural practices of Kei of Balinese origin.[14] Other archaeological finds in theKei Islands include aShiva statue from the island ofKei Besar.
An oral story reports of a 14th-century Majapahit expedition to Negeri Ema,Ambon Island, by an envoy named Nyi Mas Kenang Eko Sutarmi alongside 22 people among her retinue and a spear-bearer trying to form an alliance and trading relationship with Negeri Ema's leader by the name ofKapitan Ading Adang Anaan Tanahatuila. The meeting was facilitated byMalessy Soa Lisa Maitimu; however, it failed to reach an agreement. As Sutarmi failed, she decided to stay in exile while her retinues settled and married locals of Ema, and her spear bearer settled on the coast but was killed later by Gunung Maut troops. Archaeological finds relating to this expedition include a water source withSun symbols with nine rays, and heirlooms of spears andTotobuang kept by the Maitimu family and village office of Negeri Ema, alongside many potteries.[15]
Drawing ofTernate by a presumably Dutch artist. Inset shows Saint John Baptist Portuguese-built fort on the islandAnorembai, a common traditional sailing vessel of the Maluku Islands
In August 1511 thePortugueseconquered the city-state of Malacca. The most significant lasting effects of the Portuguese presence were the disruption and reorganization of the Southeast Asian trade, and in eastern Indonesia—including Maluku—the introduction of Christianity.[16]
One Portuguese diary noted, "It is over thirty years since they becameMoors".[17]
Afonso de Albuquerque learned of the route to theBanda Islands and other 'Spice Islands', and sent an exploratory expedition of three vessels under the command ofAntónio de Abreu, Simão Afonso Bisigudo, andFrancisco Serrão.[18] On the return trip, Serrão was shipwrecked atHitu island (northernAmbon) in 1512. There he established ties with the local ruler who was impressed with his martial skills. The rulers of the competing island states ofTernate andTidore also sought Portuguese assistance and the newcomers were welcomed in the area as buyers of supplies and spices during a lull in the regional trade due to the temporary disruption ofJavanese andMalay sailings to the area following the 1511 conflict in Malacca. The spice trade soon revived but the Portuguese would not be able to fully monopolize or disrupt this trade.[19]
Allying himself with Ternate's ruler, Serrão constructed a fortress on that tiny island and served as the head of amercenary band of Portuguese seamen under the service of one of the two local feuding sultans who controlled most of thespice trade. Both Serrão andFerdinand Magellan, however, perished before they could meet one another.[19] The Portuguese first landed in Ambon in 1513, but it only became the new centre for their activities in Maluku following the expulsion from Ternate. European power in the region was weak and Ternate became an expanding, fiercely Islamic, and anti-European state; thePortuguese-Ternate wars raged throughout the reigns of SultanBaab Ullah (r. 1570–1583) and his son SultanSaidi Berkat (r. 1583–1606).[20]
Following Portuguese missionary work, there have been large Christian communities in eastern Indonesia through to contemporary times, which has contributed to a sense of shared interest with Europeans, particularly among the Ambonese.[20]
With the declaration of a single republic ofIndonesia in 1950 to replace the federal state, aRepublic of South Maluku (Republik Maluku Selatan, RMS) was declared and attempted to secede,[citation needed] led byChris Soumokil (former Supreme Prosecutor of the Eastern Indonesia state) and supported by the Moluccan members of the NetherlandsKNIL special troops. This movement was defeated by the Indonesian army and by special agreement with the Netherlands the Moluccan troops were ordered to move to the Netherlands.[citation needed] Decades later, descendants of these Moluccan KNIL soldiers participated in the1975 Dutch train hostage crisis, the1977 Dutch train hijacking, and the1977 Dutch school hostage crisis to bring attention to their plight for an independent Republic of South Maluku.
Maluku is one of the first provinces of Indonesia, proclaimed in 1945 and lasting until 1999 when the Maluku Utara and Halmahera Tengah Regencies were split off as a separate province ofNorth Maluku. Its capital used to beTernate, on a small island to the west of the large island ofHalmahera, but has been moved toSofifi on Halmahera itself. The capital of the remaining part of Maluku province remains atAmbon.[citation needed]
Religious and ethnic conflict erupted across the islands in January 1999. The subsequent 18 months were characterized by fighting between local groups of Muslims and Christians against jihadist groups from Java and the Indonesian military backing them leading to the destruction of thousands of houses, the displacement of approximately 500,000 people, the loss of thousands of lives, and the segregation of Muslims and Christians.[23]
The Maluku Islands have a total area of 850,000 km2 (330,000 sq mi), 90% of which is sea.[24] There are an estimated 1027 islands.[25] The largest two islands,Halmahera andSeram, are sparsely populated, while the most developed,Ambon andTernate, are small.[25]
The majority of the islands are forested and mountainous. TheTanimbar Islands are dry and hilly, while theAru Islands are flat and swampy.Mount Binaiya (3,027 m; 9,931 ft) on Seram is the highest mountain. Several islands, such as Ternate (1,721 m; 5,646 ft) and the TNS islands, are volcanoes emerging from the sea with villages sited around their coasts. There have been over 70 serious volcanic eruptions in the last 500 years and earthquakes are common.[25]
The geology of the Maluku Islands shares much similar history, characteristics, and processes with the neighbouring Nusa Tenggara region. There is a long history of geological study of these regions sinceIndonesian colonial times; however, the geological formation and progression are not fully understood, and theories of the island's geological evolution have changed extensively in recent decades.[26] The Maluku Islands comprise some of the most geologically complex and active regions in the world,[27] resulting from their position at the meeting point of four geological plates and two continental blocks.
Biogeographically, all of the islands apart from the Aru group lie inWallacea, the region between theSunda Shelf (part of the Asia block), and theArafura Shelf (part of the Australian block). More specifically, they lie betweenWeber's Line andLydekker's Line and thus have a fauna that is rather more Australasian than Asian. Malukan biodiversity and its distribution are affected by various tectonic activities; most of the islands are geologically young, being from 1 million to 15 million years old, and have never been attached to the larger landmasses. The Maluku islands differ from other areas in Indonesia; they contain some of the country's smallest islands, coral island reefs scattered through some of the deepest seas in the world, and no large islands such asJava orSumatra. Flora and fauna immigration between islands is thus restricted, leading to a high rate of endemic biota evolving.[26]
The ecology of the Maluku Islands has fascinated naturalists for centuries;Alfred Wallace's book,The Malay Archipelago, was the first significant study of the area's natural history and remains an important resource for studying Indonesian biodiversity. Maluku is the subject of two major historical works of natural history byGeorg Eberhard Rumphius: theHerbarium Amboinense and theAmboinsche Rariteitkamer.[28]
Rainforest covered most of northern and central Maluku, which, on the smaller islands has been replaced by plantations, including the region's endemiccloves andnutmeg. TheTanimbar Islands and other southeastern islands are arid and sparsely vegetated, much like nearbyTimor.[25] In 1997 theManusela National Park, and in 2004, theAketajawe-Lolobata National Park, were established, for the protection of endangered species.[citation needed]
Nocturnalmarsupials, such ascuscus andbandicoots, make up the majority of the mammal species and introduced mammals includeMalayan civets and feral pigs.[25] Bird species include approximately 100 endemics with the greatest variety on the large islands of Halmahera and Seram. North Maluku has two species of endemic birds of paradise.[25] Uniquely among the Maluku Islands, theAru Islands have a purely Papuan fauna including kangaroos, cassowaries, and birds of paradise.[25]
While many ecological problems affect both small islands and large landmasses, small islands suffer their particular problems. Development pressures on small islands are increasing, although their effects are not always anticipated. Although Indonesia is richly endowed with natural resources, the resources of the small islands of Maluku are limited and specialised; furthermore, human resources, in particular, are limited.[29]
General observations[30][31] about small islands that can be applied to the Maluku Islands include:[29]
A higher proportion of the landmass will be affected byvolcanic activity, earthquakes, landslips, and cyclone damage;
Climates are more likely to bemaritime influenced;
Central and southern Maluku Islands experience the dry monsoon between October and March and the wet monsoon from May to August, which is the reverse of the rest of Indonesia. The dry monsoon's average maximum temperature is 30 °C (86 °F) while the wet's average maximum is 23 °C (73 °F). Northern Maluku has its wet monsoon from December to March in line with the rest of Indonesia. Each island group has its climatic variations, and the larger islands tend to have drier coastal lowlands and their mountainous hinterlands are wetter.[25]
The population of Maluku Province in 2020 was 1,848,923 and that of North Maluku Province was 1,282,937.[2] Hence the total population of the Maluku Islands as a region in 2020 was 3,131,860.
A long history of trade and seafaring has resulted in a high degree of mixed ancestry in Malukans.[25]Austronesian peoples added to the nativeMelanesian population around 2000 BCE.[33] Melanesian features are strongest in the islands ofKei andAru and amongst the interior people of the islandsSeram andBuru. Later added to this Austronesian-Melanesian mix were some Indian and Arab strain. More recent arrivals includeBugis trader settlers from Sulawesi andJavanesetransmigrants.[25]
Over 130 languages were once spoken across the islands; however, many have now switched to thecreoles of Ternate andAmbonese, thelingua franca of northern and southern Maluku, respectively.[25]
Cloves and nutmeg are still cultivated, as are cocoa, coffee and fruit. Fishing is a big industry across the islands but particularly around Halmahera andBacan. The Aru Islands produce pearls, and Seram exportslobsters. Logging is a significant industry on the larger islands with Seram producing ironwood andteak and ebony are produced on Buru.[25]
^Leonard Andaya 1993The world of Maluku. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, pg. 47.
^Pigeaud, Theodoor Gautier Thomas (1960c).Java in the 14th Century: A Study in Cultural History, Volume III: Translations (3rd revised ed.). The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.ISBN978-94-011-8772-5.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
^Pigeaud, Theodoor Gautier Thomas (1962).Java in the 14th Century: A Study in Cultural History, Volume IV: Commentaries and Recapitulations (3rd revised ed.). The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.ISBN978-94-017-7133-7.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
^Leonard Andaya (1993),The world of Maluku. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, p. 59.
^Amal, Muhammad A. (2016).Kepulauan Rempah-rempah. Jakarta: Gramedia.ISBN978-6024241667.
^Milne, Peter (16 January 2011)."Banda, the nutmeg treasure islands".Jakarta Post. Jakarta. pp. 10–11.Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved22 December 2011.But the economic importance of the Bandas was only fleeting. With the Napoleonic wars raging across Europe, the British returned to the Bandas in the early 19th century, temporarily taking over control from the Dutch. The English uprooted hundreds of valuable nutmeg seedlings and transport them to their own colonies in Ceylon and Singapore, breaking the Dutch monopoly and consigning the Bandas to economic decline.
^Monk, K. A.; de Fretes, Y.; Reksodiharjo-Lilley, G. (1996).The Ecology of Nusa Tenggara and Maluku. Hong Kong: Periplus Editions Ltd. p. 9.ISBN962-593-076-0.
^Monk, K. A.; Fretes, Y.; Reksodiharjo-Lilley, G. (1996).The Ecology of Nusa Tenggara and Maluku. Hong Kong: Periplus Editions Ltd. p. 9.ISBN962-593-076-0.
^Monk, K. A.; Fretes, Y.; Reksodiharjo-Lilley, G. (1996).The Ecology of Nusa Tenggara and Maluku. Hong Kong: Periplus Editions Ltd. p. 4.ISBN962-593-076-0.
^abMonk, K. A.; Fretes, Y.; Reksodiharjo-Lilley, G. (1996).The Ecology of Nusa Tenggara and Maluku. Hong Kong: Periplus Editions Ltd. p. 1.ISBN962-593-076-0.
^Beller, W., P. d'Ayala, and P. Hein. 1990.Sustainable development and environmental management of small islands. Paris and New Jersey: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation and Parthenon Publishing Group Inc. (cited in Monk)
^Hess, A. (1990). "Overview: sustainable development and environmental management of small islands". InSustainable development and environmental management of small islands. eds W. Beller, P. d'Ayala, and P. Hein, Paris and New Jersey: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation and Parthenon Publishing Group Inc. (cited in Monk)
^"Jumlah Penduduk Menurut Agama" (in Indonesian).Ministry of Religious Affairs. 31 August 2022. Retrieved29 October 2023.Muslim 241 Million (87), Christianity 29.1 Million (10.5), Hindu 4.69 million (1.7), Buddhist 2.02 million (0.7), Folk, Confucianism, and others 192.311 (0.1), Total 277.749.673 Million
Andaya, Leonard Y. (1993).The World of Maluku: Eastern Indonesia in the Early Modern Period. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.ISBN0-8248-1490-8.
Bellwood, Peter (1997).Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian archipelago. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.ISBN0-8248-1883-0.
Donkin, R. A. (1997).Between East and West: The Moluccas and the Traffic in Spices Up to the Arrival of Europeans. American Philosophical Society.ISBN0-87169-248-1.
Monk, Kathryn A., Yance De Fretes, Gayatri Reksodiharjo-Lilley (1997).The Ecology of Nusa Tenggara and Maluku. Singapore: Periplus Press.ISBN962-593-076-0.
Van Oosterzee, Penny (1997).Where Worlds Collide: The Wallace Line. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.ISBN0-8014-8497-9.
Wallace, Alfred Russel (2000) [1869].The Malay Archipelago. Singapore: Periplus Press.ISBN962-593-645-9.
Bergreen, Laurence (2003).Over the Edge of the World. Morrow.
Campo, Antonio; Juan Carlos Rey y Marco Ramerini (2022).The Fortresses of the Molucas Islands(in English and Spanish). Belagua Ediciones.ISBN978-84-124434-2-4.
Miller, George, ed. (1996).To the Spice Islands and Beyond: Travels in Eastern Indonesia. Oxford University Press.ISBN967-65-3099-9.
Muller, Dr. Kal (1990).Spice Islands: The Moluccas. Periplus Editions.ISBN0-945971-07-9.
1 1975 is the year of East Timor's Declaration of Independence and subsequentinvasion by Indonesia. In 2002, East Timor's independence was fully recognized.
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