Insulindia[a]
c. 1522–1605
Flag Coat of Arms
Map of the Portuguese empire in the East Indies (including theIndonesian Archipelago),Atlas Miller.
Status	Settlement and possessions of thePortuguese Empire
Capital	São João Baptista de Ternate inTernate (1523–1575) Nossa Senhora de Anunciada inAmboina, Moluccas (1575–1605)
Common languages	Portuguese,Malay,Ternate,Tidore,other Indigenous languages.
Government	Monarchy
Monarch
• 1522–1557	John III
• 1598–1605	Philip III
Captain-General
• 1522–1525 (first)	Antonio de Brito
• 1602–1605 (last)	Pedro Alvares de Abreu
Historical era	Early modern
• Established	c. 1522
• Treaty of Zaragoza	22 April 1529
• Defeat and fall	22 February 1605
Succeeded by Dutch East India Company

Portuguese colonization era
1512–1605
Era of Islam Dutch East India Company Portuguese Timor
Map from 1519 showing the islands ofNorth Maluku, with the Portuguese banner planted.
Location	Malay Archipelago,East Indies
Including	Portuguese–Ternate wars
Leader(s)	Alfonso de Albuquerque António de Abreu Francisco Serrão
Key events	Age of Discovery

ThePortuguese were the first Europeans to establish acolonial presence in theIndonesian archipelago. Their quest to dominate the source of the spices that sustained the lucrativespice trade in the early 16th century, along withmissionary efforts byCatholic orders, saw the establishment of trading posts and forts, and left behind aPortuguese cultural element that remains in modern-dayIndonesia.

Europeans were making technological advances in the early 16th century; new-found Portuguese expertise in navigation, shipbuilding and weaponry allowed them to make daring expeditions of exploration and expansion. Starting with the first exploratory expeditions sent from newly conqueredMalacca in 1512, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in the East Indies, and sought to dominate the sources of valuable spices^[1] and to extend theirChristianmissionary efforts. Initial Portuguese attempts to establish acoalition and peace treaty in 1522 with the West JavanSunda Kingdom^[2] failed, owing to hostilities among islamic kingdoms on Java. The Portuguese turned east toMoluccas, which comprised a varied collection of principalities and kingdoms that were occasionally at war with each other but maintained significant inter-island and international trade. Through both military conquest and alliance with local rulers, they established trading posts, forts, and missions in theNorth Sulawesi and in theSpice Islands, includingTernate,Ambon, andSolor.

The height of Portuguese missionary activities, however, came in the latter half of the 16th century, after the pace of their military conquest in the archipelago had stopped and their East Asian interest was shifting toPortuguese India,Portuguese Ceylon,Japan,Macau andChina; and sugar inBrazil and theAtlantic slave trade in turn further distracted their efforts in the East Indies. In addition, the first European people to arrive in Northern Sulawesi were the Portuguese.Francisco Xavier supported and visited the Portuguese mission at Tolo onHalmahera. This was the first Catholic mission in the Moluccas. The mission began in 1534 when some chiefs fromMorotai came to Ternate asking to be baptised. Simão Vaz, the vicar of Ternate, went to Tolo to found the mission. The mission was the source of conflict between the Spanish, the Portuguese and Ternate. Simão Vaz was later murdered at Sao.^[3][4]

The Portuguese presence in the East Indies was reduced toFlores,Solor, andTimor (seePortuguese Timor), alongside a small community inKampung Tugu^[5] followingdefeat in 1575 atTernate at the hands of indigenous Ternateans, Dutch conquests inAmbon, northMaluku andBanda, and a general failure for sustained control of trade in the region.^[6] In comparison with the original Portuguese ambition to dominate Asian trade, their influences on modern Indonesian culture are minor: the romantickeroncong guitar ballads, a number of Indonesian words and some family names in eastern Indonesia such as da Costa, Dias, de Fretes, and Gonsalves. The most significant impacts of the Portuguese arrival were the disruption and the disorganisation of the trade network, mostly as a result of their conquest ofPortuguese Malacca and the first significant plantings ofChristianity in Indonesia, with theKristang people. Christian communities in eastern Indonesia have continued to exist and have contributed to a sense of shared interest with Europeans, particularly among theAmbonese.^[7]

• Indonesia–Portugal relations
• Mardijker people
• Portuguese East India Company
• Portuguese Indonesians
• Portuguese loanwords in Indonesian
• Portuguese Timor
• Timeline of Indonesian history

• Portuguese colonialism in Indonesia
• 1522 establishments in the Portuguese Empire
• States and territories disestablished in the 1600s

• CS1 Portuguese-language sources (pt)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use British English from September 2015
• All Wikipedia articles written in British English
• Use dmy dates from September 2015
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