Moluccas | Islands, Indonesia - Encyclopedia Britannica

History

The cloves of the northern Moluccas and the nutmeg of the central islands were traded in Asia long before Europeans heard of the so-called Spice Islands. The Portuguese established themselves on the islands in 1512, beginning many decades of conflict that caused great losses of life. The first major confrontation was between the Portuguese and the reigning sultans of Ternate and Tidore; later, the Spanish, English, and Dutch wrestled for control of the islands. Eventually, the Dutch emerged victorious, and they earned large profits from their enterprise in the Moluccas. By the end of the 18th century, however, the spice trade had greatly diminished, and the islands had become an economic backwater.

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After World War II, in 1945, Indonesia declared its independence, and the Moluccas joined the new republic. The Dutch, however, recognized neither Indonesia’s sovereignty nor its inclusion of the eastern islands. Rather, in an attempt to reestablish authority in the region, the Dutch incorporated the Moluccas into the temporary autonomous state of East Indonesia. In 1949 the Dutch officially granted independence to Indonesia, including the Moluccas. In the following year Christian Ambonese led a revolt against the new republic and subsequently formed the short-lived Republic of South Moluccas. Near the end of the 20th century, tensions between Christians and the large Muslim population of the region escalated into violence that not only killed several thousand people but displaced tens of thousands more. Owing largely to the frequency of such conflicts, the islands were divided administratively into the provinces of North Maluku and Maluku in 1999.

Virginia Gorlinski