Maluku

Maluku, propinsi (or provinsi; province) consisting of the southern portion of the Moluccas island group, in eastern Indonesia. Maluku embraces more than 600 islands, the most prominent of which are Ceram (Seram), Buru, and Ambon, as well as the larger islands of the Banda, the Wetar, the Babar, the Tanimbar, the Kai and the Aru archipelagos.

The province virtually encircles the Banda Sea and is bounded to the north and east by the Ceram Sea, beyond which lie the Indonesian provinces of North Maluku and West Papua, respectively. To the south Maluku is bounded by the Arafura Sea, the Timor Sea, and East Timor, and to the west, across the Banda Sea, it is bounded by the provinces of Southeast Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tenggara) and Central Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tengah). The capital city is Ambon, on the island of the same name, off the southwestern coast of Ceram, in the northern part of the province. Area 18,114 square miles (46,914 square km). Pop. (2000) 1,166,300; (2010) 1,533,506.

Geography

The islands of Maluku are surrounded by coral reefs and deep seas and vary in size from tiny atolls to the large mountainous island of Ceram, which covers more than 6,600 square miles (17,100 square km). After having lain dormant for more than 80 years, Mount Api, an active volcano in the Banda Islands, violently erupted in 1988, causing total evacuation of the surrounding areas—including nearby islands. Ambon island has frequent earthquakes but no active volcanoes. The Aru Islands are low and swampy, and Babar and Wetar are hilly, with steep coasts.

Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.

SIGN UP

By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

The slopes of the mountainous islands are covered with dense evergreen forests of pine, rhododendron, casuarina, and eucalyptus; mangrove and freshwater swamp forests line their coasts. The islands’ lowlands are fertile because of the volcanic lava and ash that have been broken down and redistributed by small streams and wind action. Bird life includes honeyeaters, racket-tailed kingfishers, giant red-crested Moluccan cockatoos, parakeets, black-capped, purple, red, and green lories, and the white fruit pigeons of Ceram. Opossums, civets, boars, and babirusas (a type of wild swine) are also found.

Agriculture constitutes the mainstay of the islands’ economy. Rice, corn (maize), coconut, spices (including cloves and nutmeg), cocoa, coffee, and cashews are the chief cultivars. Principal products of the forestry sector include timber, sawn boards and assorted wood products, cajeput oil (a type of medicinal oil from the river tea tree [Melaleuca leucadendron]), dammar (a type of resin), and rattan. Fish, shrimp, and forest products are the main exports. Petroleum is exploited on Ceram near Bula on the northeastern coast. Crafts include wood carving, silver and gold filigree work, the making of bracelets and rings, and handloom weaving.

Interisland traffic is mainly by ship. Inland transport on the larger islands is by roads that run parallel to the coasts. The province has numerous airports, the busiest of which is on Ambon.

Compared with the western provinces of Indonesia, Maluku is sparsely populated, and many of the smaller islands are uninhabited. Major towns, aside from Ambon, include Amahai, on Ceram, and Saumlaki, in the Tanimbar Islands. The largest ethnic groups of Maluku include the Malay, who live mainly along the coasts; the Ambonese, who inhabit the northern part of the province; and the Tanimbarese, who live on the southern islands. Various smaller groups are concentrated inland. Islam and Christianity (mostly Protestant) are the dominant religions of the province.

Explore Britannica Premium!

The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.

SUBSCRIBE

History

Commonly referred to as the Spice Islands by the early Indian, Chinese, and Arab traders, the Moluccas formed part of the Javanese Majapahit empire and the Srivijaya empire (based on the island of Sumatra) before Islam was introduced in the 15th century. The Portuguese entered the region in the early 16th century, and the Dutch, beginning in 1599, established settlements on some of the islands. The Dutch conquest was completed in 1667, when the sultan of Tidore (now in North Maluku) recognized Dutch sovereignty. The islands were ruled by the British between 1796 and 1802 and again in 1810–17. They were occupied by the Japanese in 1942–45 during World War II.

After the war the Moluccas joined the Republic of Indonesia, which had declared its independence from the Dutch on Aug. 17, 1945. The Dutch, however, acknowledged neither Indonesia’s sovereignty nor its inclusion of the Moluccas. 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 Indonesian government 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 Maluku and North Maluku in 1999.