This page is a short summary containing more general information about the province of North Maluku. Extensive information on North
Maluku can be found in the directory ' Maluku' on this website.
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Location map of North Maluku. |
North Maluku (
Maluku Utara) is
a province of Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, which are split between it and the province of Maluku. Maluku province used to
cover the entire group. The planned provincial capital is Sofifi, on Halmahera, but the current capital and largest population center is the island of
Ternate.
In the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the islands of North Maluku were the original "Spice Islands". At the time, the region was the sole source of
cloves. The Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, and local kingdoms including Ternate and Tidore fought each other for control of the lucrative trade in these spices.
Clove trees have since been transported and replanted all around the world and the demand for clove from the original spice islands has ceased, greatly
reducing North Maluku's international importance.
The population of North Maluku is 870,000 (according to the National Socio-Economic Survey, 2004), making it the least populous province in Indonesia.
Administrative division
Regencies:
- West Halmahera (Jailolo)
- Central Halmahera (Soasiu)
- South Halmahera (Labuha)
- East Halmahera (Maba)
- North Halmahera (Tobelo)
- Sula Islands (Sanana)
Cities:
