Tidore

For the language, see Tidore language.

Tidore Island, as seen from Ternate Island.

Tidore is a city, island, and archipelago in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia, west of the larger island of Halmahera. In the pre-colonial era, the kingdom of Tidore was a major regional political and economic power, and a fierce rival of nearby Ternate, just to the north.

History

The sultans of Tidore ruled most of southern Halmahera, and, at times, controlled Buru, Ambon and many of the islands off the coast of New Guinea. Tidore established a loose alliance with the Spanish in the sixteenth century, and Spain had several forts on the island. There was much mutual distrust between the Tidorese and the Spaniards, but for the Tidorese the Spanish presence was helpful for resisting the incursions of the Ternateans and their ally, the Dutch, who had a fort on Ternate.

Before the Spanish withdrawal from Tidore and Ternate in 1663, Tidore established itself as one of the strongest and most independent kingdoms in the region. After the Spanish withdrawal it continued to resist direct control by the Dutch East India Company (the VOC). Particularly under Sultan Saifuddin (r. 1657-1689), the Tidore court was skilled at using Dutch payment for spices for gifts to strengthen traditional ties with Tidore's traditional periphery. As a result he was widely respected by many local populations, and had little need to call on foreign military help for governing the kingdom, unlike Ternate which frequently relied upon Dutch military assistance.

Tidore long remained an independent kingdom, albeit with growing Dutch interference, until the late eighteenth century. Like Ternate, Tidore allowed the Dutch spice eradication program (extirpatie) to proceed in its territories. This program, intended to strengthen the Dutch spice monopoly by limiting production to a few places, impoverished Tidore and weakened its control over its periphery.

Tidore island

Tidore island off of central Halmahera, just south of Ternate

Tidore island consists of a large stratovolcano which rises from the seafloor to an elevation of 1,730 m (5,676 ft) above sea level at the conical Kiematabu Peak on the south end of the island. The northern side of the island contains a caldera, Sabale, with two smaller volcanic cones within it.

Administration

The island constitutes a municipality (kotamadya) within the province of North Maluku. The municipality covers an area of 1,550 square kilometres (598 square miles) and had an estimated population of 78,617 in July 2003.

The municipality covers 2 larger islands, Oba and Tidore. It is divided into 5 sub-districts (kecematan), namely Oba, Oba Utara, Tidore, South Tidore, and North Tidore.

Bibliography

• Andaya, Leonard Y. 1993. The world of Maluku: eastern Indonesia in the early modern period. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-1490-8.

External links

• The History of the Spanish Presence in the Moluccas (Indonesia): the Spanish Forts in Tidore Island, Maluku, Indonesia by Marco Ramerini
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
• "Tidore". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution.