Where is spice island

W hat is today a travel hotspot for East Indonesia travelers and cruise-takers, the Maluku once defined the Southeast Asia spice trade. Ternate is a small volcanic island off the coast of the larger Halmahera in Northeast Indonesia. It was favored for the clove trees, sought throughout Asia and Europe as a condiment and medicine; Europeans even believed clove oil could ward off the plague. The territory under the suzerainty of Ternate, and its nearby rival Tidore, stretched to Papua in the east and beyond Ambon in the south, an area known as Maluku, and the sultanates of Ternate and Tidore, which converted to islam in the 15th century, were the center of the Malukan world.

The balance of power between them was believed to keep their world healthy. From the fourteenth century onward Arab, Javanese, and Chinese traders came across the seas in increasing numbers to trade with the two wealthy islands. The land route to Europe was mainly under Muslim control, so by the time spices reached Spain and Portugal they had passed through many hands and become prohibitively expensive. Having lost his boat, he departed Banda on a Chinese junk, but was once again marooned, this time on a small island near Seram.

They were rescued by locals and taken to Ambon. He became an advisor to the Sultan and made no attempt to return to Malacca. In the Sultan allowed the Portuguese to build a fort on Ternate and start buying cloves. In ancient times a prominent Malukan elder spotted a beautiful clump of rattan from his kora-kora outrigger.

He went ashore to investigate and in doing so came across the eggs. The legend has it that the time before the kings had been complete chaos. However, the Dutch-Portugese War had little to do with the situation in Europe. It was mostly a way for the Dutch to build their empire overseas and control trade. During their time in the Moluccas, the Dutch attempted to restrict production in order to retain high prices, but this led to riots in and marking the beginning of the end of clove production in northern Moluccas.

Although the Dutch had control of Ternate until Indonesia gained independence, the spice trade had already largely dwindled towards the end of the 18th century. Today, Ambon is still a thriving centre for the production of spice, alongside cocoa, coffee, fruit, fish, lobsters and pearls. Nutmeg and cloves are grown locally by small-scale farmers, who then sell them to village collectors.

These are then sold on to exporters. Nutmeg can be used in sweet and savoury dishes and has a warm, spicy flavour. It enhances the flavour of many desserts such as pumpkin pie and many drinks such as mulled wine.

Cloves are also used alongside nutmeg in drinks and desserts. They are also very useful additions to flavour meat, sauces and rice dishes. You can still visit the Moluccas today and the best way to explore the archipelago is by boat. However, with traditional villages such as Moya and Gurabunga , the pristine beaches and volcanic mountain ranges, the islands are a haven for adventurous travellers looking to get off the beaten track.

Despite being a great diving spot, the area manages to escape the attention of divers travelling to Indonesia. Creatures that are often spotted include blue-spotted stingrays, bumphead parrotfish, gigantic Napoleon wrasse and whale shark. Both the islands of Ternate and Tidore have many ruined forts left behind by the Europeans. Fort Tolukko on Ternate was initially built by the Portugese for the sultan of Ternate as defence against his rival, the sultan of Tidore.

The island is also home to Fort Kastela, where you can see a monument featuring scenes of the Portugese governor Mesquita literally stabbing the sultan of Ternate in the back. On Ternate, the active Gamalama volcano has sulphur steams erupting from its crater. On Tidore, the Kie Matubu volcano is the highest point in North Maluku and boasts magnificent views of the other surrounding islands. There was a thriving trade in spices and other goods in the Far East for centuries before European vessels arrived in the Indian Ocean in Spices were bought with Chinese silks, Indian cottons, Arabian coffee and African ivory.

Spices had been available in Europe throughout the Middle Ages but the prices were very high because they had to be shipped expensively overland through the hands of many traders.

The Portuguese began buying spices directly from the Spice Islands as early as the s.