Maluku Islands

Maluku Islands

February 2013 map of the Maluku Islands
Geography
Location	Oceania, Melanesia
Coordinates	03°S 129°E / 3°S 129°E / -3; 129
Total islands	~1000
Major islands	Halmahera, Seram, Buru, Ambon, Ternate, Tidore, Aru Islands, Kai Islands, Lucipara Islands
Area	78,897[1] km2 (30,462 sq mi)
Highest elevation	3,027 m (9931 ft)
Highest point	Binaiya
Administration
Indonesia
Provinces	Maluku North Maluku
Largest settlement	Ambon
Demographics
Population	3,131,860[2] (2020)
Ethnic groups	Ambonese, Alfur, Nuaulu, Bugis

The Maluku Islands (/məˈluːkuː, mæˈluːkuː/ mə-LOO-koo, mal-OO-; Indonesian: Kepulauan Maluku) or the Moluccas (/məˈlʌkəz/ mə-LUK-əz) are an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located east of Sulawesi, west of New Guinea, and north and east of Timor. Lying within Wallacea (mostly east of the biogeographical Weber Line), the Moluccas have been considered a geographical and cultural intersection of Asia and Oceania.

The islands were known as the Spice Islands because of the nutmeg, mace, and cloves that were exclusively found there, the presence of which sparked European colonial interests in the 16th century.^[3]

The Maluku Islands formed a single province from Indonesian independence until 1999, when they were split into two provinces. A new province, North Maluku, incorporates the area between Morotai and Sula, with the arc of islands from Buru and Seram to Wetar remaining within the existing Maluku Province. North Maluku is predominantly Muslim, and its capital is Sofifi on Halmahera island. Maluku province has a larger Christian population, and its capital is Ambon. Though originally Melanesian,^[4] many island populations especially in the Banda Islands, were massacred in the 17th century during the Dutch–Portuguese War, also known as the Spice War. A second influx of immigrants primarily from Java began in the early 20th century under the Dutch and continues in the Indonesian era, which has also caused a lot of controversy as the Transmigrant programs are thought to be a contributing factor to the Maluku Riots.^[5]