NORTH MALUKU

North Maluku (Indonesian: 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 sultanates 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 one of the least populous provinces in Indonesia.

Administrative division

Regencies

• West Halmahera (Jailolo)
• Central Halmahera (Soasiu)
• South Halmahera (Labuha)
• East Halmahera (Maba)
• North Halmahera (Tobelo)
• Sula Islands (Sanana)

Cities

• Ternate
• Tidore

Former Sultanates

• Sultanate of Ternate
• Tidore Sultanate
• Bacan Sultanate
• Jailolo Sultanate

Source : Wikipedia