Solor is a volcanic island located off the eastern tip of Flores island in the

Lesser Sunda Islands The Lesser Sunda Islands (, , ), now known as Nusa Tenggara Islands (, or "Southeast Islands"), are an archipelago in the Indonesian archipelago. Most of the Lesser Sunda Islands are located within the Wallacea region, except for the Bali pro ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, in the Solor Archipelago. The island supports a small population that has been

whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...

for hundreds of years. They speak the languages of Adonara and Lamaholot. There are at least five

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

es on this island which measures only by . The island's area is , and it had a population of 34,029 at the 2020 Census. The official estimate as at mid 2024 was 36,739.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kecamatan Solor Barat Dalam Angka 2025'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5309)

Administrative districts

The island is divided into three districts (''kecamatan''), tabulated below with their areas (in km²) and their populations at the 2010 Census and 2020 Census, together with the official estimates as at mid 2023.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, ''Kecamatan Solor Barat Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5309040)Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, ''Kecamatan Solor Selatan Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5309041)Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, ''Kecamatan Solor Timur Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5309050) The entire island is administered by the East Flores Regency. Note: (a) including the town (''kelurahan'') of Ritaebang, with 1,516 inhabitants in mid 2023.

Villages

West Solor District (''kecamatan Solor Barat'') is sub-divided into the town (''kelurahan'') of Ritaebang and fourteen rural villages (''desa''), as listed below with their areas and populations as at mid 2023.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, ''Kecamatan Solor Barat Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5309040)
South Solor District (''kecamatan Solor Selatan'') is sub-divided into seven rural villages (''desa''), as listed below with their areas and populations as at mid 2023.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, ''Kecamatan Solor Selatan Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5309041)
East Solor District (''kecamatan Solor Timur'') is sub-divided into seventeen rural villages (''desa''), as listed below with their areas and populations as at mid 2023.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, ''Kecamatan Solor Timur Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5309050)

History

Pre-colonial period

In the 14th century, Solor was said to have been conquered by the Majapahit empire, and the island is mentioned in the

Negarakertagama The ''Nagarakretagama'' or ''Nagarakṛtāgama'', also known in Bali as ''Desawarnana'' or ''Deśavarṇana'', is an Old Javanese eulogy to Hayam Wuruk, a Javanese king of the Majapahit Empire. It was written on lontar as a '' kakawin'' ...

as a possession of Majapahit. In the 16th century, parts of the island were under the influence of the Sultanate of Ternate. Since at least the 16th century, Solor played an important role in the trade of

sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...

by acting as a popular safe harbor for ships engaged in the trade. This made Solor a relevant part of the mercantile networks of the wider region, a situation that would be reversed with the arrival of the Portuguese.

Colonial period

In 1520, the Portuguese established a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

in the village of Lamakera on the eastern side of the island as a transit harbor between Maluku and Portuguese Malacca. In 1562, Dominican priests built a palm-trunk fortress which Javanese Muslims burned down the following year. The fort was rebuilt from more durable materials and the Dominicans commenced the Christianisation of the local population. By 1590 the Portuguese and Christian population numbered about 25,000. There were, however, repeated displays of resistance against both the Portuguese and their religion; in 1598–1599, for example, the Portuguese required an armada of 90 ships to put down a Solorese uprising. At this time, there was a conflict between the traders and the priests, so the traders left Solor and settled in Larantuka at Flores island. When the Dutch came in 1613, the priests surrendered at the first attack and were brought to Larantuka, too. The Dutch kept the fort, but did not make a profit close to the Portuguese port. After two commanders defected to the Portuguese, they gave up Solor. In 1636 the Portuguese were attacked by the Dutch and had to abandon the fort. In 1646 the Dutch occupied the fort again. The first of the new commanders was suspended, because he married an indigenous woman. The second commander challenged the Portuguese commander to a duel and was slain. In 1648 the Dutch left and the Dominican priests returned. In 1851 the Portuguese governor José Joaquim Lopes de Lima sold Solor and other areas of the Lesser Sunda Islands, which had been under Portuguese sovereignty, to the Netherlands for 200,000 florins without authorization from Lisbon. Lisbon did not recognise the sale and had Lopes arrested. He died on the way back to Europe. From 1854 the agreements were renegotiated. The sale was finally confirmed in the Lisbon Treaty and was ratified in 1859. Although the Dutch occupied the fort with a small force, the occupation was withdrawn again in 1869 for economic reasons but the official affiliation to the Netherlands remained.M. C. Ricklefs: A History of Modern Indonesia Since c.1300. 2. MacMillan, London 1991, ISBN 0-333-57689-6, p.25 It was under Japanese occupation between 1942 and 1945, but along with the state of East Indonesia was later annexed into the United States of Indonesia with independence in 1949. File:Fortaleza de Solor.jpg, Portuguese Fortress of Solor File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Gezicht uit het fort van Solor op Tedoenara TMnr 60033462.jpg, Ruins of a fort in Solor in the 1930s File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Portret van een groep mannen van Poelau Solor in krijgskleding TMnr 60007331.jpg, Solor warriors, 1915.

Towns and villages

* Amakebo * Apelame * Aplame * Balawelin * Balawelin I – Riangtaliha and Lamalewo * Balawelin II – Riangmuda and Rianglaka * Buwu-Atagamu * Daniwato * Enatukan * Karawatung * Kelike * Kelike – Lewolo and lamagohan * Kenere * Kukuwerang * Lamakera, Indonesia * Lamawolo * Lamboleng * Lebao * Lemanu * Lewograran * Lewograran * Lewohedo * Liko * Liwo * Lohayong * Menanga * Ongalereng * Pamakayo * Sulengwaseng * Wulublolong

References

External links

Portuguese and Dutch in Timor and Solor

{{Coord, 8, 29, 18, S, 122, 58, 26, E, region:ID_type:isle_source:dewiki, display=title 1613 establishments in the Dutch Empire Islands of Indonesia Populated places in Indonesia Portuguese colonialism in Indonesia Solor Archipelago