Solor is a volcanic island located off the eastern tip of

Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. The area is 14,250 km2. Including Komodo and Rinca islands ...

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 Solor Archipelago (; ) is a group of islands in the Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia, lying to the east of Flores and the west of the Alor Strait and the Alor Archipelago. To the north is the west part of the Banda Sea, while to the south acr ...

. 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 Adonara () is an island in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, located east of the larger island of Flores in the Solor Archipelago. To the east lies Lembata, formerly known as Lomblen. Adonara is the highest of the islands of the archipelag ...

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 A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

(''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 East Flores Regency () is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. Established in 1958, the regency has its seat (capital) in Larantuka on Flores Island. It covers a land area of 1,812.65 km2, and it had a population of 232,605 ...

. 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 Majapahit (; (eastern and central dialect) or (western dialect)), also known as Wilwatikta (; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia based on the island o ...

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 The Sultanate of Ternate ( Jawi: ), previously also known as the Kingdom of Gapi, is one of the oldest Muslim kingdoms in Indonesia besides the sultanates of Tidore, Jailolo, and Bacan. The Ternate kingdom was established by Momole Cico, ...

. 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 Lamakera in 1904 Lamakera is a village in Indonesia, on the east tip of Solor Island. It was known for being the place where the most manta rays are killed. It was featured in the 2015 documentary film ''Racing Extinction''. The villagers also hu ...

on the eastern side of the island as a transit harbor between

Maluku Maluku may refer to: Places * Maluku Islands, an archipelago that is part of Indonesia ** List of the Maluku Islands * Maluku (province), a province of Indonesia comprising the central and southern parts of the archipelago * North Maluku, a provin ...

and

Portuguese Malacca Portuguese control of Malaccaa city on the Malay Peninsulaspanned a 130 year period from 1511 to 1641 as a possession of the Portuguese East Indies. It was captured from the Malacca Sultanate as part of Portuguese attempts to gain control of ...

. 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 Larantuka (, ) is a ''kecamatan'' (district) and the seat of East Flores Regency, on the eastern end of Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Like much of the region, Larantuka has a strong colonial Portuguese influence. The town (inc ...

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 The United States of Indonesia (, ; abbreviated as RIS or RUSI, also known as Federal Republic of Indonesia) was a short-lived federal state to which the Netherlands formally transferred sovereignty of the Dutch East Indies (except Netherlands N ...

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 Lamakera in 1904 Lamakera is a village in Indonesia, on the east tip of Solor Island. It was known for being the place where the most manta rays are killed. It was featured in the 2015 documentary film ''Racing Extinction''. The villagers also hu ...

* 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