Tidore (, lit. "City of Tidore Islands") is a city, island, and archipelago in the

Maluku Islands The Maluku Islands ( ; , ) or the Moluccas ( ; ) are an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia. Tectonics, Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located in West ...

of eastern

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, ...

, west of the larger island of

Halmahera Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coa ...

. Part of

North Maluku North Maluku (; ) is a province of Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the north, the Halmahera Sea to the east, the Molucca Sea to the west, and the Seram Sea to the south. It shares marit ...

Province, the city includes the island of Tidore (with three smaller outlying islands -

Mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae, equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more th ...

, Maitara and Filonga) together with a large part of Halmahera Island to its east. In the pre-colonial era, the

Sultanate of Tidore The Sultanate of Tidore (Jawi script, Jawi: ; sometimes ) was a sultanate in Southeast Asia, centered on Tidore in the Maluku Islands (presently in North Maluku, Indonesia). It was also known as Duko, its ruler carrying the title Kië ma-kolano ( ...

was a major regional political and economic power, and a fierce rival of nearby

Ternate Ternate (), also known as the City of Ternate (; ), is the List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city with the largest population in the province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands, Indonesia. It was the ''de facto'' provi ...

, just to the north. Included within the city is the provincial capital,

Sofifi Sofifi is a town on the west coast of the Indonesian island of Halmahera, and since 2010 has been the capital of the province of North Maluku. It straddles between the North Oba (''Oba Utara'') District of the city of Tidore Islands as well part ...

, which is situated on the mainland of Halmahera (in North Oba District).

Geography

Tidore Island consists of a large

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...

which rises from the seafloor to an elevation of above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

at the conical

Kie Matubu Kie Matubu is a volcano on Tidore Island, Indonesia. While no eruptions have been recorded since the island was first inhabited during the 16th century, two eruption deposits were dated to around 2,500 and 740 years BP. References {{reflist S ...

on the south end of the island. The northern side of the island contains a

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

, Sabale, with two smaller volcanic cones within it. Immediately to the south of Tidore Island lies a string of three smaller islands, each being the summit of a separate stratovolcano. From north to south these islands are

(part of Tidore Islands City),

Moti Moti or MOTI may refer to: Names * Mordecai (disambiguation), a Hebrew given name, abbreviated Moti * Motilal (disambiguation), an Indian given name often abbreviated Moti People * Moti (DJ) (Timotheus "Timo" Romme, born 1987), Dutch DJ and ...

(administratively a district of

city) and

Makian Makian (also Machian), known to local people as Mount Kie Besi, is a volcanic island, one of the Maluku Islands within the province of North Maluku in Indonesia. It lies near the southern end of a chain of volcanic islands off the western coast ...

(administratively forming two districts within

South Halmahera Regency South Halmahera Regency (; ) is a regency of North Maluku Province, Indonesia. It lies partly on Halmahera Island (occupying most of the southern peninsula of that island) and partly on smaller islands to the west and south of Halmahera. It cover ...

). Soasio is Tidore's capital. It has its own port, Goto, and it lies on the eastern edge of the island. It has a mini bus terminal and a market. The sultan's palace was rebuilt with completion in 2010.

History

Tidore was the center of a spice-funded sultanate that arose in the 15th century. It spent much of its history in the shadow of

, another sultanate with which it had a dualistic relationship.

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

spread to Tidore around the late 15th century but Islamic influence in the area can be traced further back to the late 14th century. The sultans of Tidore ruled most of southern

, and, at times, controlled

Buru Buru (formerly spelled Boeroe, Boro, or Bouru) is the third largest island within the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. It lies between the Banda Sea to the south and Seram Sea to the north, west of Ambon Island, Ambon and Seram Island, Seram island ...

, East Ceram and many of the islands off the coast of

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

. Tidore established an alliance with the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

in the sixteenth century, and Spain had several forts on the island. There was mutual distrust between the Tidorese and the Spanish but for the Tidorese the Spanish presence was helpful in resisting the incursions of the Ternateans and their ally the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

, who had a fort on Ternate. For the Spanish, backing the Tidore state helped check the expansion of Dutch power that threatened their nearby Asia-Pacific interests, provided a useful base right next to the centre of Dutch power in the region and was a source of spices for trade. Although nominally part of the

Spanish East Indies The Spanish East Indies were the colonies of the Spanish Empire in Asia-Pacific, Asia and Oceania from 1565 to 1901, governed through the Captaincy General of the Philippines, captaincy general in Manila for the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish Crown, i ...

in the later sixteenth century and well into the seventeenth century, the Tidore

sultanate Sultan (; ', ) is a Royal and noble ranks, position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". La ...

established itself as one of the strongest and most independent states in the region. After the Spanish left in 1663, it continued to resist direct control by the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

(the VOC). Particularly under Sultan Saifuddin (r. 1657–1687), the Tidore court was skilled at using Dutch payment for

spices In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

for gifts to strengthen traditional ties with Tidore's traditional peripheral territories. As a result, he was widely respected by many local populations, and had little need to call on foreign military help for governing the kingdom, unlike Ternate which frequently relied upon Dutch military assistance. Tidore long remained an independent state, albeit with growing Dutch interference, until the late eighteenth century. Like Ternate, Tidore allowed the Dutch spice eradication program (''extirpatie'') to proceed in its territories. This program, intended to strengthen the Dutch spice monopoly by limiting production to a few places, impoverished Tidore and weakened its control over its periphery. In 1780 Tidore was forced to sign a treaty that reduced it to a Dutch vassal. The discontented Prince

Nuku Nuku was a traditional province of the island of Hiva Oa in pre-European times. It did not function as a unified governmental unit, but rather as a confederation of local tribes during times of war with tribes from Hiva Oa's other province, Pepa ...

left Tidore and declared himself Sultan of the Papuan Islands. This was the beginning of a guerilla war which lasted for many years. The Papuans, south-east Halmaherans and east Ceramese sided with the rebellious Prince Nuku. The British sponsored Nuku as part of their campaign against the Dutch in the Moluccas. Captain Thomas Forrest was intimately connected with Nuku and represented the British as ambassador. Nuku could finally take Tidore in 1797 and helped the British to conquer Ternate in 1801. However, his successor Zainal Abidin was expelled by Dutch forces in 1806 and Tidore was firmly brought under colonial rule. The sultanate was abolished in the

Sukarno Sukarno (6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...

era and re-established in 1999 with the 36th sultan. Tidore was largely spared from the sectarian conflict of 1999 across the Maluku Islands.

Administration

The island, together with three smaller islands (

, Maitara and Filonga) and an adjacent much larger section (called "Oba") of

Island, constitutes a municipality (''kotamadya'') within the province of

. It is officially called the "Tidore Islands City" because it includes four islands (the main island of Tidore, plus the three nearby smaller islands of

, Maitara and Filonga) as well as the Oba area on mainland Halmahera (also including minor offshore islands). The whole municipality covers an area of and had a 2010 Census population of 90,530;Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. the 2020 Census produced a total of 115,305Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. and the official estimate as at mid 2024 was 121,952 (comprising 62,631 males and 59,321 females).Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kota Tidore Kepulauan Dalam Angka 2025'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.8272) It is divided into eight

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''), of which four constitute the island of Tidore (including the three small islands) and the other four constitute the Oba area on the 'mainland' of Halmahera. These are tabulated below with their areas (in sq km) and their populations at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and the 2020 Census,Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. together with the official estimates as at mid 2024.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kota Tidore Kepulauan Dalam Angka 2025'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.8272) The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of

administrative village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village ...

s in each district (totaling 49 rural ''desa'' and 40 urban ''kelurahan''), and its post code. Notes: (a) including Mare Island (with an area of 6.09 km² and a population of 968 in mid 2023),Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Tidore Selatan Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.8272010). another stratovolcano island to the south of Tidore. (b) the two villages of Mare Island.
(c) including Maitara island, to the northwest of Tidore (and between Tidore and Ternate), with an area of 2.74 km² and 2,272 inhabitants in mid 2023.
(d) the four villages on Maitara Island. (e) including Filonga Island to the northeast of Tidore Island.
(f) including the town of

, which since 2010 has been the provincial capital of North Maluku. (g) Sofifi and Guraping.

References

* Andaya, Leonard Y. 1993. ''The world of Maluku: eastern Indonesia in the early modern period''. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. . *

Hanna, Willard A. Willard Anderson Hanna (August 3, 1911 – October 5, 1993) was an American writer of Southeast Asian history and works of fiction as well as a teacher. Hanna wrote politics, history, and historical fiction. He wrote ''Bali Chronicles'' with Adr ...

Des Alwi Des Alwi Abubakar (November 17, 1927 – November 12, 2010) was an Indonesian historian, diplomat, writer and advocate of the Banda Islands. He was the adopted son of Mohammad Hatta, the first Vice President of Indonesia, whom he called "Oom Kacam ...

. 1990. ''Turbulent times past in Ternate and Tidore''. Banda Naira: Rumah Budaya Banda Naira.

External links

The History of the Spanish Presence in the Moluccas (Indonesia): the Spanish Forts in Tidore Island, Maluku, Indonesia by Marco Ramerini
* {{Authority control Former Dutch colonies Stratovolcanoes of Indonesia Volcanoes of Halmahera Islands of the Maluku Islands Landforms of North Maluku 1109 establishments in Asia Populated places in Indonesia Former Spanish colonies