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 a maritime borders with North Sulawesi,, Southeast Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi to the west, Maluku to the south, Southwest Papua to the west, and Palau and the Philippines to the north. The provincial capital is Sofifi on the largest island of Halmahera, while the largest city is the island city of Ternate. The population of North Maluku was 1,038,087 in the 2010 census, making it one of the least-populous provinces in Indonesia, but by the 2020 Census the population had risen to 1,282,937, and the official estimate as at mid 2022 was 1,319,338.
North Maluku was originally the centre of the four largest Islamic sultanates in the eastern Indonesian archipelago—Bacan, Jailolo, Tidore and Ternate—known as the Moloku Kië Raha (the Four Mountains of Maluku). Upon Europeans' arrival at the beginning of the 16th century, North Maluku became the site of competition between the Portuguese, Spanish and the Dutch to control trade. In the end, the Dutch emerged victorious, beginning three centuries of Dutch rule in the region. The Japanese invaded the region during World War II, and Ternate became the center of the Japanese rule of the Pacific region. Following Indonesian independence, the region became a part of the province of Maluku.
The province of North Maluku was officially established on 12 October 1999, by separation from Maluku. The island city of Ternate served as its de facto capital until 2010, when the provincial government moved to Sofifi on the mainland of Halmahera. The regional economy in North Maluku largely relies on the agricultural sector, fisheries and other types of marine products. The main commodities that support the economic pulse in North Maluku include copra, nutmeg, cloves, fisheries, gold and nickel. North Maluku's agricultural products include rice, corn, roasted sweet potatoes, beans, coconut, potatoes, nutmeg, sago, and eucalyptus.
Etymology
Historically, the term Maluku referred to the four royal centres in North Maluku, namely Ternate, Tidore, Bacan and Jailolo. A type of confederation consisting of the four kingdoms, which most likely emerged in the 14th century, was called Moloku Kie Raha or "Four Mountains of Maluku". Although the four kingdoms subsequently expanded and covered the entire North Maluku region (as now defined) and parts of Sulawesi and New Guinea, the area of expansion was originally not included in the term Maluku. This only referred to the four main clove-producing islands to the west of Halmahera: Ternate, Tidore. Moti and Makian. Bacan further to the south, and Jailolo on Halmahera, were also commonly included in Maluku Proper, the four kingdoms forming a ritual quadripartition with connotations to local cosmology.
The etymology of the word Maluku is not very clear, and it has been a matter of debate for many experts. The first recorded word that can be identified with Maluku comes from Nagarakretagama, an Old Javanese eulogy of 1365. Canto 14 stanza 5 mentioned Maloko, which Pigeaud identified with Ternate or Moluccas. A theory holds that the name Maluku comes from the concept of "Maluku Kie Raha". "Raha" means four, while "kie" here means mountain. referring to 4 mountains of Ternate, Tidore, Bacan, and Jailolo (Halmahera) which have their own kolano (title for local kings). Therefore, the Maluku can come from: "Moloku" here means to grasp or hold. Using these the meaning of "Moloku Kie Raha" is "confederation of four mountain". However the root word "loku" comes from local Malay creole word for a unit, therefore not an indigenous language. The other idea is the word originated from "Maloko" which is a combination of "Ma" which is for support and "Loko" refer to area. The phrase "Maloko Kie Raha" means "the place/world which has four mountains".
History
Precolonial era
The island of Ternate or Gapi began to grow in the early 13th century. The early Ternate population was the result of an exodus from Halmahera. Initially there were four villages in Ternate, each headed by a momole (head of a clan). they were the first to make contact with merchants who came looking for spices. The population of Ternate became increasingly heterogeneous with settlements of Arab, Javanese, Malay and Chinese traders. With the increasingly busy trading activities there was an increase of threats coming from pirates, the Momole Guna Tobona leaders held a conference to form a stronger organization and appoint a single leader as king.