Banda Islands

The Banda Islands (Kepulauan Banda in Bahasa Indonesia) are a group of ten small volcanic islands in the Banda Sea, about 140km south of Seram island and about 2000km east of Java, and are part of the Indonesian province of Maluku. The capital city is Bandanaira, located on the island of the same name. They rise out of 4-6 km deep ocean and have a total land area of approximately 180 km². They have a population of about 15,000. Until the mid 19th century the Banda Islands were the only source of the spices nutmeg and mace, produced from the nutmeg tree. The islands are also popular destinations for scuba diving and snorkeling.

Related Topics:
Bahasa Indonesia - Island - Banda Sea - Seram - Java - Indonesian - Maluku - Bandanaira - Nutmeg - Mace - Scuba diving - Snorkeling

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The Portuguese navigator Antonio de Abreu was the first European to encounter the islands, in 1512. Controlling production of nutmeg and mace was a major motivation for the Dutch conquest of the islands in the 1621, led by Jan Pieterszoon Coen. At the time nutmeg was one of the "fine spices" kept expensive in Europe by disciplined manipulation of the market, but a desirable commodity for Dutch traders in the ports of India as well; economic historian Fernand Braudel notes that India consumed twice as much as Europe (Braudel 1984, p. 219). The lucrative monopoly over supply was ruthlessly enforced,: the Dutch decimated and displaced the indigenous Bandanese and the islands were subsequently settled by imported slaves, convicts and indentured labourers (to work the nutmeg plantations), as well as in-migrants from elsewhere in Indonesia.

Related Topics:
Antonio de Abreu - Europe - 1512 - Nutmeg - Mace - Jan Pieterszoon Coen - Fernand Braudel

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The population of the Banda Islands prior to Dutch conquest is generally estimated to have been around 13-15,000 people, some of whom were Malay and Javanese traders, as well as Chinese and Arabs. The actual numbers of Bandanese who were killed, forcibly expelled or fled the islands in 1621 remain uncertain. But readings of historical sources suggest around one thousand Bandanese likely survived in the islands, and were spread throughout the nutmeg groves as forced labourers (Hanna 1978, p.54; Loth 1995, p.18). Shipments of surviving Bandanese were also sent to Batavia (Jakarta) to work as slaves in developing the city and its fortress. Some 530 of these individuals were later returned to the islands because of their much-needed expertise in nutmeg cultivation (something sorely lacking among newly-arrived Dutch settlers) (Hanna 1978, p.55; Loth 1995, p.24).

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Fort Belgica, one of many forts built by the Dutch East India Company, is one of the largest remaining European forts in Indonesia.

Related Topics:
Fort Belgica - Dutch East India Company

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Religious violence, spilling over from intercommunal conflict in Ambon, affected the islands slightly in the late 1990s, damaging the previously prosperous tourism industry.

Related Topics:
Religious - 1990s - Tourism

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There are seven inhabited islands and several that are uninhabited. The inhabited islands are:

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Main group:

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• Banda Neira, or Naira, the island with the administrative capital and a small airfield (as well as accommodation for visitors).
• Gunung Api, an active volcano with a peak of about 650m
• Banda Besar is the largest island, 12km long and 3km wide. It has three main settlements, Lonthoir, Selamon and Waer.

Some distance to the west:

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• Pulau Ai or Pulau Ay
• Pulau Run, further west again.

To the east:

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• Pulau Pisang, also known as Syahrir.

To the southeast:

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• Pulau Hatta formerly Rosengain or Rozengain

Others, possibly small and/or uninhabited, are:

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• Nailaka, a short distance northeast of Pulau Run
• Batu Kapal
• Manuk, an active volcano
• Pulau Keraka or Pulau Karaka (Crab Island)
• Manukang
• Hatta Reef
 
Banda Islands: Bandanese culture ►