Ternate

Maluku is mentioned in Nagarakretagama. The term originally denoted the spice-producing islands of North Maluku, of which Ternate became the dominant one. The Ternate Kingdom was previously known as the Kingdom of Gapi.[5] Moluccan tradition says that there was an exodus of people moving out of Halmahera around 1250 due to political conflicts.[6]^:4 The settlement founded by people from Halmahera was first situated close on the hillside of the Gamalama mountain and named Tobona. During this time, Tobona was ruled by a tribal chief with the title of Momole.[6]^:4 This period was characterized by several smaller tribal settlements around Gamalama which were founded afterwards, such as Foramadiahi being established further downhill, while Sampalu, and Gamlamo were founded along the coast. These settlements also had their own Momole and were nominally independent from each other.[6]^:4

In 1257, Tobona gathered all the Momole from other villages for a meeting, who all agreed to choose Cico, the chief of Sampalu village, as the collective ruler of Ternate. Cico may correspond to Kaicil Mashur Malamo, who was the first ruler according to other traditions and was a son of the Arab Jafar Sadik, who is claimed to be the father of the founding kings of Ternate, Tidore, Bacan and Jailolo. This political four-division had a great symbolic role. Cico replaced his title with Kolano, which means "king".[6]^:4 The capital of the kingdom was first in Sampalu village, but moved to Formadiahi during the reign of Kaicil Siale (1284–1298).[6]^:4 Under Kaicil Ngara Malamo (1304–1317), Ternate expanded its influence and conquered neighbouring islands.[6]^:5 Ngara Malamo was succeeded by Patsyarangan Malamo (1317–1322) and later Sidang Arif Malamo (1322–1331). During this time, Ternate started to interact with Chinese and Arab traders, especially from Malacca and Java. Ternate became a major port city and center of the spice trade in the Moluccas region, competing with its rival, Tidore. Some of the foreign traders eventually created the foundations of the Chinese and Arab communities in the city today.[6]^:5

Around 1322, Arif Malamo initiated the Moti Agreement, which was a result of discussions between the rulers in Moluccas about trade and standardization of government structures. As a result of this agreement, the Moluccas had relatively peaceful times of over the next twenty years and trade flourished.[6]^:6 However, Arif was succeeded by Kaicil Tulu Malamo, who revoked the agreement as he thought it limited his expansionist ambitions. Ternate conquered neighbouring islands like the Sula Islands and Seram Island over the course of the 1400s.[6]^:6

In the midst of this expansionist era, Ternate officially became an Islamic sultanate during the reign of Zainal Abidin (1468–1500) and supplemented the Kolano title with that of sultan. Abidin also changed the traditional Moluccan government structure into a more Islamic one, including the foundation of the Jolabe, a council made up of Islamic clerics that would advise the sultan on religious matters. This structural and titular change was also adopted by Tidore and Bacan.[6]^:7

Gate of the palace of Ternate Sultanate.

Ternate and Tidore were the world's major producer of cloves, from which their rulers became among the wealthiest and most powerful sultans in the Indonesian region. Much of their wealth was used to fight each other. Until the Dutch completed the colonization of Maluku in the 19th century, the sultans of Ternate ruled an empire that periodically claimed at least nominal influence in magnitude as Ambon, Sulawesi, and Papua.[7][8]

The peak of the Ternate sultante's power came near the end of the 16th century under Sultan Baabullah, when it exerted influence over most of the eastern part of Sulawesi, the Ambon and Ceram area, the Banda Islands, Solor Islands, Mindanao, and parts of Papua. It engaged in a fierce competition for control of its periphery with Tidore. According to historian Leonard Andaya, Ternate's "dualistic" rivalry with Tidore was a dominant theme in the early history of the Maluku Islands.[9]

As a result of its trade-dependent culture, Ternate was one of the earliest places in the region to which Islam spread, originating from Java in the late 15th century,[10] though Islamic influence in the area can be traced further back to the late 14th century.[11] The faith was restricted to Ternate's small ruling family before spreading to the rest of the population.[10]

Early map of northern Maluku made during the Age of Discovery. North is on the right, with Ternate as the rightmost followed by Tidore, Mare, Moti and Makian islands. The bottom is the Gilolo (Jailolo or Halmahera) Island. The inset on the top is Bacan Island. Willem Blaeu, 1630

Colonial-era painting of Ternate island, c. 1883–1889.

The first Europeans to arrive at Ternate were part of the Portuguese expedition of Francisco Serrão coming from Malacca; they were shipwrecked near Ceram and rescued by local residents. Sultan Abu Lais of Ternate heard of their plight and brought them to Ternate in 1512 when he saw a chance to ally himself with a powerful foreign nation. The Portuguese were allowed to build Fort Kastela on the island.[12]

Relations between the Ternateans and Portuguese were strained from the start; an outpost far from Europe generally only attracted the most desperate and avaricious figures. The poor behaviour of the Portuguese combined with feeble attempts at Christianisation strained relations with Ternate's Muslim ruler,[13] as did their efforts to monopolise the spice trade and dominate local politics.[7] In 1535 King Tabariji was deposed and sent to Goa by the Portuguese. He converted to Christianity and changed his name to Dom Manuel. After being declared innocent of the charges against him, he was sent back to reassume his throne, but died en route in Malacca in 1545, though he bequeathed Ambon to his Portuguese godfather Jordão de Freitas.[14]

When Sultan Hairun was murdered and his head displayed on a pike in 1570, the Muslim Ternateans rebelled against the Portuguese who were besieged in their castle. Their captain was Dom Álvaro de Ataíde, and Belchior Vieira de Ternate distinguished himself in the defense until the garrison was forced to capitulate to Sultan Babullah in 1575, who made the castle his palace.[7] Ambon and Tidore became the new centres for Portuguese activity in Maluku. European power in the region was weak and Ternate became an expanding, fiercely Islamic and anti-Portuguese state under the rule of Babullah (r. 1570–1583) and his son Sultan Saidi Berkat.[15]

In 1579, the sultan entertained the English adventurer and circumnavigator Francis Drake, who had little interest in buying cloves, as his ship, the Golden Hind, was too full of gold that he had raided from Spanish treasure ships to carry cloves.[7]

Sultan of Ternate's guard.

As the Portuguese battles in the Indian Ocean against Muslim powers continued, Ternate became a site of interest, particularly for the Ottomans, who had gained much information about maritime Southeast Asia from the Sultanate of Aceh. Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis, the Ottoman admiral, intended to reach both Java, Borneo and Ternate but was engaged in battle and outnumbered against the Portuguese fleet in Sumatra.

Spanish and Dutch traders competing for control over the lucrative clove trade were caught up in the competition between Ternate and Tidore. The Dutch eventually became the ruling power, though for a long time their influence was limited, and the sultanates are still in place today.[7] Spanish forces captured the former Portuguese fort from the Ternateans in 1606 and deported the Ternate sultan and his entourage to Manila,[16] a city which the Spanish captured from the Sultanate of Brunei by siding with the subjugated Kingdom of Tondo, the state which Manila displaced when Brunei invaded Luzon. The Spanish set up Manila as a captaincy-general under the Mexico-based Viceroyalty of New Spain, and Spanish Ternate in turn was ruled under the governor-general based in Manila. In 1607, the Dutch came back to Ternate and built a fort in Malayo with the locals' help.[17] The Spaniards occupied the southern part of the island where they had their main settlement, Ciudad del Rosario.[18] The island was divided between the two powers: the Spaniards were allied with Tidore and the Dutch with Ternate.

For the Ternatean rulers, the Dutch were a useful, if not particularly welcome, presence that gave them military advantages against Tidore and the Spanish. Ternate expanded its territory and strengthened its control over the periphery particularly under Hamzah's rule (r. 1627–1648). Dutch influence over the kingdom was limited, though Hamzah and his successor, Sultan Mandar Syah (r. 1648–1675) ceded some regions to the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in exchange for helping control rebellions. The Spanish abandoned Ternate and Tidore in 1663; when they abandoned Ternate, some of the people accompanied the Spanish in their retreat to the Philippines; about 200 families of mixed Mexican-Filipino-Spanish and Papuan-Indonesian-Portuguese descent left.[19] In the Philippines, they settled in Ermita, Manila; San Roque, Cavite; Tanza, Cavite; and Ternate, Cavite, which they named after their homeland. Some mixed people chose to stay in Ternate, Indonesia, though they were persecuted and went through Islamization by a resurgent sultanate. In the 18th century, Ternate was the site of a VOC governorship, which attempted to control all trade in the northern Moluccas.

By the 19th century, the spice trade had declined substantially, and the region was less central to the Netherlands colonial state, but the Dutch maintained a presence in the region to prevent another colonial power from occupying it. After the VOC was nationalised by the Dutch government in 1800, Ternate became part of the government of the Moluccas (Gouvernement der Molukken). Ternate was captured and occupied by the British in 1810 before being returned to Dutch control in 1817. In 1824, it became the capital of a residency (administrative region) covering Halmahera, the entire west coast of New Guinea, and the central east coast of Sulawesi. By 1867 all of Dutch-occupied New Guinea had been added to the residency, but its region was gradually transferred to Ambon (Amboina) before being subsumed into it in 1922.

Like the rest of Indonesia, Ternate was occupied by Japanese forces during World War II; eastern Indonesia was governed by the navy. After Japan surrendered in August 1945 and Indonesia declared independence, Ternate was reoccupied in early November 1945 by Allied forces who intended to return Indonesia to Dutch control. After World War 2, Ternate gained city status on 10 December 1946,[6]^:18 but was demoted to a district on 30 March 1965. It regained its city designation on 11 March 1981.[6]^:19 The sultanate still exists but with no power, and the titular rulers only act as cultural figures.[20]

Ternate became part of Maluku when Indonesia became independent. There was some violence in Ternate during the 1998–2000 sectarian conflict across the Maluku islands.[7] After the split of the new North Maluku province, it was assigned as the de facto capital of the province until 2010, when Sofifi was chosen. However, Sofifi still lacked infrastructure and city status, and today most activity in the province is still conducted in Ternate.[21]

Ternate has a tropical rainforest climate with heavy rainfall year-round.

At the time of the 2010 census, Ternate city (which includes seven neighbouring islands and islets as well as the main island of Ternate) was divided into seven districts, but in 2018 an eighth district (Ternate Barat) was created in the west of the island from part of the Pulau Ternate District. The districts are tabulated below with their areas (in square kilometres) and their populations during the 2010[3] and 2020 censuses,[4] together with the official estimates as at mid 2022.[2] Five of these districts are on the island of Ternate, and the remaining three each consist of a smaller neighbouring island or (in the case of Pulau Batang Dua District) islands. The table also includes the number of administrative villages in each district and its post code.

Notes:
(a) Pulau Ternate District consists of a reduced part of the western section of Ternate island.
(b) the new Ternate Barat district includes the 22.05 km² Hutan Lindung (protected forest) in the middle of the island and including the volcanic cone. (c) the figure is included in the previous figure for Pulau Ternate District. (d) Moti Island lies to the south of Ternate, between Tidore and Makian Islands. (e) this district actually comprises five islands - Mayau (24.175 km² with about 2,000 inhabitants), Tifure (4.604 km² with about 900 inhabitants), Gurida (0.224 km², uninhabited) and the islets Makka and Mano.

As with all Indonesian cities, the local government is a second-level administrative division run by a mayor and vice mayor with the city parliament, and it is equivalent to regency.[28] Executive power lies with the mayor and vice mayor, while legislation duties are carried by local parliament. Mayor, vice mayor, and parliament members are democratically elected by people of the city in an election.[29] Head of districts are appointed directly by city mayor with recommendation by the city secretary.[30][31]

Ternate city is part of the First North Maluku electoral district with the West Halmahera Regency, both of which have 12 out of 45 seats in provincial parliament combined. At the city level, it is divided into four electoral districts, which has 30 representatives in total.[32] The first electoral district consists of Central Ternate which has eight seats on city parliament, second electoral district with seven seats from North Ternate, third electoral district with 12 seats from South Ternate and Moti Island Districts, and the fourth electoral district with three seats from Ternate Island, Hiri Island, and Batang Dua Island Districts.[32]

The city houses historical forts built by both Europeans and the Ternate sultanate, such as Kalamata Fort, Kastela Fort, Oranje Fort, and Santo Pedro Fort. Fort Tolukko and Fort Kalamata were built by the Portuguese, while Fort Oranje was a temporary headquarters of Dutch East India Company.[53] The palace of the Ternate sultanate still exists and currently functions as a museum. It is named Kedaton Sultan Ternate and is considered the national cultural heritage of Indonesia. Another historical building is the Ternate Sultanate Mosque.[53]

The city celebrates the kora-kora (traditional Moluccan boat) festival during their city anniversary, which is held in early December. It consists of a parade of decorated boats, a rowing competition, a fishing competition, and traditional art and dance shows.[54] Another festival is the Legu Gam Festival, which is held to celebrate the sultan's birthday. During the festival, several traditional dances are performed in a parade.[55] These festivals have been supported and promoted by the Ministry of Tourism.[56]

Ternate city from above, Nukila Park can be seen close to waterfront

There are several city parks in Ternate, such as Nukila Park.[57] Another city park, Moya Park, located in the Moya subdistrict, was previously a dump site. [58]

The city has several shopping malls, such as Jatiland Mall, Hypermart Ternate, and Muara Mall.[59][60]