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Moluccan Islands

Maluku
Moluccas
Maluku Islands en.png
Geography
Location South East Asia, also Oceania (physical geography)
Coordinates 3°9′S 129°23′E / 3.150°S 129.383°E / -3.150; 129.383
Total islands ~1000
Major islands Halmahera, Seram, Buru, Ambon, Ternate, Tidore, Aru Islands, Kai Islands
Area 74,505 km2 (28,767 sq mi)
Highest elevation 3,027 m (9,931 ft)
Highest point Binaiya
Administration
Indonesia
Provinces Maluku, North Maluku
Largest settlement Ambon
Demographics
Population 1,895,000 (2000)
Ethnic groups Alfur, Nuaulu, European, Middle Eastern (Mainly Arabian and Jewish), Melanesian, Bugis

The Maluku Islands or the Moluccas (/məˈlʌkəz/) are an archipelago within Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located east of Sulawesi, west of New Guinea, and north and east of Timor.

The islands were known as the Spice Islands due to the nutmeg, mace and cloves that were originally exclusively found there, and the presence of these sparked colonial interest from Europe in the 16th century.

The Maluku Islands formed a single province from Indonesian independence until 1999, when it was split into two provinces. A new province, North Maluku, incorporates the area between Morotai and Sula, with the arc of islands from Buru and Seram to Wetar remaining within the existing Maluku Province. North Maluku is predominantly Muslim, and its capital is Sofifi on Halmahera island. Maluku province has a larger Christian population, and its capital is Ambon. Though originally Melanesian, many island populations, especially in the Banda Islands, were exterminated in the 17th century during the spice wars. A second influx of Austronesian immigrants began in the early twentieth century under the Dutch and continues in the Indonesian era.


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