Tidore

For the language, see Tidore language. For the sultanate, see Sultanate of Tidore.

Tidore (Indonesian: Kota Tidore Kepulauan, lit. "City of Tidore Islands") is a city, island, and archipelago in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia, west of the larger island of Halmahera. Part of North Maluku Province, the city includes the island of Tidore (with three smaller outlying islands - Mare, Maitara and Filonga) together with a large part of Halmahera Island to its east. In the pre-colonial era, the Sultanate of Tidore was a major regional political and economic power, and a fierce rival of nearby Ternate, just to the north. Within the city is the provincial capital, Sofifi.

Tidore
City
City of Tidore Islands Kota Tidore Kepulauan
Tidore Island, as seen from Ternate Island.
Coat of arms
Motto(s):  Toma Loa Se Banari (The Conscience of the People)
Location within Maluku Islands
OpenStreetMap
Tidore Location in Maluku, Halmahera and Indonesia Show map of Maluku and Western New Guinea Tidore Tidore (Halmahera) Show map of Halmahera Tidore Tidore (Indonesia) Show map of Indonesia
Coordinates: 0°41′N 127°24′E
Country	Indonesia
Region	Maluku Islands
Province	North Maluku
Government
• Mayor	Ali Ibrahim
• Vice Mayor	Muhammad Senin
Area
• City	1,703.32 km2 (657.66 sq mi)
• Metro	150.12 km2 (57.96 sq mi)
Population  (mid 2023 estimate)
• City	118,613
• Density	70/km2 (180/sq mi)
• Metro	65,459
• Metro density	440/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
	[1]
Time zone	UTC+9 (Indonesia Eastern Time)
Postcodes	978xx
Area code	(+62) 921
Vehicle registration	DG
Website	tidorekota.go.id

Geography

Tidore Island consists of a large stratovolcano which rises from the seafloor to an elevation of 1,730 m (5,676 ft) above sea level at the conical Mount Kie Matubu on the south end of the island. The northern side of the island contains a caldera, Sabale, with two smaller volcanic cones within it.

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.^[2]

History

See also: Sultanate of Tidore

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 Ternate, another sultanate with which it had a dualistic relationship.^[3]

Islam spread to Tidore around the late 15th century but Islamic influence in the area can be traced further back to the late 14th century.^[4]

The sultans of Tidore ruled most of southern Halmahera, and, at times, controlled Buru, East Ceram and many of the islands off the coast of New Guinea.^[5] Tidore established an alliance with the Spanish 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, 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.^[6]

Although nominally part of the Spanish East Indies in the later sixteenth century and well into the seventeenth century, the Tidore sultanate 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 VOC). Particularly under Sultan Saifuddin (r. 1657–1687), the Tidore court was skilled at using Dutch payment for spices 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.^[7]

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.^[8] 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 left Tidore and declared himself Sultan of the Papuan Islands. This was the beginning of a guerilla war which lasted for many years.^[9] 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.^[10] However, his successor Zainal Abidin was expelled by Dutch forces in 1806 and Tidore was firmly brought under colonial rule.^[11]

The sultanate was abolished in the Sukarno era and re-established in 1999 with the 36th sultan.^[3] Tidore was largely spared from the sectarian conflict of 1999 across the Maluku Islands.^[3]

Administration

Tidore Island featured on the Indonesian 1,000-rupiah banknote

The island, together with three smaller islands (Mare, Maitara and Filonga) and an adjacent much larger section (called "Oba") of Halmahera Island, constitutes a municipality (kotamadya) within the province of North Maluku. 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 Mare, Maitara and Filonga) as well as the Oba area on mainland Halmahera (also including minor offshore islands). The whole municipality covers an area of 1,703.32 square kilometres (657.66 sq mi) and had a 2010 Census population of 90,530;^[12] the 2020 Census produced a total of 114,480^[13] and the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 118,613 (comprising 60,041 males and 58,572 females).^[1]

It is divided into eight districts (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 Census^[12] and the 2020 Census,^[13] together with the official estimates as at mid 2023.^[1] The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages in each district (totaling 49 rural desa and 40 urban kelurahan), and its post code.

Kode Wilayah	Name of District (kecamatan)	English name	Area in km2	Pop'n Census 2010	Pop'n Census 2020	Pop'n Estimate mid 2023	Admin centre	No. of kelurahan	No. of desa	Post code
82.72.01	Tidore (a)	(Tidore town, or Soasio)	36.08	18,477	22,975	22,602	Tomagoba	13	-	97811 -97813
82.72.04	Tidore Selatan (b)	South Tidore	42.40	13,129	14,671	15,190	Gurabati	6	2	97821
82.72.05	Tidore Utara (c)	North Tidore	37.64	14,573	17,294	17,895	Rum	10	4	97823
82.72.08	Tidore Timur	East Tidore	34.00	7,657	9,608	9,772	Tosa	7	-	97822
	(totals on Tidore Island)		150.12	53,836	64,548	65,459		36	6
82.72.02	Oba Utara (d)	North Oba	376.00	13,331	19,552	21,210	Sofifi	2 (e)	11	97827
82.72.06	Oba Tengah	Central Oba	424.00	7,659	10,096	10,681	Akelamo	1	13	97826
82.72.03	Oba	Oba	403.67	10,337	13,628	14,349	Payahe	1	12	97824
82.72.07	Oba Selatan	South Oba	196.58	4,892	6,656	6,914	Lifofa	-	7	97825
	(totals on Halmahera Island)		1,400.25	36,219	49,932	53,154		4	43

Notes: (a) including Filonga Island to the northeast of Tidore Island. (b) including Mare Island (with an area of 11 km²), another stratovolcano island to the south of Tidore. (c) including Maitara island, to the northwest of Tidore (and between Tidore and Ternate), with an area of 2 km² and about 3,600 inhabitants.
(d) including the town of Sofifi, which since 2010 has been the provincial capital of North Maluku. (e) Sofifi and Guraping.

References

1. Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, Kota Tidore Kepulauan Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.8272)
2. Kompas
3. Witton, Patrick (2003). Indonesia. Melbourne: Lonely Planet. pp. 827–828. ISBN 1-74059-154-2.
4. Azra, Azyumardi (2006). Islam in the Indonesian World: An Account of Institutional Formation. Mizan Pustaka. pp. 39–40. ISBN 978-979-433-430-0.
5. Leonard Andaya (1993) The world of Maluku. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, p. 99-110.
6. Leonard Andaya (1993), p. 169-74.
7. Leonard Andaya (1993), p. 190-2.
8. Muridan Widjojo (2009) The revolt of Prince Nuku: Cross-cultural alliance-making in Maluku, c. 1780-1810. Leiden: Brill, p. 33-7.
9. Muridan widjojo (2009), p. 55-8.
10. Muridan Widjojo (2009), p. 75-88.
11. Muridan Widjojo (2009), p. 88-94.
12. Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.
13. Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.

• Andaya, Leonard Y. 1993. The world of Maluku: eastern Indonesia in the early modern period. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-1490-8.
• Hanna, Willard A. & Des Alwi. 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
• "Tidore". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution.