12 Facts About Maluku Islands

Maluku Islands were known as the Spice Maluku Islands because of the nutmeg, mace and cloves that were exclusively found there, the presence of which sparked colonial interest from Europe in the sixteenth century.

Maluku Islands formed a single province from Indonesian independence until 1999, when it was split into two provinces.

North Maluku Islands is predominantly Muslim, and its capital is Sofifi on Halmahera island.

Maluku Islands province has a larger Christian population, and its capital is Ambon.

Etymology of the word Maluku Islands is unclear and has been a matter of debate for many experts.

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Theory holds that Maluku Islands comes from the name Moloko Kie Raha or Moloku Kie Raha.

The Tanimbar Maluku Islands are dry and hilly, while the Aru Maluku Islands are flat and swampy.

The Maluku Islands comprise some of the most geologically complex and active regions in the world, resulting from their position at the meeting point of four geological plates and two continental blocks.

The Maluku islands differ from other areas in Indonesia; they contain some of the country's smallest islands, coral island reefs scattered through some of the deepest seas in the world, and no large islands such as Java or Sumatra.

Ecology of the Maluku Islands has fascinated naturalists for centuries; Alfred Wallace's book, The Malay Archipelago, was the first significant study of the area's natural history, and remains an important resource for studying Indonesian biodiversity.

Maluku Islands is the subject of two major historical works of natural history by Georg Eberhard Rumphius: the Herbarium Amboinense and the Amboinsche Rariteitkamer.

Maluku Islands are divided into two provinces: Maluku and North Maluku.