Ternate - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

TERNATE 2
TOPOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL DESCRIPTIONS
I
The Capital City
[p. 1] The extensive Residency of Ternate, extending from the east coast of Celebes
to the 141 st degree of longitude, was first visited almost three centuries ago by the Dutch
seafarer Wijbrand van Warwijk. The capital city of Ternate is situated mainly along the
beach on the gentle slope of the eastern mountain ridge, ending in a small plain on the
seaward side.
This ancient land is deserving of our interest. Many generations of people have
lived and died here, each leaving its mark to a greater or lesser extent on this small land.
Yet the region has been so little altered by its inhabitants that the description given by the
earliest historians of the Dutch East Indies still applies almost completely to the present
situation. 1
There are several reasons why Ternate has maintained its peculiar resemblance to
former times, but the main reason is that the trade activities of the big nations never
extended into this region. The small settlement of foreigners adopted the [p. 2] way of life
of the natives, who naturally were little inclined to change their time-honored customs. 2
The lack of interest in these regions is understandable: the profits yielded by the
cultivation of spices have long since disappeared and this region has for many years been a
debit in the budget. The government has paid out millions for the very dubious honor of
possessing a group of islands which, though sketched by naturalists in the most brilliant
colors, has only indirect importance for the State.
The island can be reached on either side by means of the Moluccan Sea, which
surrounds it entirely. The southern passage is most often used, even by ships coming
around from the north, despite its many reefs which extend far into the sea and require
that the approach be made with extreme caution.
The keen-eyed traveler, looking toward the island from aboard ship, may be able to
distinguish some of the places he will later come to know well, but he will have to satisfy
his curiosity with a glimpse of the hardly discernible dwellings, hidden behind the thick
greenery. In places, a few coconut palms or a single Pisonia with its yellow foliage will
indicate a small, cultivated area. The visitor will later discover in such an area the center
of a plantation so carelessly tilled and poorly maintained that it cannot assure the owner of
a large yield.
1 [p. 1, n. 1] According to Valentijn (1724, Ib:14), “The population of the island consisted
mainly of Ternatese and Dutchmen, also pockets of Portuguese, Mestizos, Malayans, Makassarese,
Chinese, Arabs and many Javanese, the last two because of the trade in cloves.”
2 [p. 2, n. 1] Temminck’s prediction (1849, III:123), “que ces passages ne manqueront pas
d’etre parcourus par les navigateurs, comme une voie commerciale trms importante” [i.e., that these
passages will not fail to be frequented by sailors, as a very important commercial route], has not yet
come true.
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