Spice Islands Indonesia

The Spice Islands were once the most valuable real estate on the planet, but now lie largely forgotten as history washes past them. Ternate and Banda were respectively the sole sources of cloves and nutmeg – the ‘gold’ of the spice trade, and it’s said that Christopher Columbus was actually looking for a shorter route to the Banda islands when he stumbled on America. Centuries of battles for the spice monopoly between Dutch, English, and Portuguese buccaneers has left a crumbling legacy of colonial forts, villas and rusting cannons, partially consumed by green forests, loomed over by active volcanoes and surrounded by deep, blue life-filled waters.

From the Spice Islands arise the scents not only of paradise but also of centuries of historical interaction with Europeans. The colonization of much of Asia began here when the Dutch decided that instead of buying the spices they would simply ‘appropriate’ the land they grew on. Thus from here, their rule expanded to cover some 17,000 islands, stretching nearly 3,000 miles between Sumatra and New Guinea.

Along with the oldest fortresses in Indonesia, are 18th Century palaces like the ‘Istana Kecil’ on Banda Neira, where the last colonial governors lived in lonely luxury, walking floors of Italian marble beneath French crystal chandeliers.

The Spice Islands are scattered within, or around, the world’s deepest sea for its size – the Banda Sea. Being part of the Coral Triangle – the ‘womb of species generation’ – makes these waters the richest in marine life anywhere on earth. We can swim with hammerhead sharks, mantas and tuna, as well as with countless varieties of reef fish, in gin clear water. For days on end, we encounter few, if any, other foreign sailing boats.

The Spice Islands were once the most valuable real estate on the planet, but now lie largely forgotten as history washes past them.

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Ternate and Banda were respectively the sole sources of cloves and nutmeg – the ‘gold’ of the spice trade, and it’s said that Christopher Columbus was actually looking for a shorter route to the Banda islands when he stumbled on America. Centuries of battles for the spice monopoly between Dutch, English, and Portuguese buccaneers has left a crumbling legacy of colonial forts, villas and rusting cannons, partially consumed by green forests, loomed over by active volcanoes and surrounded by deep, blue life-filled waters.

From the Spice Islands arise the scents not only of paradise but also of centuries of historical interaction with Europeans. The colonization of much of Asia began here when the Dutch decided that instead of buying the spices they would simply ‘appropriate’ the land they grew on. Thus from here, their rule expanded to cover some 17,000 islands, stretching nearly 3,000 miles between Sumatra and New Guinea.

Along with the oldest fortresses in Indonesia, are 18th Century palaces like the ‘Istana Kecil’ on Banda Neira, where the last colonial governors lived in lonely luxury, walking floors of Italian marble beneath French crystal chandeliers.

The Spice Islands are scattered within, or around, the world’s deepest sea for its size – the Banda Sea. Being part of the Coral Triangle – the ‘womb of species generation’ – makes these waters the richest in marine life anywhere on earth. We can swim with hammerhead sharks, mantas and tuna, as well as with countless varieties of reef fish, in gin clear water. For days on end, we encounter few, if any, other foreign sailing boats.

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