Daya Negri Wijaya, Deny Yudo Wahyudi, Fernando Antonio Santiago, Prisca Kiki Wulandari, Andhika Yudha Pratama, Firza Azzam Fadilla
This paper presents a definitive account of the early modern Sultanate of Tidore and its development as a cultural crossroads from the 15th to 17th centuries. The researchers employed the historical method to gather primary sources and reconstruct the cultural history of Tidore, an island considered one of the four pillars of civilisation in the Moluccas. Along with other islands in the North Moluccas, Tidore became the leading producer of cloves, a commodity highly sought after by foreign traders. During the early modern period, Islam exerted a growing influence on the island, leading to a transformation of Tidore’s political administration from a local system into one that was structured as an Islamic bureaucracy. From a geopolitical perspective, Tidore expanded its territory and controlled trade networks in the Moluccas while competing with Ternate for regional dominance. This rivalry directly resulted in the formation of a wider global political and trade network when the Iberians powers allied with both sultanates of Tidore and Ternate during the 16th century. Accompanied by the Arabs, Chinese, Malays, and Javanese, the Iberians transformed Tidore into an active space for cultural crossovers. Their encounters gave rise to Arabic, Portuguese, and Dutch loanwords in the Malay-Tidorese language, as well as the hybrid cuisine of hula-keta (baked sago), and the material culture that continues to be seen at the Tidorese Palace of Kadato Kie and the Iberian forts of Tahula and Torre. © 2026, Academy of Islamic Studies, Dept of Islamic History and Civilization, University of Malaya. All rights reserved.
History Department & Center for Economics Humanities and Tourism, Research Institute and Community Engagement (RICE) Universitas Negeri Malang (UM), Malang, Indonesia; History Department, Faculty of Social Science, Universitas Negeri Malang (UM), Malang, Indonesia; Department of History & Southeast Asian Research Center and Hub (SEARCH), De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines; Department of Government Studies, Faculty of Social & Political Sciences, Universitas Brawijaya (UB), Malang, Indonesia; Department of Law and Citizenship & Center for Economics Humanities and Tourism, Research Institute and Community Engagement (RICE) Universitas Negeri Malang (UM), Malang, Indonesia; Perkumpulan Periset Karavan Cendekia, Malang, Indonesia
