Bacan Sultanate

Origins

Bacan was one of the Moloku Kie Raha, the four Moluccan kingdoms with Ternate, Tidore and Jailolo. Its rulers adopted Islam in the late 15th century, like their neighbours, as Javanese and Malay traders sought Moluccan cloves. Local tradition traces the four royal houses to a common ancestor.

Rule and society

Bacan was smaller and poorer than Ternate and Tidore but grew cloves and controlled islands to the south and the Obi group. In 1557 its sultan accepted Christianity under Portuguese influence, though later rulers were Muslim. The Dutch built Fort Barneveld on Bacan in the early 17th century, and the sultanate was often a vassal of Ternate.

Decline and legacy

Bacan came under Dutch control in the 19th century and its sultan became a colonial client. After Indonesian independence the sultanate was absorbed into the new state's administration around 1950; the royal family keeps a ceremonial role in North Maluku.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.