Map showing North Maluku province in Indonesia
North Maluku (Indonesian: Maluku Utara) is one of the provinces of Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, which are split between it and the province of Maluku. Maluku province used to cover the entire group. The provincial capital is Sofifi , on Halmahera, but the largest population center is the island of Ternate.
In the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the islands of North Maluku were the original "Spice Islands". At the time, the region was the sole source of cloves. The Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, and local kingdoms including Ternate and Tidore fought each other for control of the lucrative trade in these spices. Nutmeg trees have since been transported and replanted all around the world and the demand for nutmeg from the original spice islands has ceased, greatly reducing North Maluku's international importance.
The population of North Maluku is 724,897 (2000 census), making it the least populous province in Indonesia.
