Fort Tolukko in Ternate (the historically famous spice island)
Fort Tolukko, in the spice island of Ternate, is a beautiful and picturesque structure, partly in ruins, stands majestically on a hilltop overlooking a vast surrounding area of both sea and land. Many of the fort’s historical elements and sections are now not part of its existing structure.
Ternate was a very important island historically, situated in North Maluku in current-day Indonesia. It attracted traders from around the world who brought a variety of goods to exchange for cloves. The island was one of several original sources of the spice cloves.
Ternate is a small island comprising of about 43 square miles of land with a current population of about 200,000. It is a volcanic, coned shaped island with a steep mile-high mountain called Gamalama
Ternate has a similarly sized twin-island to its south called Tidore, with its own mile-high peak at the centre, separated by about one mile of sea. They were both historical rivals creating their separate mini empires, warring and fighting over territories and influences for over a long period of time
The historically important clove island of Ternate has several historic forts, including Fort Kalamata, Fort Oranje, Fort Tolukko and Fort Kastella. Except for Fort Kastella, which was originally built by the Portuguese in 1522 and now in complete ruins, the others are mostly intact and in a relatively good condition.
Fort Tolukko was built by the Portuguese in the early 1540s, which changed hands many times. The first time to Sultan Baabullah after the Portuguese were expelled from the island in 1575. Then to the Spanish, then to the Dutch, then again to the sultan and then briefly to the British during the Napoleonic war. These happened over a period of several centuries.
Over many centuries, the island had visitors and traders from around the world. But, with the arrivals of the Europeans from 1512 onwards, the first being the Portuguese, the island began to lose and then eventually lost its independence and, as a consequence, its historical and commercial significance.
The Fort Tolukko is situated on the south-eastern part of Ternate island on top of a hill. In addition to providing defences against tacking forces, the fort acted as an excellent lookout post.
From the high point of the fort, a large surrounding area are in full view: the sea to the east and south; the larger island of Halmahera to the east; the twin-island Tidore to the south and many parts of Ternate itself. No doubt, the fort provided a very strategic lookout position for those who controlled it at different times.
