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Ternate the Spice Islands

The Footprints of the Age of Discovery 

 

Encyclopedia Britannica writes: "The cloves of the northern Moluccas and the nutmeg of the central islands were traded in Asia long before Europeans heard of the so-called Spice Islands. The Portuguese established themselves on the islands in 1512, beginning many decades of conflict that caused great losses of life. ......... later, the Spanish, English, and Dutch wrestled for control of the islands. 

https://www.britannica.com/place/Moluccas

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The Footprints of the Age Of Discovery are easily seen now in the islands of Ternate and Tidore. Portuguese, Spain and Dutch are all built forts on the island during their presence. There are many forts from the Age of Discovery still standing in good condition.

 

Despite the presence of the Spices which marks the world's history,  the islands are beautiful. Looks like afloat on the velvet blue ocean and covered with bright  blue sky. Volcanoes emerged right from the ocean bed to soar high with dark green vegetations. It is home to various endemic birds. 

 

From Ternate Alfred Russel Wallace - the Briton Naturalist in 1858 wrote his Famous Ternate Essay on Evolution by Natural Selection to Charles Darwin. Ternate indeed has role in the world's science history. 

Charles Darwin then published his famous book On The Origin of Species in 1859, whilst due to his illness, Alfred Russel Wallace published his The Malay Archipelago in 1869. 

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Some of the birds featured in The Malay Archipelago of Alfred Russel Wallace still can be easily seen today at the forests of Halmahera - the island just on the eye sight from Ternate. 

The waters of Moluccas or Maluku are under the surface garden, home to various species of corals and sea creatures included the rare Walking Shark or Epaulette Shark also known as Hemiscyllium Halmahera.