Pluralistic Religious Societies and Cultural Crossroads in the Early Modern Sultanate of Tidore, Indonesia

Abstract

This paper presents a definitive account of the early modern Sultanate of Tidore and the process of cultural crossroads in Tidore from the 15th to 17th centuries. The researchers used the historical method to collect several primary sources and reconstruct the cultural history of Tidore. Tidore is one of the four pillars of civilisation in the Maluku Islands, locally known as Moloku Kie Raha. Tidore, along with the other islands in the North Moluccas, became the main producer of cloves, which were in high demand from foreign traders. During the early modern period, Islam exerted a growing influence, leading to a transformation of Tidorese political administration from a local system to an Islamic bureaucracy. From a geopolitical perspective, Tidore was determined to expand its territory and control trade routes in the Moluccas. It competed with Ternate for dominance. This rivalry directly resulted in the creation of a global political and trade network when the Iberians allied with both sultanates during the 16th century. Their arrival, accompanied by the Arabs, Chinese, Malays, and Javanese, transformed Tidore into a spatial space for cultural crossovers. Their encounter created the Arabic, Portuguese, and Dutch loanwords in the Malay-Tidorese language; the hybrid cuisine of hula-keta (baked sago); and the material culture of the Tidorese palace of Kadato Kie and the Iberian forts of Tahula and Torre.