The Spanish presence in the north of Sulawesi during the seventeenth century. A study of Spanish settlement in the north of Sulawesi in the face of local opposition and the Dutch threat (1606-1662)

Abstract

Spanish sovereignty over the Moluccas Islands (1606-1662) led to a relatively unknown episode in Spanish history involving the presence of Spanish soldiers in the north of the island now known as Sulawesi. The conquest of the Moluccas in 1606 marked the start of a period of frequent contacts between the Spaniards of the Moluccas and the tribes of nearby North Sulawesi. For several decades alliances were made and a small Spanish colony occupied the north of Sulawesi. The remoteness of the territory and the scarcity of resources were to make the consolidation of a Spanish colony impossible and were to be followed by Dutch colonization of this territory. However, far from being an isolated episode, this Spanish presence continued for almost seven decades, during which Spanish soldiers and members of the Church travelled and resided in a territory remote from the centre of power of Manila.