The isle of Amboina

Title

The isle of Amboina

Description

Map shows the island of Amboina of the Maliku islands

ca. 1670

Artist

Montanus (1625-1683)

Arnold Montanus (1625-1683) was a Dutch theologian and historian. In addition to extensive editorial work, he has written numerous historical treatises dealing with the peoples and culture of the New World and the overseas activities of the Dutch. Although he never left Europe himself, his books, translated into many languages, had a great influence on the European perception of the area concerned. De Nieuwe en Onbekende Weereld (The Unknown New World) and Gedenkwardige Gesantschappen der Oost-Indische Maatschappy in′t Vereenigde Nederland (Memorable Embassies of the East Indian Society in the United Netherlands) are his best known writings. He published Guiccardini's description of the Netherlands in Dutch in 1612, translated Giovanni Gioviano Pontano's (Pontanus) description of the trading city of Amsterdam from Latin in 1614, and published Mercator's Cosmographicae Meditationes in 1621. The additions to the text in Hondius' edition of Mercator's great atlas are probably also from his pen. Montanus bought seafarers and employees of the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, VOC) information and travel reports, and published them in 1669 in the publishing house of Jacob van Meurs (1619–1680).

Historical Description

The Maluku Islands are an archipelago within Banda Sea, Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located east of Sulawesi, west of New Guinea, and north and east of Timor. The islands were known as the Spice Islands due to the nutmeg, mace and cloves that were originally exclusively found there, the presence of which sparked colonial interest from Europe in the 16th century. The Maluku Islands formed a single province from Indonesian independence until 1999, when it was split into two provinces. A new province, North Maluku, incorporates the area between Morotai and Sula, with the arc of islands from Buru and Seram to Wetar remaining within the existing Maluku Province.