Which Indonesian island group includes the historic spice islands Ternate and Tidore?

The Indonesian island group that includes the historic spice islands Ternate and Tidore is the Maluku Islands.

The Maluku Islands, formerly known as the Moluccas, form an extensive archipelago in eastern Indonesia. Ternate and Tidore lie in North Maluku, west of the larger island of Halmahera. The region is famous as the original home of cloves, nutmeg, and mace, spices that transformed local politics and drew merchants and empires from across the world.

Ternate and Tidore were powerful sultanates whose rivalry shaped the history of the northern Moluccas. European powers entered this competition in the 16th century: the Portuguese sought access to the clove trade, while the Spanish and Dutch later contested influence. The Dutch East India Company eventually imposed strict controls over spice production and trade.

The Maluku Islands are not a single small cluster but a broad region of roughly 1,000 islands, including Halmahera, Seram, Buru, Ambon, the Banda Islands, and the Aru Islands. Administratively, Indonesia divided the former Maluku province in 1999 into Maluku and North Maluku.

The Sunda, Riau, and Mentawai Islands are separate Indonesian groups and do not include Ternate or Tidore.