Tidore

Volcanic island of the Maluku group, Indonesia; area 116 sq km/45 sq mi; population (2000 est) 40,000. Tidore has fertile soil, and products include cotton, maize, fruit, and spices. The island is dominated by a symmetrical volcanic cone in the south; the north is lower and flatter.

Many of the inhabitants are Muslims and the population was ruled by a sultan from the 15th century, though under the control of the Portuguese from in the 16th century, the Spanish from 1606, the Dutch from 1667, and the British from the 19th century.