Morotai Island Regency ( id, Kabupaten Pulau Morotai) is a

regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

North Maluku North Maluku ( id, Maluku Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the north, the Halmahera Sea to the east, the Molucca Sea to the west, and the Seram Sea to the south. ...

province,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, located on

Morotai Morotai Island ( id, Pulau Morotai) is an island in the Halmahera group of eastern Indonesia's Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is one of Indonesia's northernmost islands. Morotai is a rugged, forested island lying to the north of Halmahera. It ha ...

Island. It covers an area of 2,336.6 km² including the smaller Rao Island to the west of Morotai. The population was 52,860 at the 2010 census and 74,436 at the 2020 census; the official estimate as at mid 2022 was 78,270.

History

During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Morotai was generally within the sphere of influence of the powerful sultanate on the island of

Ternate Ternate is a city in the Indonesian province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands. It was the ''de facto'' provincial capital of North Maluku before Sofifi on the nearby coast of Halmahera became the capital in 2010. It is off the we ...

. It was the core of a larger region, called ''Moro'', that included the island and the coastline of Halmahera closest to Morotai to the south. In the mid-sixteenth century, the island was also the site of a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

. The

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

states on Ternate and Halmahera resented the outpost for its proselytising activities, and managed to drive the mission from the island in 1571, as a part of a larger Portuguese retreat in the region. In the seventeenth century, Ternate further exerted its power over Morotai by repeatedly forcing major parts of the population to move off the island. Early in the century most of the population was moved to Dodinga, a small town in a strategic spot on Halmahera's west coast. Later, in 1627 and 1628,

Sultan Hamzah Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

of Ternate had much of the Christian population of the island moved to Malayu, on Ternate, where they could be more easily controlled.

World War II

The island was captured by the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

in early 1942. Morotai's southern plain was taken by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

forces in September 1944 during the

Battle of Morotai The Battle of Morotai, part of the Pacific War, began on 15 September 1944, and continued until the end of the war in August 1945. The fighting started when United States and Australian forces landed on the southwest corner of Morotai, a small isl ...

, and used as a staging point for the Allied invasion of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

in early 1945, and of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

in May and June of that year. Japanese soldier

Teruo Nakamura was a Taiwanese-Japanese soldier of the Imperial Japanese Army who fought for Japan in World War II and did not surrender until 1974. He was the last known Japanese holdout to surrender after the end of hostilities in 1945. Military service Na ...

was discovered in the Morotai jungle in 1974, as one of the World War II Japanese soldiers who held out subsequent to the Japanese military's surrender.

Post-independence

Morotai became its own regency on 29 October 2008, separating from the

North Halmahera Regency North Halmahera Regency ( id, Kabupaten Halmahera Utara) is a regency (on Halmahera Island) of North Maluku Province, Indonesia. It was declared a Regency on 31 May 2003. The capital town of the regency lies at the port of Tobelo. The Regency, whi ...

Geography

Morotai is a rugged, forested island lying to the north of

Halmahera Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coast of the island. Hal ...

. It has an area of some , including Rao Island off the west coast of Morotai. It stretches north-south and no more than wide. The regency's largest town is Daruba, on the island's south coast. Almost all of Morotai's numerous villages are coastal settlements; a paved road linking those on the east coast starts from Daruba and will eventually reach Bere-Bere, the principal town on Morotai's east coast, from Daruba.

Administration

At the 2010 census, the regency was divided into five

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

(''kecamatan''), but a sixth district has subsequently been added by cutting off Rao Island from Morotai Selatan Barat District. The districts are tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 census and 2020 census, together with the official estimates as at mid 2022 .The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of villages (all rural ''desa'') in each district, and the post codes. Note: (a) the population in 2010 of Rao Island is included in the figure for Morotai Selatan Barat District, from which it was cut out.

Economy

The island is heavily wooded and produces timber and resin and has a subsistence fishing industry. In October 2010, the Indonesia government requested assistance of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

(

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

) to help exploiting this island. In 2011 the company PT Halmahera Development & Investment was looking to invest in eco-tourism on the island of Morotai; also small projects to help the people and children of morotai are being planned or unfold like "Help Morotai" a small non-profit origination that is focused on helping children of the Island.

Energy

Currently 3MW Diesel generators across 3 locations one with 2MW, and 2 at 0.5MW. The electrification ratio is reported as 80%. Eight potential locations for micro-hydro were identified by ESDM/KKP.

Morotai Aerodrome

The provincial government make an effort to turn

Pitu Airport Leo Wattimena Airport, formerly known as Pitu Airport is a private airport located on the southern coast of Morotai Island, North Maluku, Indonesia. History World War II Morotai island was the final island invasion in Netherlands New Guinea ...

into an international aerodrome to boost tourists. 'Pitu' means seven due to they have seven lanes of take off and landing built in World War II. It has now been renamed Leo Wattimena Airport as a commercial airport.

References

*Andaya, Leonard (1993). ''The world of Maluku: eastern Indonesia in the early modern period''. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. *Villiers, John (1988). Las Yslas de Esperar en Dios: The Jesuit Mission in Moro 1546–1571. ''Modern Asian Studies'' 22(3):593-606. {{Authority control Regencies of North Maluku