O

ne might reasonably ask what spices, especially cloves (Eugenia aromatica) and nutmeg (Myristica fragrans), has to do with forts and fortresses?

The main reasons the European sailor sail to Asia is to control trade routes and the spice-producing regions.

Many efforts had been done to cut out the monopoly of traders from India and China and Middle East over the spices trading until Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama reached India in 1499 through Cape of Good Hope which regarded as the opening the route to Asia.

Not long after that Portuguese occupied Malacca and Malay Peninsula in 1511.

After the Portuguese secret expedition by Antonio d'Abreu and Francisco Serrao to Moluccas in early 16th century, the Spanish Ferdinand Magellan also follow suit in 1522 and Englishman Francis Drake in 1579, Moluccas was opened to Europeans.

The Treaty of Tordesillas signed in 1494, divided the world outside Europe between Spain and Portugal along a north-south meridian 370 leagues west of Cape Verde islands. Moluccas also divided into two.

The Treaty of Saragossa, signed in 1592, revised the Treaty of Tordesillas, which means that Moluccas fall into Portugal's hand. This explained the Portuguese influences in Moluccas during the sixteenth century.

If the sixteenth century was the Portuguese era, while the first half of the seventeenth century was the Dutch era (the Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie and the East India colonial government), with some short British influence in several places.

In every strategic place they built post and fortresses to control the trading route and protect themselves. These fortifications could be the whole city or part of the city center.

Many of these fortifications are the replica of fortifications in their respective country in Europe. Generally these fortifications consisted of the main fortress and it surrounding small fortresses or redoubt which used as the watch tower.

During the Pacific War, Papua and Moluccas became a strategic area for both Japan forces and Allied forces. Japan needed the region to hold the incursion from east and south while the Allied forces needed the region for assault to Japan forces which have occupied the whole Asian region from the Philippines to Tokyo.

The Japanese forced built pillbox around the coast line as the outer defense lines while using natural and man-made cages in the hinterland to stop the advance of the Allied forces.