WThe Banda Islands are a volcanic group of ten small volcanic islands in the Banda Sea, about 140 km (87 mi) south of Seram Island and about 2,000 km (1,243 mi) east of Java, and constitute an administrative district (kecamatan) within the Central Maluku Regency in the Indonesian province of Maluku. The main town and administrative centre is Bandanaira, located on the island of the same name. They rise out of 4-to-6-kilometre deep ocean and have a total land area of approximately 172 square kilometres (66 sq mi). They had a population of 18,544 at the 2010 Census. Until the mid-19th century the Banda Islands were the world's only source of the spices nutmeg and mace, produced from the nutmeg tree. The islands are also popular destinations for scuba diving and snorkeling.
WThe 1629 Banda Sea earthquake struck the Banda Sea, Indonesia on August 1. Its epicentre is believed to have been in the Seram Trough. A megathrust earthquake caused a 15 m (49 ft) tsunami, which was recorded to have affected the Banda Islands about 30 minutes after the quake. The effects of the tsunami were reported as far as 230 kilometres (140 mi) away in Ambon. Many trees in the Banda Islands were reported to have been uprooted.
WBanda Api is an island in the Banda Islands, Indonesia. It is administered as part of the administrative district (kecamatan) within the Central Maluku Regency in the province of Maluku.
WBanda Neira is an island in the Banda Islands, Indonesia. It is administered as part of the administrative district (kecamatan) within the Central Maluku Regency in the province of Maluku. To the south is the main town of the same name, which is the largest town in the archipelago with around 7,000 inhabitants.
WThe Dutch conquest of the Banda Islands was a process of military conquest from 1609 to 1621 by the Dutch East India Company of the Banda Islands. The Dutch, having established a monopoly on the highly lucrative nutmeg production from the islands, were dismayed at Bandanese resistance to Dutch instructions that they only sell to them. The death of a Dutch official at Bandanese hands provided the casus belli for a forcible conquest of the islands. The islands became severely depopulated as a result of fighting, starvation, as well as massacres and forced deportations by the Dutch.
WThe greenish naked-backed fruit bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae.
WLontor, also known as Lonthor or Lonthoir, or locally Banda Besar, is an island in the Banda Islands, Indonesia. It is administered as part of the administrative district (kecamatan) within the Central Maluku Regency in the province of Maluku.
WThe Banda myzomela is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to Indonesia. It is found in the Banda, Babar and Tanimbar Islands.
WRun is one of the smallest islands of the Banda Islands, which are a part of the Moluccas, Indonesia. In 1616, fearing the Dutch, the natives of the island pledged their allegiance to the employees of English East India Company, who accepted it on behalf of the Crown. According to historian John Keay who considers Pulo Run as the genesis of the British Empire : "As the island of Runnymede is to British constitutional history, so the island of Run is to British imperial history". In the 17th century, the tiny island of Run was of great economic importance because of the value of the spices nutmeg and mace.