Miangas

Miangas or Palmas is North Sulawesi's northernmost island, and one of the 92 officially listed outlying islands of Indonesia.

Etymology

According to Ganesan and Amer, the word miangas means "open for the sea pirates", because the pirates from Mindanao used to visit the island. In the 16th century, the island is named Islas de las Palmas in Spanish, while in Portuguese named Ilha de Palmeiras. In sasahara language, the island called Tinonda or Poilaten, which mean "people who live separated from the main archipelago" and "our island" respectively.

History

According to local tradition, there were a number of kingdoms in the area. Sangir, Talaud and Sitaro belonged to two kingdoms, Tabukan and Kalongan. To justify their sovereignty over Miangas, the Dutch argued that the island had been under the domination of the princes of Sangir.

First Europeans

In October 1526, Garcia de Loaisa, Spanish sailor and researcher, was the first European to visit the island.

The island had been used as a defense site by Talaud people while Sulu Sultanate attacked them.