Editing Banda Islands (section)

===Pre-European history===
The first documented human presence in the Banda Islands comes from a [[rock shelter]] site on Pulau Ay that was in use at least 8,000 years ago.<ref name="Lape2013">{{cite journal|last=Lape|first=Peter|title=Die erste Besiedlung auf den Banda-Inseln: 8000 Jahre Archäologie auf den Molukken|trans-title=The first settlement in the Banda Islands: 8000 years of archeology in the Moluccas|journal=Antike Welt|date=2013|volume=5|issue=13|pages=9–13}}</ref>

The earliest mention of the Banda Islands is found in Chinese records dating as far back as 200 BCE<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hancock |first=James |title=Indian Ocean Trade before the European Conquest |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1800/indian-ocean-trade-before-the-european-conquest/ |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref> though there is speculation that it is mentioned in earlier Indian sources. The [[Srivijaya|Srivijaya Kingdom]] had extensive trade contacts with the Banda Islands. Also during this period (from the late 13th century and onwards) Islam arrived in the region. It soon became established in the area.<ref>{{Cite book|title=International Dictionary of Historic Places|volume=5: Asia and Oceania|publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn |year=1996 |isbn=1-884964-04-4 |editor-last=Schellinger |editor-first=Paul |location=Chicago |editor-last2=Salkin |editor-first2=Robert}}</ref>

Before the arrival of Europeans, Banda had an [[oligarchic]] form of government led by {{lang|id|orang kaya}} ('rich men') and the Bandanese had an active and independent role in trade throughout the archipelago.<ref name="Ricklefs1993">{{cite book|last=Ricklefs|first=M. C.|title=A History of Modern Indonesia Since c. 1300|edition=2nd|publisher=Macmillan|date=1993|place=London|isbn=9780333576892}}</ref>{{rp|24}} Banda was the world's only source of [[nutmeg]] and [[mace (spice)|mace]], spices used as flavourings, medicines, and preserving agents that were at the time highly valued in European markets. They were sold by [[Arab]] traders to the [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]]s for exorbitant prices. The traders did not divulge the exact location of their source and no European was able to deduce their location.

The first written accounts of Banda are in ''Suma Oriental'', a book written by the [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] [[apothecary]] [[Tomé Pires]] who was based in [[Malacca]] from 1512 to 1515 but visited Banda several times. On his first visit, he interviewed the Portuguese and the far more knowledgeable Malay sailors in Malacca. He estimated the early sixteenth century population to be 2500–3000. He reported the Bandanese as being part of an Indonesia-wide trading network and the only native Malukan long-range traders taking cargo to Malacca, although shipments from Banda were also being made by [[Javanese people|Javanese]] traders.

In addition to the production of nutmeg and mace, Banda maintained significant [[entrepôt]] trade; goods that moved through Banda included cloves from [[Ternate]] and [[Tidore]] in the north, [[bird-of-paradise]] feathers from the [[Aru Islands Regency|Aru Islands]] and [[Western New Guinea]], and ''massoi'' bark for traditional medicines and salves. In exchange, Banda predominantly received rice and cloth; namely light cotton ''[[batik]]'' from [[Java]], ''[[Calico (textile)|calicoes]]'' from [[India]] and ''[[ikat]]'' from the [[Lesser Sundas]]. In 1603, an average quality ''[[sarong]]''-sized cloth traded for eighteen kilograms of nutmeg. Some of these textiles were then sold on, ending up in [[Halmahera]] and [[New Guinea]]. Coarser ''ikat'' from the Lesser Sundas was traded for [[sago]] from the [[Kei Islands]], [[Aru Islands Regency|Aru]] and [[Seram]].