Perdagangan Cengkih Dan Pembentukan Komunitas Muslim Di Ternate Pada Masa Awal Islamisasi: Kajian Literatur

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the role of the 16th-century spice trade network as the primary medium for the spread of Islam in the Indonesian Archipelago (Nusantara), as well as its impact on the socio-political dynamics of coastal societies. To achieve this objective, a historical research method was employed, consisting of four stages: heuristics (collection of secondary sources and maritime historiography), source criticism (verification of data validity), interpretation (synthesis of historical facts), and historiography (analytical historical writing). The results indicate that following the fall of Malacca in 1511, alternative trade routes emerged along the western coast of Sumatra, the Sunda Strait, the northern coast of Java, and the Maluku Islands. This condition fostered the rise of new port cities such as Aceh, Banten, Demak, Makassar, and Ternate-Tidore. The spread of Islam occurred peacefully and gradually (penetration pacifique) through the business ethics of Muslim traders, intermarriage, the establishment of Pekojan settlements, and the institutionalization of education in mosques and pesantren by sufi scholars. Furthermore, the spice trade strengthened the political and financial legitimacy of local rulers, triggering a structural transformation from Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms into sovereign Islamic maritime sultanates. The conclusion emphasized in this study is that the 16th-century spice trade was not merely an economic activity, but a central pillar of Islamic integration and maritime political consolidation in Nusantara against European expansion.