Sulawesi Utara

▪ province, Indonesia

English  North Celebes 

      propinsi (province), north-northeastern Celebes, Indonesia, bounded by the Celebes Sea to the north, the Molucca Sea to the east, and the Gulf of Tomini to the south. It includes the Talaud and Sangihe groups of islands in the Celebes Sea. The provincial capital is Manado. In 2000 the western portion of the province was split off to form the province of Gorontalo, with its capital at Gorontalo city.

      Celebes formed part of the Buddhist Śrivijaya empire of Palembang (Sumatra) until the 14th century, when it passed under the rule of the Hindu Majapahit empire of eastern Java. With the gradual disintegration of the Majapahit Empire toward the end of the 15th century, many kingdoms such as Gorontalo, Limboto, and other smaller Minahasa states were established in the region. The southern Celebes state of Gowa, ruled by the Makasarese, adopted Islam in 1605 and extended its sovereignty over these states. The Dutch, who had arrived on Celebes in 1609 and built a fort at Manado in 1658, attacked Gowa with the help of the Buginese of Bone (now called Watampone) and defeated Gowa in 1669. The Dutch subsequently established other trading and military posts in northern Celebes. During the 18th-century wars between the Makasarese and the Buginese, the states in northern Celebes survived as Dutch protectorates. The British took over the island in 1810–16. The refusal of the southern Celebes states to accept Dutch colonial sovereignty after the island reverted to the Dutch in 1817 led to prolonged warfare that ended with a Dutch victory in 1860. Unsuccessful sporadic resistance continued until colonial Dutch rule was firmly established in 1905. After Japanese occupation (1942–45) during World War II, the Celebes formed part of the Dutch-sponsored state of East Indonesia until it was incorporated into the Republic of Indonesia in 1950.

      Most of the province is mountainous, with extensive uplifting and faulting, and has many active volcanoes, notably Mount Soputan. Mount Klabat on the Minahasa Peninsula rises to an elevation of 6,634 feet (2,022 metres). The coastal lowlands are narrow, the soils are fertile, and there are coral reefs offshore. The uplands are drained by many fast-flowing streams, including the Milango and Marsa. The highlands are covered with rainforests of oak, chestnut, and conifers; hillslopes have teak and a dense ground cover of grasses and shrubs. Agriculture is the principal occupation, and rice, coffee, sugarcane, nutmeg, and coconuts are grown. Riverine fish are dried and salted for export. Industries produce processed food, beverages, leather goods, milled rice, carved wood, mats and baskets, and palm oil. Nickel and iron are mined, and ebony is processed. Roads run mostly parallel to the northern seacoast, and Manado is linked with Amurang, Tondano, Kotamobagh, Limboto, and Gorontalo City. The population is made up of Minahasan (Menadonese), many of whom are Christians. Area Sulawesi Utara, 28,412 square miles (73,587 square km); Gorontalo, 4,716 square miles (12,215 square km). Pop. (2000) Sulawesi Utara, 11,649,655; Gorontalo, 835,044.

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