Ternate is the major island of the Maluku Islands (Moluccas); which were known to Europeans as the Spice Islands. Together with neighbor Tidor; Ternate was the single largest producer of cloves in the world. Previously administered by warring Muslims sultans; the Spice Islands were first landed by shipwrecked Portuguese sailors in 1512. The fort was built in 1522; and Portugal fought constant battles with Ottoman-backed sultans; the Spanish; the British; and the Dutch to maintain control of the lucrative clove trade. In the 18th century; the Dutch East India Company (VOC) took governership of the islands. The demand for exotic spices finally waned in the 19th century; and Ternate was abandoned by the colonial Europeans.