A fascinating portrayal of the Spice Islands of the Moluccas by Portuguese geographer, soldier, administrator and artist Antonio Boccarro who was stationed in India in the early seventeenth century. He also recorded many sketches of the fortifications built throughout the Portuguese empire of the East.
The three main and four smaller islands of the chain are shown, with Antonio getting carried away with the vertical scale of the volcanos. But not by too much; Ternate is just 10 kilometres across, and the volcano is 1700 metres high! The sight of this line of soaring coral-fringed mountains rising out of azure tropical seas, and clad with what was once the most expensive spice on the planet is truly awe inspiring. And to add a bit more spice, the Equator crosses just past Makian (Maqviem on the map).
The Spice Islands are spectacular without even considering their history!