Fort Tolukko

Fort Tolukko is a small fortification located by the sea on the east coast of Ternate facing Halmahera. It was one of the colonial forts built to control the trade in clove spices, which prior to the eighteenth century were only found in the Maluku Islands. Sources variously ascribe its original builders as Portuguese, Dutch, and Spanish.

The most convincing claim is from the Spanish, original documents indicating that the Governor of the Spanish Philippines, Captain-General Juan de Silva dispatched an expeditionary force in 1611 under Captain Fernando de Ayala to construct the fort. With the Dutch fortress of Fort Oranye lying between Fort Tolukko and the main Spanish fortress of Kastella, the Spanish - who named the fort San Juan de Toloco - found it difficult to maintain Fort Tolukko, and it was abandoned by 1613. The Dutch subsequently took control of the fort, named it Fort Hollandia, but later handed it to Ternate's Sultan for use as a fortified royal residence.

Fort Tolukko's unusual phallic layout is more likely a function of the immediate topography than anything else. Its primary function was to dominate a rare coral reef-free landing point directly in front of the fort.

Fort Tolukko, located in the village of Dufa Dufa on the edge of Ternate City was renovated in the early 1990s and is open to the public.