Aru Archipelago

The Aru Islands lie in the Arafura Sea south of New Guinea, their low, forested islands separated by narrow waterways. Traders from Banda and Makassar came to these shores seeking pearls, tortoiseshell, sea cucumbers and other valued goods. In the seventeenth century the Dutch East India Company sought to confine Aru's trade to Banda and Ambon, though the islanders' connections reached beyond the Company's control.