Banggai

Banggai lies among the islands off eastern Sulawesi, where sea routes lead towards Ternate, Buton and the Sula Islands. Its kingdom was centred on Banggai Island and maintained relations with the rulers of Ternate and Gowa through trade, friendship and marriage. The island shores and passages formed the setting for a polity whose influence extended across neighbouring waters. The fourteenth-century Nagarakertagama mentioned Banggai among ports connected by routes through eastern Sulawesi. By 1682 a Dutch account credited its rulers with authority over Banggai, Peleng and many smaller islands, as well as parts of the Sulawesi coast. Connections with European traders became increasingly tied to agreements that brought outside powers into the kingdom's affairs.