PROVINCE

North Sulawesi

North Sulawesi is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern peninsula of the island of Sulawesi, on the Minahasa Peninsula, lies south of Philippines and southeast of Malaysia. It borders Philippines to the north, the Maluku Sea to the east, Gorontalo to the west and the Gulf of Tomini to the south. The province's capital and largest city is Manado, and its population was 4,135,526 according to the 2010 census,  the latest official estimate (for January 2014) is 4,353,540. Manado is also the main gateway and the economic center of the province. Other major towns includes Tomohon and Bitung. As of the 2016 census of Indonesia, North Sulawesi's total population is 2.771.159. There are 41 mountains with an altitude ranging from 1,112 - 1,995 asl. Most geologic conditions are the young volcanic region, a large number of eruptions and the active cone shape of the active volcanoes that adorn the central Minahasa, Bolaang Mongondow and Sangihe Islands.

North Sulawesi in the past was an area of potential spices, rice and gold which became a battleground for the interests of economic hegemony between the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and the Kingdoms around this area, which ultimately led to political and military struggles. The past of this region also became the trading route between west and east and the spread of Christianity, Islam and belief or religion brought by Chinese merchants. The Portuguese first landed on the area at the 16th century. Following decades of war between the Portuguese, the Spanish and the Dutch to control the area, the area ultimately fell to the Dutch at the 17th century. The Dutch ruled the area for three centuries, before being ousted by the Japanese on the eve of World War II. Following the Japanese surrender in 1945, the Dutch briefly regained possession of the area, before finally leaving for good in 1949, following the Round Table Conference, in which the Dutch recognized the newly created United States of Indonesia (RIS). Thus, North Sulawesi is incorporated into the territory of the State of East Indonesia (NIT). Because it is not in accordance with the will of the people, NIT is finally dissolved and then merged into the Republic of Indonesia. On August 17, 1950, the RIS is officially disbanded and then re-formed as the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. The island of Sulawesi is briefly governed by one province, before being separated into several different provinces. Thus, the province of North Sulawesi was created on 14 August 1959.

Etymology

The area in what is now known as North Sulawesi is used to be called Minahasa. The name is still used sometime to refer to the province. The word Minahasa is etymologically derived from the words Mina-Esa (Minaesa) or Maesa which means being one or uniting, meaning hope to unite various sub-ethnic groups of Minahasa consisting of Tontemboan, Tombulu, Tonsea, Tolour (Tondano), Tonsawang, Ponosakan, Pasan, And Bantik. The word "Minahasa" itself was only used during the colonial eta. "Minahasa" is generally interpreted as "having become one". Based on several historical documents, the word "Minahasa" it firstly used by J.D. Schierstein, the Dutch regent of Manado, in his report to the Governor of Maluku on October 8, 1789. The word "Minahasa" in his report is defined as Landraad or "State Council" or "Regional Council".

Climate

Climate areas of North Sulawesi include tropical ones affected by muzon winds. In the months of November to April the West winds bring rain on the north coast, whereas in May to October a dry south wind changes. Uneven rainfall with annual rates ranging from 2000–3000 mm, and the number of rainy days between 90–139 days. Temperatures are at every level up to the height of the cool as the city area Tomohon, Langowan in Minahasa, Modoinding in Minahasa Selatan, Kotamobagu, Modayag and Pasi in Bolaang Mongondow District. The area that receives the most rainfall is the Minahasa area. Temperatures average 25 degrees Celsius. The average maximum air temperature was recorded at 30 degrees Celsius and the minimum average air temperature was 22.1 degrees Celsius.

The air humidity was 73.4%. However, the temperature is also affected by the altitude of the place above sea level. The higher the location, the lower the temperature also, with the calculation of every 100 meters increase can lower the temperature around 0.6 degrees Celsius.

Geography

The province of North Sulawesi is located in the northern peninsula of Sulawesi Island and is one of three provinces in Indonesia which has geoposition, geostrategy and geopolitical advantages and is located on the Pacific Rim. The other two provinces are North Sumatra and Aceh Special Region. Viewed from geographical location, North Sulawesi is located at 0.30-4.30 North Latitude (Lu) and 121-127 East Longitude (BT). The position of the peninsula stretches from east to west with the northernmost regions are the Sangihe and Talaud Islands. The archipelago is adjacent to neighboring Philippines.

Flora and Fauna

In general, the varieties of flora and fauna in North Sulawesi are similar to those in other parts of Indonesia, except for some animals not found in other areas such as Deer, Maleo, Taong, Mini Tarsius Spectrum in Bitung City Nature Reserve And Coelacanth off the coast of Manado. This area there are no wild animals except the type of snake and crocodile that there are not many.

In the sea off North Sulawesi, there are several species of fish, coral, and plankton. Several types of famous marine fish and is one source of foreign exchange, among others: tuna, skipjack, yellow tail, lobsters, and others. The condition of flora can be said that the mainland of North Sulawesi partly dominated by forest. Forest forest cover ranges from 300 meters from sea level to mountain tops with various types of good quality timber, including ebony (wooden) iron wood, linggua wood, cempaka wood, wooden nantu, gopasa wood, meranti wood, There are also rattan, and various types of Dammar. In addition, there are many plantation crops such as coconut, nutmeg, and cloves.

Demography

North Sulawesi recorded 4,135,526 people in the decennial 2010 Census, with 2,112,635 males and 2,022,890 females, growing at 1.41% over the previous census.^[3] The slowest growing regency was that of the Sangihe Islands. In 2010, about 68% were Christian(predominantly Protestant with a sizable Catholic minority), one of the few exceptions in the predominantly Muslim Indonesia, due to the prominent Dutch missionary activity during the colonial era. Also, because the Muslim-majority region of Gorontalo (then comprising a city and two regencies) was split off to form a new province in 2000. There are also Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhistminorities. The largest ethnic groups are the Minahasan in the north of the province and the Mongondow to the south. The province's chief city is Manado with population of 701,390 people in 2014.

Religion

Contrary to other province of Indonesia, most of the people of North Sulawesi adheres to Christianity, the next is Islam and then Hinduism. Christianity is the majority religion in several districts and cities including Minahasa, Sangihe, Talaud, South Minahasa, North Minahasa, Sitaro, Southeast Minahasa, Manado, Bitung and Tomohon. While Islam is the majority religion in Bolaang Mongondow District, Bolaang Mongondow Utara, South Bolaang Mongondow, East Bolaang Mongondow and Kotamobagu. Most of the Christians in North Sulawesi adheres to Protestantism, while significant Roman Catholicism community also exist in Manado and Bitung. Chinese folk religions community such as Confucianism and Taoism also exist, which is mostly concentrated in Manado, which has a significant Chinese population Manado also has a significant Judaism community. Currently, the only synagogue in Indonesia is located in Manado. There are around an estimated of 800 people in Manado who adheres to Judaism. As the Indonesian government only recognize 6 religions, those who adheres to Judaism can only put the officially unsanctioned religion in their ID cards.