Ternate is the major island of the Maluku Islands (Moluccas), which were known to Europeans as the Spice Islands. Together with neighbor Tidor, Ternate was the single largest producer of cloves in the world. Previously administered by warring Muslims sultans, the Spice Islands were first landed by shipwrecked Portuguese sailors in 1512. The fort was built in 1522, and Portugal fought constant battles with Ottoman-backed sultans, the Spanish, the British, and the Dutch to maintain control of the lucrative clove trade. In the 18th century, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) took governership of the islands. The demand for exotic spices finally waned in the 19th century, and Ternate was abandoned by the colonial Europeans.