Sumbawa or Soembawa, island (1990 pop. 965,674), 5,964 sq mi (15,447 sq km), Indonesia, one of the Lesser Sundas, between the Flores Sea and the Indian Ocean. Bima, with an excellent harbor, is the port for Raba, the chief town. Sumbawa is mountainous, rising to 9,168 ft (2,794 m); there are many volcanic peaks, most notably Tambora, whose 1815 eruption was one of the most violent of modern times. The island is nearly split in two, from north to south, by Saleh Bay, in central Sumbawa. The soil has been somewhat depleted, but corn, beans, and other subsistence crops are produced. Cattle raising is important.

Island, Lesser Sunda Islands, south-central Indonesia. Its irregular coastline includes Bima Bay, one of the best harbours in Indonesia. The island, with an area of 5,965 sq mi (15,448 sq km), is largely mountainous. Its highest point is volcanic Mount Tambora (9,354 ft [2,851 m]), which erupted in 1815, killing 50,000 people. Sumbawa was once part of the Majapahit empire. In 1674 the Sumbawanese nobility signed agreements that gave the Dutch East India Company some power over the island; the Dutch gained direct control in the early 20th century. Sumbawa was occupied by the Japanese during World War II and became part of independent Indonesia in 1950. Agricultural products include rice, corn (maize), coffee, and copra.

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Sumbawa is an Indonesian island, located in the middle of the Lesser Sunda Islands chain, with Lombok to the west, Flores to the east, and Sumba further to the southeast. It is in the province of West Nusa Tenggara. Sumbawa is 15,448 km² (three times the size of Lombok) with a population of around 1.5 million. It marks the boundary between the islands to the west, which were influenced by religion and culture spreading from India, and the region to the east that was not so influenced.

History

Four principalities in western Sumbawa were dependencies of the Majapahit Empire of eastern Java. Because of Sumbawa's natural resources it was regularly invaded by outside forces - Japanese, Dutch, Makassarese. The Dutch first arrived in 1605, but did not effectively rule Sumbawa until the early 20th century. The Balinese kingdom of Gelgel ruled western Sumbawa for a short period as well.

Historical evidence indicates that people on Sumbawa island were known in the East Indies for their honey, horses, sappan wood for producing red dye, and sandalwood used for incense and medications. The area was thought to be highly productive agriculturally.

Demographics

Islam was introduced via the Makassarese of Sulawesi.

Sumbawa has historically had two major linguistic groups who spoke languages that were unintelligible to each other. One group centered in the western side of the island speaks Basa Samawa (Indonesian: Bahasa Sumbawa) which is similar to the Sasak language from Lombok; the second group in the east speaks Nggahi Mbojo (Bahasa Bima). The kingdoms located in Sumbawa Besar and Bima were the two focal points of Sumbawa. This division of the island into two parts remains today; Sumbawa Besar and Bima are the two largest towns on the island, and are the centers of distinct cultural groups that share the island. The official estimate of population as at 2005 was 1,219,590.

Volcanoes

Sumbawa lies within the Pacific Ring of Fire. It is a volcanic island, including Mount Tambora (8°14’41”S, 117°59’35”E) which exploded in 1815, the most destructive volcanic eruption in modern history (roughly four times larger than the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, between Java and Sumatra, in terms of volume of magma ejected). The eruption killed as many as 72,000. It also apparently destroyed a small culture of Southeast Asian affinity, known to archaeologists as the Tamboran kingdom. It launched 100 cubic kilometers of ash into the upper atmosphere, which caused 1816 to be the "year without a summer."

Island use

The Western half of Sumbawa is used by Newmont Mining Corporation as a mine with high sources in nickel and copper.

References