ABSTRACT
The objective of this article is to describe the decline of the Loloda Kingdom in terms of power in the regions of the North Mollucas during the 17th to 20th century, which was marked by the change of leadership from Kolano (King) to Sangaji (District Chief). We argue that the following four important factors caused the decline: (1) the weak control of the Loloda Kingdom over its territory; (2) the exploitation of its natural resources; (3) the steady decline of population due to political conflict, war, and migration; and (4) the political and military intervention of foreign (European) powers in the Mollucas, which directly affected the sovereignty of Loloda. These four factors contributed to the decline of the Loloda Kingdom in the Mollucas region. The research methodology used here is derived from the stage-wise history of science: heuristics (searching for, finding, and collecting data); criticizing the source internally and externally; interpretation of resources; and historiography (writing history).
