I am passionate about history, especially the history of geographical explorations and colonialism.
‘A Modest Arsenal: Gunpowder Weapons in Sri Lanka 1500 – 1820’ by Channa Wickremesekera published by TAP publishers in Colombo. This is the first in-depth look at the history of gunpowder weapons in Sri Lanka and fills void in the historiography of the region. The book can be purchased online from https://slbooks.lk/
Paper edition book of my research “The History of Trincomalee during Portuguese and Dutch rule”. The bay, called by the Portuguese “Baia dos Arcos”, where is situated the city of Trincomalee on the island of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) has always been considered as one of the best ports of the world. Its highly strategic position […]
For those who want the paper edition of my researches. I have just published, on Amazon worldwide, the second volume of two volumes on the history of the Spaniards in the Maluku Islands. The books contain much of what I have written (and published on colonialvoyage) on the subject over the last 25 years. The […]
For those who want the paper edition of my researches. I have just published, on Amazon worldwide, the first volume of two volumes on the history of the Spaniards in the Maluku Islands. The original Italian version: Gli Spagnoli nelle Molucche. Indice generaleGLI SPAGNOLI NELLE ISOLE MOLUCCHE 1 CAPITOLO PRIMO: I PRIMI CONTATTI DEGLI SPAGNOLI […]
A splendid book dedicated to the spice islands was published in April 2022. The book describes in detail the fortifications of the two islands of Ternate and Tidore in the Moluccas, the famous Spice Islands. The text of the book is bilingual in Spanish and English. From the book cover: “This book offers a precise […]
On the occasion of the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of Ferdinando Magellano’s first trip around the world. A new book about the Spice Islands has just been published by the Spanish publishing house Desperta-Ferro, specialized in Spanish military history. It is a large format book (384 pages, 189 x 246 mm), and includes old […]
The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands Written by Marco Ramerini. 2005-2020/23 INTRODUCTION In the early 2000s I had started researching the Spanish presence in the Spice Islands. Some of my research was published during those years. The largest, however, remained unfinished in the files on […]
The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands Written by Marco Ramerini. 2005-2020/23 CHAPTER TWO: THE CONQUEST OF TERNATE THE PREPARATION OF THE EXPEDITION BY D. PEDRO DE ACUÑA The Spanish response, this time, was not long in coming. The governor of the Philippines, D. Pedro de […]
The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands Written by Marco Ramerini. 2005-2020/23 CHAPTER THREE: THE GOVERNMENT OF JUAN DE ESQUIVEL, May 1606-March 1609 Governor Acuña, after conquering Ternate, left for Manila on May 3, 1606, where he arrived on June 2, 1606. Before leaving Ternate, he […]
The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands Written by Marco Ramerini 2005-2020/23 CHAPTER FOUR: THE GOVERNMENT OF LUCAS VERGARA GABIRIA (who performs the functions), March 1609-February 1610 THE APPOINTMENT OF LUCAS VERGARA GABIRIA AS GOVERNOR OF TERNATE At the beginning of 1609, on the death of […]
The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands Written by Marco Ramerini. 2005-2020/23 THE ARRIVAL OF CRISTÓBAL DE AZCUETA MENCHACA IN TERNATE The new governor of Ternate, the “mestre de campo” Cristóbal de Azcueta Menchaca, was appointed by the governor of the Philippines Don Juan de Silva.1 […]
The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands Written by Marco Ramerini. 2005-2020/23 CHAPTER SIX: THE GOVERNMENT OF D. JERÓNIMO DE SILVA, March 1612-April 1617 THE ARRIVAL OF D. JERÓNIMO DE SILVA IN TERNATE In the first months of 1612 several ships arrived in Ternate to reinforce […]
The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands Written by Marco Ramerini. 2005-2020/23 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE GOVERNMENT OF LUCAS VERGARA GABIRIA, April 1617-February 1620 THE ARRIVAL OF LUCAS VERGARA GABIRIA IN TERNATE In April 1617 a galley was sent from Manila to warn Don Jeronimo of the […]
The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands Written by Marco Ramerini. 2005-2020/23 CHAPTER EIGHT: THE GOVERNMENT OF D. LUIS DE BRACAMONTE, February 1620-1623 THE ARRIVAL OF D. LUIS DE BRACAMONTE IN TERNATE The new governor D. Luis de Bracamonte arrived in Ternate on February 10, 1620, […]
The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands Written by Marco Ramerini. 2005-2020/23 CHAPTER NINE: THE GOVERNMENT OF PEDRO DE HEREDIA, February 1623-1636 THE ARRIVAL OF PEDRO DE HEREDIA IN TERNATE Pedro de Heredia was a veteran of the Moluccas, and as governor he will set a […]
The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands Written by Marco Ramerini. 2005-2020/23 CHAPTER TEN: THE GOVERNMENT OF PEDRO MUÑOZ DE CARMONA Y MENDIOLA, March 1636-January 1640 THE ARRIVAL OF PEDRO MUÑOZ DE CARMONA Y MENDIOLA IN TERNATE The new governor of Ternate D. Pedro Muñoz de […]
The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands Written by Marco Ramerini. 2005-2020/23 CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE LAST SPANISH GOVERNORS OF TERNATE, 1640-1663 D. FRANCISCO SUÁREZ DE FIGUEROA Y ACEVEDO, January 1640-1642 The new governor D. Francisco Suarez de Figueroa had left Spain for the Philippines in 1608 […]
The Spaniards in the Moluccas: 1606-1663/1671-1677. The history of the Spanish presence in the spice islands Written by Marco Ramerini. 2005-2020/23 INDEX 1: The first contacts of the Spaniards with the Moluccas2: The conquest of Ternate3: The government of Juan de Esquivel, May 1606-March 16094: The government of Lucas de Vergara Gabiria (acting the functions), March 1609-February 16105: The […]
An interesting study has just been published regarding the latest Spanish presence in the Maluku Islands, it is the paper entitled “1677: el Fuerte de Santa Rosa en la isla de Siau, última presencia española en Indonesia”. The document is written by three leading researchers of the Spanish presence in the Maluku Islands: Antonio Campo […]
Written by Marco Ramerini – 2021 In 1618, three very bright comets were visible in Europe in the space of a few months. A very rare event, which we approached in 1996-1997 with the two spectacular end-of-the-century comets: Hyakutake and the even more spectacular Hale-Bopp, which was visible to the naked eye for 18 months. […]