View of Tidore

Title on object: De Noord zijd van ’t Eijlandt Tydore

Tidore was one of the sultanates of North Maluku. We see the north side of the island of Tidore, a volcanic island which was the site of the capital. Wheres Tidore was an ally of the Spanish in the 17th century, Ternate just to its north was an ally of the Dutch. The centres of power of these two rivalling Sultanates where very close to each other; the north side of Tidore as depicted here could be seen from Ternate.

No other copies of this image survive and the source image is likewise unclear.

Part of the Carte di Castello, collected by Cosimo de Medici III in 1667 and 1669 during his tours through Europe. Cosimo III bought the 66 watercolours by Vingboons in December 1667 in Amsterdam, through mediation of Pieter Blaeu.