Cloves have a long journey as a prima donna spice originated from Maluku, especially from Ternate and Tidore. It’s even known that cloves have been around for more than 500 years, estimated to have existed in 1492.

Cloves are dried flowers that come from the tree family of Myrtaceae. People have used cloves in cooking and traditional medicine for many years.

Afo is the first clove tree and also the oldest variety which now has dried up and the first generation of Afo has become extinct. Afo even witnessed the colonialism in Maluku Islands that crushed the power and sovereignty of the Sultans, at that time, into pieces.

This plant was popular with Arab traders and had traveled to Europe, traversed on the Silk Road that stretched from China to Europe. In 1769, a French captain smuggled clove seeds from Maluku to Romania. After that, the spread continued to Madagascar and Zanzibar.

Apparently, in the 17th to 19th centuries, within a lifetime of Dutch colonialism, Afo first generation was destroyed en masse by the VOC through the extirpatie policy.

This policy aims to maintain the stability of world clove prices and is a tangible manifestation of the spice trade monopoly that occurred in North Maluku.

The Netherlands only allows three areas as clove producers, i.e Hitu, Lei Timor, and Oeliassers, the southern part of Maluku. Meanwhile, the trees that grow outside the three areas must be destroyed, either by burning them or cutting them down.

The consequence of extirpatie implementation is that the clove trade in the northern region has completely shrunk and this commodity has fallen down.

However, the reforestation of cloves in the 1970s showed positive results. Slow but sure, this commodity improved and rose again. This improvement started from Tidore as well as other regions of Indonesia including Kalimantan, Java, and Sumatra. The seeds of the cloves for reforestation were imported from Java. 

There is another variety besides Afo cloves, called Raja cloves that also originated from Pulau Makian. Unfortunately, Raja cloves have become extinct several decades ago along with the eruption of Mount Kie Besi.

So, currently North Maluku produces Zanzibar cloves whose seeds were imported from Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Additional Info – The Habitat of Cloves

Cloves is a tropical flora that can grow in hot areas with a  sufficient water supply. Although this plant grows optimally in hot weather, it cannot survive in a long dry season or during a drought.

This plant can live at an altitude of 0 to1500 meters above sea level. The rainfall should be between 1500 – 4500 mm per year with the humidity of 60% to 80%. While the required temperature is 22-30 degrees Celsius with standard wind velocity.