the Moluccas to the Portuguese was used by the Dutch to gain a foothold in Maluku. In 1605, the Dutch managed to force the Portuguese to surrender their defenses in Ambon to Steven van der Hagen and at Tidore to the Sebastiansz Cornelisz. Similarly, the British fortress in Kambelo, Seram Island, was destroyed by the Dutch. Giving the Dutch control of most of the Maluku region. The Dutch position in Maluku grew stronger with the establishment of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in 1602, and since then the Netherlands has become the sole ruler in Maluku. Under the leadership of Jan Pieterszoon Coen, Chief of Operations of the VOC, the clove trade in Maluku was under VOC control for almost 350 years. For this purpose, the VOC did not hesitate to expel the Portuguese, Spanish and the British. Tens of thousands of Moluccans were victims of VOC brutality. During the Napoleonic Wars, British forces captured Maluku as the Netherlands were under French occupation. After the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814, the British returned Maluku to the Dutch. The Dutch returned in 1817. The return of the Dutch in 1817 evoked strong resistance from the Moluccans. This was due to political, economic and social relations conditions that had been bad for two centuries. Moluccan people of the Ambon Islands rose up and took up arms under the leadership of Thomas Matulessy who was given the title Kapitan Pattimura, a former major sergeant of the British army. On May 15, 1817, an attack was launched against Fort Duurstede on Saparua island, resulting in the death of Resident Johannes Rudolph van den Berg and his family. Pattimura was assisted by Philip Latumahina, Anthony Ribok, and Said Orders. The news of this Pattimura's victory aroused the spirit of popular resistance throughout Maluku. Paulus Tiahahu and his daughter Martha Christina Tiahahu fought the Dutch on Nusa Laut, and Kapitan Ulupaha in Ambon. But this resistance was crushed by the Dutch, being heavily outnumbered. On December 16, 1817, Pattimura and his colleagues were sentenced to death on the gallows, at Fort Niew Victoria, Ambon, while Martha Christina Tiahahu died on the boat during her voyage to Java and her body was released into the Banda Sea. Modern era During the outbreak of the Pacific War on December 7, 1941, as part of World War II the region was occupied by the Japanese. Governor General A.W.L. Tjarda