As the propeller plane flew over the eastern part of the island of Sumbawa – Flores’ big neighbor to the west – Mount Sangeang Api emerged from the Flores Sea, puffing grey smoke from its lava dome. Two weeks earlier the volcano erupted and spewed volcanic ash to the sky which then traveled eastward, forcing the closure of the Komodo National Park in the western fringes of Flores and canceling flights to and from Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory.
Minutes later the plane made its last sharp turn towards Maumere with the view of rugged mountain ridges hugging the blue Maumere Gulf, while the towering hills and mountains of Pulau Besar – literally ‘big island’ – across the gulf slowly disappeared from sight. The airport was small and later we learned from our local guide and driver that our flight was the last one arriving to Maumere that day. It was only 4 pm.
With 75,000 residents Maumere was the biggest town on Flores. However despite its meager size compared to the towns in Java, the residents proudly boasted Pope John Paul II’s visit to Maumere in 1992 – the smallest town ever visited by a pope, purportedly. Not surprisingly the majority of Florenese are Roman Catholics, a remnant from the long Portuguese rule on the island from the 16th century until 1854 when the Dutch effectively took control of Flores. But it was only five years later that Lisbon officially ceded the island to the Dutch when the Treaty of Lisbon was signed by both governments.
It was José Joaquim Lopes Lima, the governor of Flores and Timor who sold the island to the Dutch along with other smaller islands amidst financial difficulties his administration grappled with, an act he did without the consent of Lisbon. The Dutch, in return, ceded their control of Maubara, Ambeno and the island of Atauro to the Portuguese – a small exchange from the Dutch side compared to what they obtained.
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