    thumb|250px|map of the banda islands the banda islands () are a volcanic group of ten small volcanic islands in the banda sea, about  south of seram island and about  east of java, and are part of the indonesian province of maluku. the main town and administrative centre is bandanaira, located on the island of the same name. they rise out of  deep ocean and have a total land area of approximately . they have a population of about 15,000. until the mid-19th century the banda islands were the world's only source of the spices nutmeg and mace, produced from the nutmeg tree. the islands are also popular destinations for scuba diving and snorkeling. == history == ===pre-european history=== the first documented human presence in the banda islands comes from a rockshelter site on pulau ay that was in use at least 8000 years ago. before the arrival of europeans, banda had an oligarchic form of government led by orang kaya ('rich men') and the bandanese had an active and independent role in trade throughout the archipelago. banda was the world's only source of nutmeg and mace, spices used as flavourings, medicines, and preserving agents that were at the time highly valued in european markets. they were sold by arab traders to the venetians for exorbitant prices. the traders did not di
Archipelagoes_of_Indonesia Banda_Islands Banda_Sea Central_Maluku_Regency Dutch_East_India_Company Geography_of_Maluku_(province) Portuguese_colonialism_in_Indonesia Volcanic_groups