The Spanish ship docked on the island of Talaud and Siau, on to Ternate. Spain built the Fort in Manado, since then Minahasa started in control of Spain. The resistance against the Spanish occupation culminated in 1660–1664.
The Dutch ship landed in Manado City in 1660 in assisting the struggle of the Minahasa Confederation against Spain. The United Nations republican association of members of the Minahasa Confederation entered into a Trade Agreement with the VOC. This trade cooperation agreement then made the VOC monopolize the trade, which gradually began to impose its will, eventually leading to the 1700s resistance in Ratahan which culminated in the Dutch Minahasa-War in 1809–1811 at Tondano.
The Spanish had already colonized the Philippine Islands. They made Minahasa a coffee plantation. Spain made Manado a center of coffee trade for Chinese merchants. Some Minahasan tribes helped Spain capture the Portuguese fort at Amurang in the 1550s. The Spanish colonists then built the fort in Manado. Finally, Spain controlled all Minahasa.
In the 16th century one of the first Indo-Eurasian communities in the archipelago was in Manado. The first king of Manado was Muntu Untu (1630). He was half Spanish ancestry. Spain later gave Minahasa to the Portuguese in exchange for 350,000 ducats in a treaty. The rulers of Minahasa sent Supit, Pa'at, and Lontoh to fight with the Dutch to force the Portuguese out of Minahasa. They succeeded in 1655. They built their own fortress in 1658 and forced out the last Portuguese a few years later.
By the beginning of the 17th century the Dutch had overthrown the sultanate of Ternate. They began to reduce the power of Spain and Portugal in the archipelago. In 1677 the Dutch conquered the Sangir archipelago. Two years later, Robert Padtbrugge, the governor of Maluku, visited Manado. He made an agreement with the Minahasan chiefs. This let the Dutch dominate for the next 300 years. However, direct rule by the Dutch only began in 1870. The Dutch helped unite the Minahasa confederation. In 1693 the Minahnians won a military victory against the Mongondow tribe in the south. Dutch influence increased and Christianity and European culture grew in Minahasa. The missionary schools in Manado in 1881 were one of the first attempts of mass education in Indonesia. Graduates of the schools could find work as civil servants, in the army, and in the Dutch East Indies government. Minahasa relations with the Dutch were often poor. There was a war between the Dutch and Tondano in 1807 and 1809. The Minahasa territory was not under Dutch direct rule until 1870. But eventually the Dutch and Minahasa became very close. So, Minahasa was often called the 12th Dutch province. Even in 1947, Manado formed the political movement of Twapro, short for Twaalfde Profincie (Twelfth Province) who wanted formal integration of Minahasa into the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The Japanese occupied the area from 1942 to 1945. was a period of deprivation, and the allied forces bombed Manado greatly in 1945. During the period of independence thereafter, there was a split between pro-Indonesian and pro-Dutch Minahasa. The appointment of Sam Ratulangi as the first East Indonesia governor then succeeded in winning Minahasa support to the Republic of Indonesia. After Indonesian independence, Indonesia is divided into 8 Provinces, and Sulawesi is one of these provinces. Sulawesi's first governor was S.G.J.Ratulangi, also known as a national hero. In 1948 in Sulawesi was formed the State of East Indonesia, which later became one of the states within the United States of Indonesia. The State of East Indonesia was dissolved, and merged into the Republic of Indonesia. Based on Law Number 13 Year 1964, formed North Sulawesi Province. 14 August 1959 was designated as the anniversary of the province.
In March 1957, North and South Sulawesi military leaders demanded more freedom from Java. They wanted more active development, sharing tax money fairly, and help against Kahar Muzakar's rebellion in South Sulawesi. They wanted a central government led by both Sukarno and Hatta equally. At first the movement of the 'Permesta' (Charter of the Struggle of the Universe) was merely a movement of reform rather than a separatist movement.
Negotiations between the central government and Sulawesi military leaders prevented violence in South Sulawesi, but Minahasan leaders were not satisfied with the outcome of the agreement and the movement broke out. Fearful of southern dominance, Minahasan leaders declared their own North Sulawesi autonomous state in June 1957. At that time the central government had controlled South Sulawesi, but in the North there were no strong figures of the central government and there were rumors that the United States was armed with rebellion in Sumatra North, also has links with Minahasan leaders.
The possibility of foreign intervention prompted the central government to request military assistance from southern Sulawesi. The Permesta forces were later removed from Central Sulawesi, Gorontalo, Sangir, and Morotai in Maluku. Permesta planes (supplied by the US and flown by Philippine, Taiwanese, and American Pilots) were destroyed. The US then moved on, and in June 1958 the central government army landed in Minahasa. The Permesta uprising ended in mid-1961.
The Sumatra and Sulawesi rebellions failed. They even helped to create what they did not want as the center reacted to the threat of rebellion. The central government authority increased while regional autonomy became weaker. Radical nationalism became stronger. Communist party power and Sukarno's power increased while Hatta weakened. Sukarno finally established guided democracy in 1958.
Since the 1998 reforms, the Indonesian government has begun to adopt laws that enhance regional autonomy, the main idea that Permesta fights for.
The climate of North Sulawesi is tropical with muzon winds. The West winds bring rain to the north coast from November to April. It changes to a dry south wind from May to October. Annual rainfall is from 2000 to 3000 mm. There are about 90–140 rainy days. Temperatures average 25 degrees Celsius. The average maximum air temperature was recorded at 30 degrees Celsius and the minimum average air temperature was 22.1 degrees Celsius.
The province of North Sulawesi is in the northern peninsula of Sulawesi Island. It is one of three provinces in Indonesia in important places on the Pacific Rim. The other two provinces are North Sumatra and Aceh Special Region. North Sulawesi is near the equator at 0.30–4.30 North Latitude (Lu) and 121–127 East Longitude (BT). The peninsula stretches from east to west. The Sangihe and Talaud Islands are the parts of the province farthest north. These are North Sulawesi's boundaries:
Most of mainland North Sulawesi Province is mountains and hills with valleys in between. Some mountains in North Sulawesi are Mount Klabat (1,895 m) in North Minahasa, Mount Lokon (1,579 m), Mount Mahawu (1,331 m) in Tomohon, Mount Soputan (1,789 m) in Southeast Minahasa, Mount Dua Saudara (1,468 m) in Bitung, Mount Awu (1,784), Mount Space (1,245 m), Mount Karangketang (1,320 m), Mount Dalage (1,165 m), in Sangihe and Talaud, Mount Ambang (1,689 m), Mount Gambula (1954 m) and Mount Batu Balawan (1,970 m).
The two largest lakes are: Lake Tondano (area of 4,278 ha) in Minahasa and Lake Moat (area 617 ha) in East Bolaang Mongondow. The main rivers are Tondano River (40 km), Poigar River (54.2 km), Ranoyapo River (51.9 km), Talawaan River (34.8 km) in Minahasa. Dumoga River (87.2 km), Sangkub River (53.6 km), and Ongkaw River (42.1 km) are in Bolmong and Bolmut.
Along the coast of North Sulawesi, both on the mainland coast and on the coast of the islands, there are several headlands and bays. The soil in the area was fertile for agriculture.