In their search for spices, the Portuguese arrived in Indonesia in 1511, after their conquest of the Islamic kingdom of Malacca on the Malay Peninsula. They were followed by the Spaniards. Both began to propagate Christianity and were most successful in Minahasa and Maluku, also known as the Moluccas.
The Sultan of Aceh in Sumatra, the Sultan of Demak in Java and the Sultan of Ternate in the Maluku islands joined forces in trying to ward off the Portuguese. At that time the power and sovereignty of Ternate sultanate was recognized by more than 72 islands, including the island of Timor. In 1570, the Portuguese succeeded in killing the Sultan of Ternate, Khairun. However, his successor, Sultan Baabullah, besieged the Portuguese fortress at Ternate. Baabullah then allied himself with the Dutch to further confront the Portuguese and Spaniards.
In 1651 the Dutch invaded Kupang in Western Timor. Despite the Dutch presence in Timor, the formal and precise definition of the territories controlled by the two colonial powers did not take place until more than 200 years after the Dutch conquest of Kupang. It was only on 20 April 1859, the Dutch concluded a treaty with Portugal to divide Timor into their respective control : The Dutch occupied the Western part and Portugal the eastern part of the island. From that time Portugal could secure a full control over East Timor until it left the region in 1975.
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