FLORES ISLAND

ADMINISTRATION OF FLORES ISLAND

Flores island one of the islands in eastern Indonesia, and also one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. The population of Flores island was 1.831 million in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. Flores is Portuguese for "flowers". Flores island is located east of Sumbawa and  Komodo and west of Lembata and the Alor Archipelago. To the southeast is Timor. To the south, across the Sumba strait, is Sumba and to the north, beyond the Flores Sea, is Sulawesi. On December 12, 1992, an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale occurred, killing 2,500 people in and around Maumere, including islands off the North coast.

FLORA AND FAUNA OF FLORES ISLAND

The west coast of Flores Island is one of the few places, aside from the island of Komodo itself, where the  Komodo dragon can be found in the wild, and is part of the Komodo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Kelimutu National Park is the second national park designated on Flores Island to protect endangered species. The Flores Giant Rat is also endemic to the Island.

Flores Island was also a habitat of an extinct dwarf form of the proboscidean Stegodon until approximately 18,000 years ago; it also formerly harbored giant rodents such as Verhoeven's Giant Tree Rat. It is speculated by scientists that limited resources and an absence of advanced predators drove the few species that lived upon the island to dwarfism and gigantism, respectively.

Kelimutu Lake Tours

Borneo Orangutan

Komodo Dragon Tours

HOMO FLORESIENSIS OF FLORES ISLAND

Homo, species hominid discovered small skeletons that they described as a previously unknown paleoanthropologists in western Flores, Cave  Liang Bua In September 2004, at     floresiensis. These are informally named hobbits and appear to have stood about 1 m (3.3 ft) tall. The most complete individual (LB1) is dated as 18,000 years old.

CULTURE OF FLORES ISLAND

There are many languages spoken on the island of Flores, all of them belonging to the Austronesian family. In the centre of the island in the districts of Ngada, Nage, keo, and Ende there is what is variously called the Central Flores Dialect Chain or the Central Flores Linkage. Within this area there are slightlinguistic differences in almost every village. At least six separate languages are identifiable. These are from west to east: Ngadha, Nagekeo, Ende, Lio andPalu'e, which is spoken on the island with the same name of the north coast of Flores island. Locals would probably also add So'a and Bajawa to this list, which anthropologists have labeled dialects of Ngadha.

Flores island is almost entirely Roman Catholic and represents one of the "religious borders" created by the Catholic expansion in the Pacific and the spread of Islam from the west across Indonesia. In other places in Indonesia, such as in the Maluku Islands and Sulawesi, the divide is less rigid and has been the source of bloody sectarian clashes.

HISTORY OF FLORES ISLAND

Portuguese. Their influence is still discernible in Sikka's language, Sikka and Larantukatraders and missionaries came to Flores Island in the 16th century, mainly to culture and religion.

The Dominican order was extremely important in Flores island, as well as in the  and Solor. When in 1613 the Dutch attacked the Fortres of Solor, the population of this fort, led by the Dominicans, moved to the harbor town of Larantuka, on the eastern coast of Flores. This population was mixed, of Portuguese and local islanders descent and Larantuqueiros, Topasses (people that wear heats) or, as Dutch knew them, the 'Black Portuguese' (Swarte Portugueezen).neighbouring islands of Timor

The Larantuqueiros or Topasses became the dominant sandalwood trading people of the region for the next 200 years. This group used Portuguese as the language for worship, Malay as the language of trade and a mixed dialect as mother tongue. This was observed by William Dampier, a British Brigadier visiting the Island in 1699

These [the Topasses] have no Forts, but depend on their Alliance with the Natives: And indeed they are already so mixt, that it is hard to distinguish whether they are Portugueze or Indians. Their Language is Portugueze; and the religion they have, is Romish. They seem in Words to acknowledge the King of Portugal for their Sovereign; yet they will not accept any Officers sent by him. They speak indifferently the Malayan and their own native Languages, as well as Portugueze.

In 1846, Dutch and Portuguese initiated negotiations towards delimiting the territories but these negotiations led to nowhere. In 1851 the new governor of Timor, World War II a Japanese invasion force landed at Reo on 14 May 1942 and occupied Flores. After the war Flores became part of independent Indonesia.Solor and Flores, Lima Lopes, faced with an impoverished administration, agreed to sell eastern Flores and the nearby islands to Dutch in return for a payment of 200000 florin. Lima Lopes did so without the consent of Lisbon and was dismissed in disgrace, but his agreement was not rescinded and in 1854 Portugal ceded all its historical claims on Flores. After this, Flores became part of the territory of Dutch East Indies. During 

TOURISM OF FLORES ISLAND

The most famous tourist attraction in Flores Island is Kelimutu, a volcano containing three colored lakes, located in the district of Ende close to the town of Moni. These crater lakes are in the caldera of a volcano, and fed by a volcanic gas source, resulting in highly acidic water. The colored lakes change colors on an irregular basis, depending on the oxidation state of the lake from bright red through green and blue. There are snorkelling and diving locations along the north coast of Flores, most notably Maumere and Riung. However, due to the destructive practice of local fishermen using bombs to fish, and locals selling shells to tourists, combined with the after effects of a devastating tsunami in 1992, the reefs have slowly been destroyed. Labuan Bajo (on the western tip of Flores) is a town often used by tourists as a base to visit  Komodo and Rinca. Labuanbajo also attracts scuba divers, as whale sharks inhabit the waters around Labuan Bajo. The Luba and Bena villages include traditional houses in Flores. Larantuka, on the isle's eastern end, is known for its Holy Week festivals.