TIDORE  or TIDOR, an

island of the Malay Archipelago, off the W. coast of Halmahera, S. of Ternate . It is nearly circular and has an area of about 3o sq. m . Several quiescent volcanic peaks, reaching S7oo ft., occupy most of the island, and are covered with forests . The capital, Tidore, on the east coast, is a walled town and the seat of a sultan tributary to the Dutch 'Thomson and Tait's Nat . Phil., app . E; Nature (Jan . 27, 1887): Wolf, Theories cosmogoniques (1886) . . and of a Dutch controleur (commissioner or agent) . By an agreement of 1879 the sultan exercises authority over some parts of Halmahera, the Papuan Islands, the western half of New Guinea and the islands in Geelvink Gulf . The sultanate is included in the residency of Ternate (q.v.) . The population, of Malay race and Mahommedans in religion, is about 8000 . They live by agriculture (cotton, tobacco, nutmegs, &c.) and fishing .