*Untuk melihat semua artikel Sejarah Bangka Belitung dalam blog ini Klik Disini
Ada apa di Pulau Mendanau tempo doeloe? Suatu
pulau diantara Selat Stolze dengan pulau Belitung. Lantas apakah ada hubungan
nama pulau Mendanau di Belitung dengan nama pulau Mindanau di Filipina? Satu terminologi
sejaman dengan itu adalah Ilano. Namun apakah ada kaitannya dengan terminology yang
muncul di Kawasan sebagai (orang) Lanun? Hasil penelitian sejarah kerap
mengejutkan (lepas soal benar atau salah). Ada kalanya kesalahan sejarah atau
kebohongan sejarah, jika diulang-ulang dan terus diulang, ada yang menganggap
menjadi kebenaran sejarah. Bagaimana dengan pulau Mendanau?
Mendanau is an island in the Bangka Belitung province of Indonesia. Located about 6 km off the west coast of Belitung and 20 km from the town of Tanjung Pandan, it is the fourth largest island in the province after Bangka, Belitung and Lepar. Administratively it forms - with about 27 satellite islands - the Selat Nasik District of Belitung Regency, and it is home to 5,674 people at the 2020 Census, mostly spread in 3 settlements. The island is located in the Gaspar Strait separating the two large islands. Being the largest island in its archipelagic district, Due to its small size, the island consists of a long coastline with a forested interior. Mostly having a flat terrain, the highest elevation of the island reaches about 179 m. The coastline of the whole island is fringed by a fringing reef from the Holocene, measuring about 75 km. The island comprises the majority of the populations and territory of 3 out of 4 villages within the Selat Nasik District: Suak Gual, Petaling and Selat Nasik. The district office is located in the latter. During the Indonesian Revolution, as NICA forces retook Tanjung Pandan, local members of the TKR engaged them in a brief armed clash which killed several in both sides before the pemuda surrendered unconditionally. As with other islands in the area, agriculture and fisheries dominate the island's economy. In 2016, local fishermen landed 4,601 tonnes of fish. Rubber, pepper and coconut are important cash crops with palm oil plantations beginning to grow within the island. About 30 kilometers of paved road are present in the island (Wikipedia)
Lantas bagaimana sejarah Pulau Mendanau tempo doeloe, antara Selat Stolze dan Pulau Billiton? Seperti disebut di atas, pulau Mendanau adalah pulau terbesar kedua di kepulauan Belitung. Namanya Mendanau mirip dengan Minadanau, apakah ada hubungan keduanya? Lalu bagaimana sejarah Pulau Mendanau tempo doeloe, antara Selat Stolze dan Pulau Billiton? Seperti kata ahli sejarah tempo doeloe, semuanya ada permulaan. Untuk menambah pengetahuan dan meningkatkan wawasan sejarah nasional, mari kita telusuri sumber-sumber tempo doeloe.