The area of eastern Indonesia is part of the nation-state of Indonesia in the region of Southeast Asia. But this internationally defined nation-state and region were arbitrarily determined, and studies have revealed fissures that were oftentimes the result of colonial boundaries artificially drawn and based more on administrative convenience than true unities. Even after the removal of colonial control and the emergence of independent nation-states in the mid-twentieth century, the colonial political boundaries were generally retained, bequeathing to the new governments the ongoing problem of separatist movements within their borders. Complicating matters has been the later formation of regional associations, which have produced another layer of arbitrary entities. In this chapter I have ignored regional and national units that were created in Southeast Asia after World War II by arguing that eastern Indonesia can be properly and profitably studied as part of ‘Pacific’ society (Figure 25.1).