n.
or Sulawesi
Island (pop., 1999 est.: 4,1,768,400), Indonesia.
One of the Greater Sunda Islands , it lies in the Malay Archipelago east of Borneo and has an area of 72,775 sq mi (188,487 sq km). The island is mountainous; its tallest peak, Mount Rantekombola, reaches 11,335 ft (3,455 m). Muslims arrived in the 15th century. The Portuguese first visited in 1512 while developing the spice trade of the Moluccas . The first foreign settlement, in 1607 by the Dutch at Makasar (now Ujung Pandang ), initiated a power rivalry with the native sultans that lasted into the 20th century. Celebes joined Indonesia in 1950, though communist rebellions against the central government have been ongoing.