The Wakatobi Islands are part of a larger archipelago known as the Tukang Besi Islands, located in the Flores Sea to the southeast of Buton Island (Figure 1.1 this volume). Wakatobi is an acronym of the four main islands that make up the group, namely Wa (Wangi-Wangi), Ka (Kaledupa), To (Tomia) and Bi (Binongko)(Wikipedia 2020). This name was first used in 1959, when the Wakatobi region was administratively separated from the Buton Regency. The islands contain a rich cultural heritage record, but to date there is no management strategy to protect and enhance the cultural resources of Wakatobi. This study aims to provide an inventory of the forts present on the islands to assist in the development of a management strategy. The methods used include a surface survey, observation of the cultural relics and interviewing residents with knowledge of the issues under investigation.

The Wakatobi forts cannot be appreciated in isolation from the kingdom of Buton, which is recognised as one of the key maritime kingdoms instrumental in the acclaimed spice trade from the Maluku Islands during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (Andaya 1991). The Wakatobi forts had their origins during this period when they were developed as part of Buton’s four buffer zone (Barata pata mplena) system of governance. The Barata pata mplena included the locations of Kolensusu (based on the Buton mainland), Kaledupa (Wakatobi Islands), Muna and Tiworo (both on Muna Island). This was a multilayered defence system designed to protect the Buton kingdom from foreign, especially European, intervention. Evidence from two of the four Wakatobi forts, Fort Kaledupa and Fort Liya will be presented in this paper. They were developed as part of the defence system of the wider kingdom with its large and imposing central fort (Wolio) overlooking the anchorage at Bau-Bau, the centre of the Buton Sultanate. One of these fortified sites, Fort Liya, has been subsequently developed as a tourist attraction, so its investigation was a priority to provide information and advice on tourism and conservation strategies to the local government.