Buton is an island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

 in Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

 located off the southeast peninsula of Sulawesi

Sulawesi

Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...

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History

In the precolonial era, the island, then usually known as Butung, was within the sphere of influence of Ternate

Ternate

Ternate is an island in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It is located off the west coast of the larger island of Halmahera, the center of the powerful former Sultanate of Ternate....

. Especially in the sixteenth century it served as an important secondary regional center within the Ternaten empire, controlling regional trade and collecting tribute to be sent to Ternate.

Sultan Murhum, the first Islamic monarch on the island, is remembered in the name of the island's major harbor, Murhum Harbor, in Baubau.

Geography

Its largest town is Bau-Bau

Bau-Bau

Bau-Bau or Bau-bau is the main city on Buton island, Indonesia. Bau-Bau reached the city status on 21 June 2001, based on the Indonesian law number 13, year 2001...

, where the Wolio

Wolio language

Wolio is an Austronesian language spoken in Bau-Bau on Buton Island, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. Also known as Buton, it is a trade language and the former court language of the Sultan at Baubau. Today it is an official regional language; street signs are written in Wolio using the Arabic...

 and Cia-Cia

Cia-Cia language

The Cia-Cia language , also known as South Buton, is an Austronesian language spoken principally around the town of Bau-Bau on the southern tip of Buton Island off the southeast coast of Sulawesi in Indonesia....

 languages are spoken. Major nearby islands include Wowoni

Wowoni

Wowoni is an island in the Banda Sea, Indonesia, off the south east coast of Sulawesi. Its area is 715 km²....

 (North), Muna and Kabaena (West) and Siumpu (Southwest). The Tukangbesi Islands

Tukangbesi Islands

Tukangbesi Islands is a group of islands off the coast of Sulawesi immediately east of Buton island in the Banda Sea region, and part of Sulawesi Tenggara. There is a Tukang Besi language...

 lie just to the east where Tukang Besi is spoken, and is separated by the Gulf of Kolowana Watabo (Teluk Kolowana Watabo).

Batuatas Island is to the south. Also the Bouton Passage(as it was known in pre Independence era) was an important inter-island navigational location of the northern Flores Sea

Flores Sea

The Flores Sea covers 93,000 square miles of water in Indonesia.- Geography :The seas that border the Flores Sea are the Bali Sea , Java Sea , and the Banda Sea ....

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Ecology

The island is largely covered by rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

 and is known for its wildlife. It is one of only two habitats of the anoa

Anoa

Anoa, also known as Dwarf Buffalo and Sapiutan, are a subgenus of Bubalus comprising two species native to Indonesia: the Mountain Anoa and the Lowland Anoa . Both live in undisturbed rainforest, and are essentially miniature water buffalo...

, a type of buffalo

Bubalus

Bubalus is a genus of bovines, whose English name is buffalo. Species that belong to this genus are:* Subgenus Bubalus** Water Buffalo, Bubalus bubalis*** Carabao, Bubalus bubalis carabanesis...

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People

The languages spoken on Buton include Wolio

Wolio language

Wolio is an Austronesian language spoken in Bau-Bau on Buton Island, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. Also known as Buton, it is a trade language and the former court language of the Sultan at Baubau. Today it is an official regional language; street signs are written in Wolio using the Arabic...

, Cia-Cia

Cia-Cia language

The Cia-Cia language , also known as South Buton, is an Austronesian language spoken principally around the town of Bau-Bau on the southern tip of Buton Island off the southeast coast of Sulawesi in Indonesia....

, various dialects of Muna, Tukang Besi, Kumbewaha, Lasalimu, Kamaru, Pancana, Busoa, Taloki, Kulisusu and Kioko. The Indonesian language

Indonesian language

Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....

, the national language of Indonesia, is also widely used and taught in schools.

In 2009, the Cia-Cia tribe in Bau-Bau city began to use the Korean Hangul

Hangul

Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...

 alphabet for their language, based on textbooks created by the Hunminjeongeum Society

Hunminjeongeum Society

The Hunminjeongeum Society, sometimes called the "Hunminjeongeum Research Institute" in English-language newspaper accounts, is a private organization in Seoul dedicated to the propagation of hangul to all the unwritten languages of the world...

, a linguistic society in Seoul.

Economy

The island is a major producer of asphalt

Asphalt

Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...

 and other minerals.
July 2011: PT Wijaya Karya Tbk (IDX

IDX

Indonesia Stock Exchange or in Indonesian Bursa Efek Indonesia is a stock exchange based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It was previously known as Jakarta Stock Exchange before its name changed in 2007 after merging with Surabaya Stock Exchange...

:WIKA) and PT Timah Tbk (IDX:TINS) have agreed to make Rp. 250 billion ($29.4 million) first-stage asphalt plant with share 60 percent and 40 percent respectively.

Administration

Buton island is administered under 3 second level administrative divisions (Daerah Tingkat II): Bau-bau

Bau-Bau

Bau-Bau or Bau-bau is the main city on Buton island, Indonesia. Bau-Bau reached the city status on 21 June 2001, based on the Indonesian law number 13, year 2001...

 City, Buton Regency

Buton Regency

Buton Regency is a regency of South East Sulawesi, Indonesia. The principal town lies at Bau-Bau....

, and North Buton Regency

North Buton Regency

North Buton Regency is a regency of South East Sulawesi which separated from Muna Regency based on Law Number 14 Year 2007. The principal town lies at Buranga....

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However, the eponymous archipelago is administered under additional 3 more: Muna Regency

Muna Regency

Muna Regency is a regency of South East Sulawesi, Indonesia. The principal town lies at Raha....

, Wakatobi Regency, and Bombana Regency

Bombana Regency

Bombana Regency is a regency of South East Sulawesi, Indonesia. The principal town lies at Rumbia....

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