[4] To keep the archipelago productive, the VOC repopulated the islands (including Api), mostly with slaves taken from the rest of modern-day Indonesia, India, the coast of China, working under command of Dutch planters (perkeniers).

The Dutch continued to rule the island until 1949, although the economic importance of nutmeg and mace declined greatly due to the loss of the Dutch monopoly after the British successfully planted nutmeg trees in other parts of the world (especially Penang and Grenada) following the Invasion of the Spice Islands in the Napoleonic Wars in 1810.

Banda Api erupted on May 10, 1988, from a N-SSW-trending fissure that cut across the island, with both explosive activity and lava effusion occurring.[7]).

To the south, north, and northwest of the summit, three craters formed, from which lava flows emerged that all reached the sea.

Three people died as a result of the volcanic eruptions and most of the inhabitants chose to relocate to Banda Neira.