Valentijn also mentioned the peace talks between Herman van Speult of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and a local ruler named Sengadji in 1619.

The Hoamoal Peninsula region in western Seram was a center of the spice trade since before the 17th century's and Buano Island had the advantage of being a safe harbor during the west monsoon season.

The VOC succeeded in winning the war and in 1656, and subsequently carried out forced displacement of residents to various regions in western Seram in an effort to quell further rebellion.

After the capture of the Netherlands East Indies by Japan during World War II in 1942, Boano, together with the rest of the Moluccas, was assigned to the zone of occupation of the Japanese 2nd Fleet.

The occupation formally ended in August 1945; however, the newly-proclaimed Republic of Indonesia was unable to establish its power in such a remote region, and in early 1946 the Netherlands regained control of Boano without resistance.

A few months later, Boano, along with all the Moluccas, Sulawesi and the Lesser Sunda Islands, was included in the quasi-independent State of East Indonesia.