The Nuku rebellion was an anti-colonial movement that engulfed large parts of Maluku Islands and Western New Guinea between 1780 and 1810. It was initiated by the prince and later sultan of Tidore, Nuku Muhammad Amiruddin (c. 1738 – 1805), also known as Prince Nuku or Sultan Nuku. The movement united several ethnic groups of eastern Indonesia in the struggle against the Dutch and was temporarily successful, helped by an alliance with the British East India Company. However, the movement was defeated after the demise of Nuku, and Maluku was restored under European rule. In 1995, Nuku was officially appointed a National Hero of Indonesia.

Nuku or Amiruddin was born in Soa Siu, Tidore, in about 1738. His father was Sultan Jamaluddin, a ruler of the Sultanate of Tidore, who was arrested and exiled to Batavia by the Dutch colonials in 1779. His junior kinsman was Kamaluddin who later became sultan and a rival of Nuku.

After the exile of Amiruddin's father, the Dutch appointed Kaicil Gay Jira as regent of the sultanate. Jira was later replaced by his son, Patra Alam; Amiruddin opposed this replacement. While Patra Alam ruled as Dutch-appointed sultan from 1780 to 1783, Amiruddin built a kora-kora armada around Seram Island and Papua.

In 1781, Amiruddin declared that he bore the title "Sri Maha Tuan Sultan Amir Muhammad Saifuddin Syah" ("The Great Overlord Sultan Amir Muhammad Saifuddin, the Shah"). Responding to this, the Dutch attacked and defeated Amiruddin's army, but they failed to catch Amiruddin himself. In 1783, the Dutch attacked Amiruddin's army again. The Dutch commander and most of his men were killed, and the survivors were captured.

In October 1783, the Dutch post on Tidore was attacked by Amiruddin's force, and all the Europeans were killed. This intensified the rivalry between the kingdom of Ternate and Tidore. In November of that year, Ternate helped the Dutch attack Tidore. In December, the Dutch enforced an agreement and appointed Sultan Hairul Alam Kamaluddin Kaicili Asgar, a prince exiled to Ceylon, as the new puppet sultan.

In 1787, Amiruddin's base in eastern Seram was attacked and seized by the Dutch forces; however, Amiruddin managed to escape. Amiruddin then built a new base on the island of Gorong. He also initiated a positive relationship with Britain. After receiving armaments from Britain, Amiruddin's army attacked the Dutch, winning this battle. The Dutch then offered Amiruddin a position if he would negotiate with Sultan Kamaluddin; Amiruddin refused this proposition. Instead, he increased the frequency of his attacks against the Dutch, who were assisted by Kamaluddin's forces. In 1794, Kamaluddin's son Zainal Abidin, who had returned from exile, supported Amiruddin's effort. Several rulers of Papua also sided with him. In February 1795, Amiruddin's son Abdulgafur led a force to Tidore.

Records show that Prince Nuku did not need long to gather troops in the outskirts of Tidore. Since the attack on Toloa, relations between Tidore and the three governments (especially Ternate) revolved around Prince Nuku's rebellion. Prince Nuku repeatedly attacked Dutch subjects, and in response the Dutch invaded areas whose residents were considered supporters of Prince Nuku. The newly appointed Sultan of Patra Alam became powerless, almost completely overshadowed by the power of the Nuku prince over the outskirts of Tidore.

On 14 July 1780, Toloa was finally attacked by the rebels. In his efforts to expel the rebels, the Governor of Ternate used the help of four kora-kora who brought along one hundred Europeans and the native Alifuru militia. About 30 Tidoreans were killed and the survivors fled inland. Only one Alifuru or European was injured. Even though the Dutch won this battle, they finally had a crisis of confidence in Sultan Jamaludin, and appointed Patra Alam as sultan.