II. THE RISE OF MALACCA

The most outstanding feature of the period now following, which ended with the coming of the Portuguese to Asia, was the concen­tration of commerce in the Malay-Indonesian area and of shipping from East and West on one central point. For a variety of reasons the commercial town of Malacca rapidly achieved prosperity.

According to the Sejarah Melayu 1 (the version of the Malay chronicle which was written in the early 17th century) and also according to Malay legends of much earlier date to be found in the works of the Portuguese writers - legends older, perhaps, than the version of the Malay Annals in the "Raffles" M.S. reputedly drawn up about 1536 -there was a close connection between the foundation of Malacca and the downfall of <;rivijaya.2 Tome Pires was the first Portuguese writer to acquaint us with this tradition. The events which he relates had taken place 140 years previously and so, of course, their accuracy could no longer be checked, but he too tries to establish a connection between <;rivijaya and Malacca.

A fugitive prince from Palembang, possibly of Javanese descent and married.to a Javanese princess, who probably fled his country because of a Majapahit attack on Sumatra (after 1377, therefore),3 is reputed to have settled in Singapore after murdering the Siamese ruler who was in authority there. The basis of the future trading state was a small pirate stronghold which, as a result of a punitive expe­dition by the Siamese, moved a little later on to the place where Malacca was to rise, after a halfway post had been set up on the river Muar.4 Malacca's obscure md rather shady beginnings, based as they were on piracy, are plainly distinguishable through the mists of tradition. The most faithful followers of the founder of the Malay dynasty seem to have been the Celates,5 the proto-Malay coastal population 6 who used their small, light boats for fishing and piracy.? According to Pires, some of the Celates became the nobles of the new state.8

M. A. P. Meilink-Roelofsz, Asian Trade and European Influence© Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, Netherlands 1962

28 RISE OF MALACCA

Pires' account of the piracy engaged in by the Celates agrees with a report in Chinese sources about a mysterious watering place for passing ships, which was also a market, on one of the five islands southeast of the mouth of the Malacca river, a pirate stronghold which was just starting to conduct trade on a legitimate basis. At a later stage the trading activities must have been transferred from the islands to the mainland. 9

The new settlement soon experienced a great influx of newcomers who mingled with the original inhabitants. But as only a very small section of the population engaged in farming, and agricultural land therefore remained confined to the immediate neighbourhood of the town and closely bordered by tropical jungle, Malacca became largely dependent on other regions for her food supplies.

Thanks to the reports in Chinese sources, we can form some idea of what early 15th century Malacca was like. It is still a pretty primitive community which Ma Ruan describes.1o The bridge over the Malacca river which gives the town its special character seems to have been already standing. This bridge, so famous in later days, with its long row of little shops like an eastern Ponte Vecchio, was the meeting place of the merchants. The vast majority of the popUlation were simple fishermen who lived in primitive pile-dwellings on the river bank and went fishing in little boats every bit as primitive as their houses. Special provisions were already being made to encourage foreign trade. Chinese merchants who went there with their junks found storage sheds inside a wooden enclosure which had gates that could be locked and a watchtower where a watchman with a bell kept guard at night against trouble.l1 Ma Ruan, and also Fei Hsin writing somewhat later (1436), commends the honest and upright character of the inhabitants 12 although in view of the special measures required to prevent robbery and supprise attacks, there must have been some undesirable elements among the foreigners who flocked there from far and wide.l3 The sole export was tin, which was mined in the mountains of the interior and smelted into blocks.14

Pires' account of this early period in Malacca's history leaves one with the impression that the development of the settlement into a central market town took place according to some sort of plan.15 Peace and order were essential, and also a reasonable understanding with the neighbouring states. But at the same time Malacca felt itself to be vrivijaya's successor and as such had to strive to gain control of both sides of the straits. This policy was determined by strategical objectives

RISE OF MALACCA 29

coupled with the desire to obtain export products for trading purposes and to ensure continuity of food supplies.

On the Malay Peninsula, Pahang was conquered for use as an advanced base against Siam, and later a branch of the Malaccan dynasty ascended the throne there.16 The country had to pay a certain weight in gold as its yearly tribute,l7 In the years which followed, supremacy was also established over Trengganu, which lay to the north of Pahang, and over Kelantan. Malacca did not dare to take issue against powerful Patani, which was inhabited by Malays but where Siamese influence was strong.1S

Treaties were concluded with various tin-producing places such as Klang, Selangor, Perak, Bernam, Mangong and Bruas, by the terms of which they had to supply the Malaccan sultans with a certain amount of tin each year.19 These places were also of some importance as far as Malacca's food supplies were concerned. The inhabitants used to take their products to the port in small coastal proas. Malacca's dominion over the tin districts brought her into conflict with Kedah, which laid claim to a certain amount of authority in those parts. 20 Although Kedah itself managed to evade the clutches of Malacca's imperialism, it nevertheless lost its authority over the tin districtS.21

A prerequisite for the safety of foreign trade entering the port was the suppression of piracy in the Malay Straits. Very early the straits of Singapore and the island of Bintang in the southern part of the peninsula came under Malacca's authority. The Celates had their headquarters there and the sultans of Malacca made use of these people and their small, light craft and forced them to serve in the fleet for part of each year,22 which did much to increase security in those regions. But even so, the Celates did not abandon their former profession entirely. 23

Far more dangerous, however, than Malacca's old allies, the Celates, were the pirates from the little state of Aru on the opposite coast of Sumatra who undoubtedly belonged to the same family of "sea gypsies." They gave the Malay Straits a bad name among foreign traders and played havoc along the coasts of the Malay Peninsula.24 The "king" of this small state lived some distance inland and directed the pirate expeditions of his many small, but fast-sailing, vessels from the securi­ty of the inaccessible, marshy interior. The proceeds of these expe­ditions went partly to the king and partly to his subjects, who had helped to finance the pirate armada. 25 Because of Aru's proximity this piracy constituted a great danger and was highly inconvenient to

30 RISE OF MALACCA

Malacca and for that reason the Malaccan rulers made earnest en­deavours to subjugate Aru, but without lasting effect.28 At the beginning of the 16th century the Aruan pirates were as notorious as ever 27 and the Portuguese could not do much about them either. Malacca's expansionist policy met with more success in the lands between the Rokan and Jambi rivers, especially in Kampar, Siak and Indragiri.

As far as Malacca was concerned, Kampar was the most important of the little states on the opposite coast of Sumatra because via this country it was possible to control the export of pepper and gold from the Minangkabau hinterland and at the same time it fonned a point d'appui for further expansion North and South.28 Kampar was conquered outright, although later on it obtained a government of its own with some measure of independence. Victory over Siak gave Malacca control of the Siak gold supply. 29 EconOInica1ly speaking, Siak as the principal port of Minangkabau probably retained some degree of independence but when the Portuguese arrived it was still paying tribute to Malacca in the form of gold.3o Indragiri was also obliged to subInit to Malaccan imperialism, but the bond there was much slacker.31

Malacca also extended her authority to the islands lying between the Malay Peninsula and the coast of Sumatra. There the Riau­Lingga Archipelago with its very warlike population was sub­jugated.32 The tribute which Malacca exacted from the subordi­nate states consisted partly of products for re-export and partly of able-bodied men. The latter especially were supplied by the sea­faring peoples - the Celates, the population of Rokan (which had fonnerly belonged to Aru) and the very aggressive Orang Laut of the Riau-Lingga islands.ss They formed the crews of the Malaccan war fleet by means of which Malacca implemented her policy of expansion.

It was easier for Malacca to control her dependencies on Sumatra than those on the Malay Peninsula because the big rivers in Sumatra made it possible to penetrate further into the interior of the countries concerned. As had been the case in Pahang on the Malay Peninsula, a son of the Malaccan royal faInily was placed on the throne of Kampar to strengthen Malaccan influence there. However, since the accession to a throne was largely a matter of palace intrigue at the court of the sultans of Malacca, not much reliance could be p1ac ed upon the loyalty of the new rulers. 34

RISE OF MALACCA 31

The rest of Sumatra remained outside Malacca's direct political influence, however close economic ties might become.

The nascent port tried to live at peace with the large countries of South and East Asia. To counterbalance the Siamese who, having unified their country and founded the new capital, Ayuthya, were thrusting steadily southwards, Malacca's ruler tried to link up with China, and it is actually in Chinese sources that the name of Malacca is mentioned for the first time (1403}.35 Subordination to China had the advantage that the tribute exacted was reciprocated by gifts and marks of honour, whereas Siam levied its tribute in gold but gave nothing in return.

This was the time when China, which under the Ming dynasty had recovered from the Mongol domination, was undertaking a policy of expansion in a southerly direction coupled with the establishment of commercial relations.3s Ambassadorial missions under the leadership of the eunuch Cheng-Ho visited Indo-China, the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian Archipelago. These missions even penetrated as far west as the Persian Gulf. A huge war fleet with thousands of soldiers was required to lend force to China's pretensions.3? When Cheng-Ho reached Malacca in 1409 he raised the country to the rank of a Chinese vassal kingdom.

Intermarriage between Malays and Chinese, particularly in the higher social classes, played a part in the history of the rise of Malacca.3 The important share held by the Chinese in the trade of the port will be discussed later. 3D

In sending ambassadors to the Celestial Kingdom, the Malaccan rulers were assuring themselves of the protection of a powerful but, fortunately, remote sovereign. In the long run, as their power and prestige increased, the Malaccan sultans adopted a more independent attitude towards China. Tribute missions were discontinued in the course of the 15th century, and it was only when danger threatened from the Portuguese that tribute was once more paid to China and the Malaccan sultan sent urgent appeals to China for help.

The Malaccan rulers also tried to remain on friendly terms with Siam, which represented much more of a threat than China because it was nearer at hand, but they only succeeded in doing so in the very early days when Siam considered that it had nothing to fear from the still unimportant settlement.4o Dependent as it was on food supplies from Siam,41 Malacca recognized its authority and Siamese immigrants even appear to have settled in the new commercial centre. But in the

32 RISE OF MALACCA

long run conflict proved inevitable when Malacca's efforts to consoli­date its trading position in the Straits and its correlated expansion on the Malay Peninsula, brought it up against the imperialistic aspirations of the Thais in a southerly direction.

The state of war which existed with Siam during the greater part of the 15th century does not seem to have caused a complete break in commercial relations, and probably trade continued with occasional interruptions.42

The relationship with the Javanese of Majapahit was an extra­ordinarily delicate one. In view of its own completely inadequate food production, it was, quite literally, a matter of life and death for Malacca to induce Javanese traders to visit the port, particularly when food supplies from Siam proved unreliable. Moreover, if Malacca wished to attract international trade it had to be sure of a regular supply of spices, and these were in Javanese hands. Its efforts in this direction determined Malacca's attitude towards the commercial town of Pase, which up till then had been of the utmost importance as far as Javanese commercial traffic was concerned.

The Malaccan rulers sent the tribute demanded of them to the Javanese Hindu ruler43 ; at the same time, however, they began to intrigue against the government of Majapahit in the seaports of northern Java, which had begun to break away from the Hindu kingdom in the course of the 15th century. These towns were infinitely more important to Malacca than the good will of the Hindu ruler (who was withdrawing deeper into the interior) and so Malacca, which had turned Mohammedan by that time, became an ally of the north coast Javanese in their struggle against the Hindu kingdom of Majapahit. Malacca encouraged Moslem missionaries to propagate their doctrine in the Javanese ports.44

Before the Javanese began to visit the Malaccan market regularly brisk commercial traffic had been carried on between the Javanese seaports and the north Sumatran pepper port of Pase. Ever since the rise of this small harbour-principality, the Javanese had taken their rice and spices there and brought back cargoes of pepper in return. The vassal relationship, probably dating from the time of Majapahit's campaign in Sumatra,45 was strengthened - in spite of the fact that Pase's ruler was Moslem - by a firm treaty of friendship with the Javanese Hindu kingdom,46 which guaranteed supplies of spices to Pase as well as providing a market for its pepper. The Javanese probably sold the latter product to the Chinese, some of whom visited

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Pase themselves while others went no further than the Javanese ports. The Javanese merchants enjoyed a very privileged position in the port of Pase and were exempted from import and export duties, while they could also count on good, lucrative, return freights.47

The ruler of Malacca, which was then in the process of deVelopment, tried to entice the Javanese junks to his port too. If we are to believe Pires, he did not employ the old forcible methods of <;rivijaya and Tumasik to make the Javanese call there. On the contrary, he tried to achieve his ends by peaceable means through remaining on a friendly footing both with nearby Pase, which was still too strong for Malacca,48 and with Majapahit, whose decline was not yet so complete that it could no longer prohibit or prevent the sailing of the Javanese ships. He attempted to obtain a share of Pase's trade by making the necessary promises of advantageous terms for Pase's own merchants. At the same time, however, he was obviously aiming at attracting not only Pase's products, in particular gold and pepper, but also foreign traders to Malacca.

But Pase was an Islamic centre and its ruler a fervent Moslem and zealous proselytizer. He made his compliance with Malacca's request dependent upon its conversion to Islam.49

To Malacca, however, a change of faith meant an important break with its tradition, which was so closely associated with Buddhist <;rivijaya. Moreover, it would not do to affront Majapahit too deeply. Pires' rendering of the story of this change of faith makes it clear how much resistance and hesitation had to be overcome. 50 But Pires' version is a critical appreciation and quite unemotional compared with the fantastic miracle-conversion of Malacca's ruler described in the Malay traditions of much later date.51 Meanwhile the Malaccan ruler had not ceased his efforts to earn the goodwill of the Javanese traders, and even before his definitive conversion to Islam Javanese junks were beginning to set course for Malacca instead of for Pase. In any case, the harbour of Malacca was more conveniently situated and more sheltered than that of Pase and perhaps market conditions were better. Perhaps, too, Malacca already had a larger population than Pase, which would mean a better market for Javanese rice. Chinese junks also started calling at Malacca instead of at PaSe.52 Rich Moslem merchants, Bengali and Arabs, moved from Pase and established themselves in Malacca.53 They maintained business connections with their old place of residence and the town undoubtedly derived some advantage from this fact. But part of their capital assets and some of

34 RISE OF MALACCA

their business connections went with them to MaIacca. Yet Pase and the more northerly situated Pidie remained indispensable to Malacca because of their pepper exports. Moreover Pase was a port of call for traders who did not touch at Malacca and so Malacca could profit from the commercial activity of these traders via Pase.54 The port of Pidie was important to Malacca not only for its pepper but also for the rice which it supplied.

Malacca had sound reasons, therefore, for remaining on good terms with Pase.

Together with the Moslem merchants, Mohammedan preachers came to Malacca, especially Arabs renowned for their knowledge of doctrine.55 The Hindu ruler of Malacca put no obstacles in the way of his new Moslem subjects who were contributing so much to the commercial prosperity of his kingdom. On the contrary, he promoted their establishment and permitted them to practise their religion and to build mosques, and he also granted them jurisdiction over their own affairs. Their personal influence on the sovereign was probably not inconsiderable and this, combined at least to a like extent with commercial and political necessity (especially in connection with the struggle for independence from Siam and Java), ultimately brought about the sultan's conversion to Islam, probably before the second quarter of the 15th century. 56 The Malay population rapidly followed their ruler's example and Islam found general acceptance. 57 In its turn, Malacca became a centre for the propagation of Islam.

Under later sultans Malacca even became a centre of Mohammedan culture, and Moslem literature, mysticism and law were studied in "the eye of the sun." 58 Its policy of expansion caused the dissemination of the new culture in the conquered territories on the Malay Peninsula and the east coast of Sumatra. The intensity of conversion was de­termined by the degree of Malacca's political influence. In a land like Indragiri, where the political ties with Malacca were much looser than in the other subordinate states, Islam took much longer to penetrate. 59

Malacca's trading activities caused Mohammedanism to spread over a still wider area, and in this connection it seems that commerce was actually a very important factor in the Islamization of the archipelago. For example, Malacca played an important part in the conversion of the Spice Islands although the Javanese seaports, which had themselves turned Moslem under the influence of Malacca,60 were also partly responsible for this change of faith.

In sultan Mudhafar's time (died c. 1456) the fame of Malacca had

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already spread to western Asia. The lords of Aden and Hormuz and the rulers of Cambay and Bengal sent letters and gifts and encouraged their merchants to set up business in Malacca.61 The connection must have been religious and commercial rather than political because when Malacca needed help against the Portuguese the sultan appealed in the first instance to China.62

Shortly before the town fell into Portuguese hands in 15II, Malaccan trade reached its peak, an amazingly rapid development taking less than 100 years. For there was a world of difference between the rather primitive community described in Chinese sources at the beginning of the 15th century and the commercial emporium depicted by the Portu­guese writers at the end of that same century.

In order to give an accurate picture of trade at the end of the 15th century, separate treatment is required. We shall have to consider not only the bearing and density of the commercial traffic but also the organization of trade and the circumstances under which it occurred.

The above summary is intended only to present the historical background against which the prosperity of the most important commercial emporium in southeast Asia at the end of the 15th century should be seen.