In 1778, the Dutch ruler of Melaka at that time, Pieter Gerardus de Bruijn had issued a Dutch colonial coin in Melaka by carving the VOC symbols surrounded by a strange cypher code, referring to the Empire of the Sultanate of Riau-Riau.
What is the meaning behind the above events? What is the secret behind the influence of the empire in the Portuguese defeat in Melaka in 1641?
In November 1511, the Portuguese succeeded in completing the fortified town known as A Famosa. Why did the Portuguese rush to complete the city after having conquered the Malacca harbor in August 1511? The answer was that they knew that the Malacca Sultanate's empire did not join the war. will probably return to attack.
First of all, some of them are patrolling the Riau-Lingga waters and the second they carry out a rescue mission I have described in the article "The Secret Treasure of King Masusa & King Mahamut" click here.
Therefore the sultan and his people could attack the Portuguese position next year in July 1512, led by Admiral Hang Nadim, using the fleet. However the Portuguese defense in Malacca was so strong that the Portuguese had strict control over the biggest defense of the Malacca harbor their secret used when they conquered Malacca, the Melaka bridge.
For 129 years, the Malays fought, besieged and guerrilla attacks on A Famosa fort. From a small, often-fledged kingdom, constructed from a fleet that did not save Malacca, the Sultanate of Johor transformed into an empire that dominated parts of Sumatra , Singapore to Pahang. The impact was so great that Ayutthaya and Johor had helped Patani defeat Ayutthaya through the aid of his Pahang colony.
This makes the Portuguese just stoop in the port of Malacca and does not extend its power to the entire peninsula, as they do in the Americas.
Among the wars that took place after the fall of Malacca, whose objective was to attack the Portuguese position in Melaka:
July 1512 - Warriors of Admiral Hang Nadim.
Between 1513 - 1518 - The attack under Sultan Mahmud, also once again led by Admiral Hang Nadim.
1519 - The Malays have restricted food so they do not get to Malacca and force Portuguese to get help from Burma. No sea attack is recorded.
1520 - Under the command of Paduka Tuan and Sultan Abdul Jalil (Raja Kampar) the Malays have attacked the Portuguese in Malacca.
1577 - Johor helped Acheh invade the Portuguese
1587 - The army under the direction of Sultan Ali invaded the Portuguese in Melaka
1586-Naning people cut food supplies to the town of A Famosa, causing the Portuguese to lack food supplies.
In addition, there are other archipelagic kingdoms that attacked the Portuguese position in Melaka such as:
1513-Attacks from Jepara and Palembang.
1513-1521-Demak under Pati Yunus invaded the Portuguese.Armada largest with 375 warships in 1521.
1550 and 1573-Jepara Attack under Queen Kalinyamat. The largest was 300 warships in 1573. When they made camp on land adjacent to the Malacca port, the Portuguese attacked the fleet and some of the ships were on fire and this threw the Jepara army.
The Kingdom of Aceh, as well as one committed to attacking the Portuguese:
1537 and 1547 - Sultan Alauddin al-Qahhar invaded the Portuguese in Melaka.
1564 - Sultan Alauddin was friendly with Turkey and received 500 guns to attack the Portuguese, but the raid was in a hurry as Johor now established a win-win situation with the Portuguese.
October 1573 - Sultan Ali Riayat Shah, son of Sultan Alauddin al-Qahhar who died in 1571, invaded the Portuguese.
1578 - Acheh invaded the Portuguese.
1587 - Acheh once again invaded the Portuguese
1607-Under the sultan Iskandar Muda Mahkota Alam has deployed 236 ships and 20,000 troops to besiege Melaka for 5 months and almost conquered Melaka, but failed at the last minute when Pahang helped the Portuguese by attacking Acheh's position under the direction of Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah III, the Sultan Johor-Pahang at that time. Acheh's entry retreated in March 1629. When this was the era of the Three Segar War, the three sides, namely Johor, Acheh and the Portuguese used each other and attacked in uncertain political games.
If we see, their mistakes in attacking the Portuguese are because they are united and unobtrusive attacks. Then, they only attack from the sea, and this is indeed an advantage over the port city of Melaka. They do not take into account how confusing the Portuguese is when supplies their food was blocked by Naning, which was only about 2000 people.
However, all of these errors were studied by Johor which is now becoming bigger and becoming a rich empire.Johor began to build warships known as Johor gills which would later be used to invade the Portuguese.
"My ancestor was a dato, our admiral, high admiral, of his Highness's fleet. His galley was built of burnished teak, the lining of its cabin was of sandalwood, algum wood your Bible calls it, and the turret in its stern was covered with plates of solid gold. You will find record of it to this day in the state papers of Acheh ... "
(Ungku / Tuan Hakim in Wildman's journals)
Johor-Portuguese War 1641
Politics in the Straits of Malacca enters a new pattern and rhythm when the Dutch are passionate about controlling the spice trade in the Straits of Malacca. For that in April 1606, the Dutch sent 3 fleets of 11 ships:
1) Oranje
2) Nassau
3) Middelburg
4) Witte Leeuw
5) Zwarte Leeuw
6) Mauritus
7) Grote Zone
8) Amsterdam
9) Kleine Zone
10) Erasmus
11) Geuniveerde Provincien
... to seize the port of Malacca from the Portuguese hands. First of all the Dutch sent its commander Matelief de Jonge, to face the Sultan of Johor at that time, Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah III, to inform their purpose of attacking the Portuguese in Melaka. It appears that the Dutch have long studied politics in the Straits Melaka before attacking the Portuguese. At the meeting, the Dutch pledged not to disturb the Muslims within the territory of the influence of the Johor empire unlike the Portuguese who brought the spirit of the Crusades. The Netherlands also promised not to disturb the interests of Johor in the Straits of Malacca.Belanda also asked Johor not to attack it , in other words, is in the Netherlands or is friendly to the Netherlands.
But strangely, this battle, the Malays did not involve. It seems that the Sultan of Johor is keen to see whether the Dutch alone can defeat the fortified Portuguese in the City of Melaka, without any such betrayal as happened to the people of Melaka.
The Portuguese realized the dangers that came with the advance of the Dutch fleet, so in August 1606, Don Martin d'Alphonso de Castro, the Portuguese admiral had led 20 warships and met the Dutch fleet on 16 August 1606 in Tanjung Tuan, Melaka. The identified Portuguese ships are as follows:
1) Nossa Senhora da Conceição
2) São Simeão
3) São Salvador
4) Nossa Senhora das Mercês
5) Todos os Santos
6) São Nicolau
7) Santa Cruz
8) Dom Duarte de Guerra's galleon
9) Antonio
The battle began so fierce and the vessels involved began to bombard each other in bloody battles. But after a few days of war, the Dutch fleet had to retreat for some reason. It was a shame to the Dutch when it lost to the Portuguese and this would restrict its desire to dominate trade in the Straits of Malacca.
This has made the Netherlands feel that if they want to defeat the Portuguese in Melaka, they must make a serious deal with the Johor-Riau Empire. In September 1606, the Netherlands once again confronted Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah III and renewed the May 17, 1606 treaty, to asked Johor to join the war. This shows that the Dutch really wanted strong ally support like the Johor Empire to defeat the Portuguese who had embarrassed them in the last battles.
The Sultan finally agreed and in June 1640, the fleet of both sides approached the coast of Malacca with strength: . .
Dutch
1) 1500 sea soldiers (later increased to several hundred people)
2) 12 frigate warships, East Indiamen and ship-of-the-line.
3) 6 sloop small vessels
Johor-Riau Empire
1) 1500 sea troops
2) 10000 soldiers walking
3) 40 Johor gills warships
Portuguese strength at A Famosa, Melaka:
1) 500-1000 Portuguese sea soldiers
2) 200 European mercenaries
3) 50 Portuguese soldiers at the control post
4) 300 casados soldiers
5) 3000 militia soldiers
6) 14-20 warships carracks, galleons and caravel
Population in A Famosa town: 20000 mixed between Eurasian and a small number of local people like the Malays. The Malay population does not live in the city, but in the surrounding villages, forced by the Portuguese to supply food to A Famosa.
The attack on the A Famosa fort began in June 1640 with the order of Antonio van Diemen, Governor-General in Batavia with confidence in the experience of Sergent Major Adrian Antonissoon. Twelve ships and six boats formed within half a month besieged the beach to cut supplies, and monitored the Portuguese gunfire
In the war, Johor's walkers destroyed the paddy fields, fruits and vegetable gardens in Malacca and ordered the villagers not to feed themselves into the city. At sea, the Johor fleet controls the entrance to the Straits of Malacca from two direction to prevent any assistance either from Goa nor from unreliable traders. This exacerbates the Portuguese position in Melaka. It seems that the Malays have learned much from over a century of warfare with the Portuguese
After some time of war and besieging, finally on January 14, 1641,650 Dutch troops had come to the stronghold of S. Domingos from A Famosa town and made a serious attack. Kubu S. Domingos fell and subsequently, other fortresses were also able to enter by the troops of Johor who attacked from behind. A Famosa's castle was finally defeated, thus ending the 130-year Portuguese rule in Malacca.
The Johor troops see what happened in the Melaka City, formerly 130 years ago was the port between the richest in the world. They killed the surviving Portuguese soldiers, raging their keris and flies. However, they allow women, children and civilians who are helpless from hunger and they are all gathered in one place, which later forms the Portuguese Serani village in Melaka today. .
Then, Johor handed over A Famosa to the Dutch with pleasure. The Dutch who did not suspect anything did not know the Sultan of Johor at that time actually constructing the port in Riau, long while Melaka was still under Portuguese. Some time later, Riau became a port which is busy and Johor opens trade for all ships and this affects a little Dutch trade in Melaka. Netherlands then approached to develop Batavia, in Java.
In 1670, Balthasar Bort, the Dutch Governor of Melaka, ordered the renovation of the famous A Famosa gate. Addition to symbols and lines at the front of the gate, by removing the Portuguese flag and replacing with the VOC's coat of Dutch Indies Company. on the VOC, he ordered the carpenters to engrave the crossbow of the keris with the sword, the emblem of the Johor-Riau Empire fleet.
In 1778, the Dutch ruler in Melaka at that time, Pieter Gerardus de Bruijn had issued a Dutch colonial coin in Melaka by carving the VOC symbols surrounded by a strange cypher code, referring to the Johor-Riau empire. The letters 'I' 'O', 'O' refers to 'IOHO' ie Johor
The cross of the keris crossing with this sword was later passed by the Army's Deputy Setia Negeri or the Royal Johor Military Force. The Dutch carve the emblem of the Johor-Riau empire fleet over the VOC wheel is to commemorate their allies in this fierce war and to remind that Malacca is still beneath the influence of Johor as the absolute legacy of the Malacca Sultanate.
