ACEH and the PORTUGUESE 1500-1579 F) April 1992
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( ACEH AND THE PORTUGUESE A Study of the Strugale of Islam ln Southeast Asla 1500-1579 by Amirul Hadi A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studles and Research in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Instltute of Isla mie Studles McGIII University Montreal. Canada f) April 1992 ( ACEH AND THE PORTUGUESE . ( Kupersembahkan buat Ayah dan Bundaku, Kakak dan Adlk-adlkku, serra semua keponakanku: Zlkra, Rlna, Usl, Putra dan Uzmah. ( rf ABSTRACT Author: Amirul Hadi Title: Aceh and the Portuguese: A Study of the Struggle of Islam in Southeast Asia, 1500-1579 Department: Institute of Islamic Studies Degree: M.A. The comlng of the Portuguese to Malacca in 1511 dlsrupted the existence of the people of the Malay-Indoneslan archlpelago, where trade and Islam were the main Influences. The Christian European intruders were regarded as both economic competltors and religious enemies. The Muslim kingdoms of the reglon put up fierce reslstance to the Portuguese. The strongest opposition was shown by Aceh. Its response was mainly expressed ln three aspects,; mllitary action, polltlcal maneuverlng and economic reactlon. Jihad (holy war) also played an important spiritual role ln the response. This reslstance comblned with the strategie location of Aceh in the northern tlp of Sumatra and the support of other Musllm powers accelerated the rlse of Aceh ln the slxteenth century. ii , , ( RESUME Auteur: Amirul Hadi Titre: Aceh et les Portuguais: une etude de la lutte de l'Islam dans le sud-est asiatique. 1500-1579 D6partement: Institut des êtudes islamk1ues Diplome: M.A. La venue des Portuguais à Malaka en 1511 a p8fturb6 la vie des habitants de l'archipel malais-indoneslen qui subissait alors surtout l'Influence du commerce et de l'Islam. Les intrus européens chr6tiens furent consid6r6s des concurrents sur le plan économique. et des ennemis ( sur le plan religieux. Les royaumes musulmans de la r6glon opposirent aux Portuguais une rhlstance féroce. La pluS forte résistance eut lieu al Aceh. Celle-ci prit essentiellement trois formes: action militaire. manoeuvres politiques et r6action économique. Le jihad (guerre sainte) joua aussi un rôle spirituel Important. Cette r6sistance. associant avec la position stratégique d'Aceh. qui se situe sur la pOinte nord de Sumatra. 10 soutien d'autres puissances musulmanes. a amen' l'adAratlon de l'Importance que connut Aceh au seizlime siècle. ( iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1 wish to express my gratitude to the McGiII Indonesia IAIN Development Project for its financial support during the past two years. My gratitude also goes to Professor H. Ibrahim Husein, the former rector of IAIN Ar-Raniry Banda Aceh-Indonesia, whose support and encouragement were of great value ta my studies. 1 would also like ta express my sincere thanks to Dr. A. Uner Turgay, the director of the Institute of Islamic Studles and my thesis advisor, for his criticism and patience in seeing this thesis through. My gratitude and sincere thanks also go to Dr. Howard M. Federspiel who kindly read the draft of this thesls and contributed his constructive criticism. His encouragement was of great assistance to me in completing this research. 1 would like to thank Ms. Salwa Ferahian 1rom the Library of the Institute of Islamic studies for her assistance in obtalnlng sorne important books for this thesis through interlibrary loans. Special thanks go to Steve Millier, Shafiq Virani and John Calvert for editing my Engllsh. My thanks also go to Roxanne Marcotte for the translation of the abstract Into French and to Eric Ross for the maps. Flnally, my great gratitude and love are dedlcated to my parents who, wlth their endless effort and love, guide me ln thls life. 1 iv ( LtST OF ABBREVIATIONS JMBRAS Journal of Ma/ayan Sranch of the Royal Aslatlc Society (Singapore) JRAS Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Sritain and lreland (London) JSSRAS Journal of Straits Sranch of the Royal Aslatic Society (Singapore) JSEAH Journal of Southeas' As/an History (Slngapore) JSEAS Journal of Southeast As/an Studies (Slngapore) ( ( v Li:ll:C!'\ InsU tute of lelaaio 8_1" 19.11.&L McGUl um.nni\J '1'JWISLlBU'1'lOI 'l'ABLI Co~=o~~~ts : • iniUal. UIlGpnee.a ,. ae4S.al .. 1111&11 ' .L-abic PeniM 1\anisb ANlIi. u_. 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Though the spelling Me/aka has been adopted by some recent authors, the more universal spelling Malacca is used in this thesis. The spellings of Aceh are numerous and include Acheh, Achem, Achin, Acheen and Atjeh. Atjeh was the preferred spelling in Indonesia until the government changed the spelling to Aceh in 1972 when it decreed an overhaul of the spellings of many Indonesian words (EJaan Bahasa Indonesia yang Disempurnakan). Therefore, the latter spelling is utilized here. An attempt has been made in this thesis to use standardized spellings. However, spellings used in direct quotations remain unchanged. ( ( vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ......•........•.............................. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . .. .......•.......... Iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................ .. .. Iv TRANSLITERATION TABLE .. .. .................. v A NOTE ON SPELLING ...... •..... ... ... ................ vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ......•....•.....•.. ................ vii INTRODUCTION. 1 Chapter 1: THE "THREE POWERS" DURING THE FIFTEENTH CENTURV A. Aceh in the Fifteenth Century . .. .•.... 9 B. The Emergence of Malacca. .. 28 C. The Portuguese in Malacca. .. 40 Chapter 2: THE RESPONSE OF THE ACEHNESE TO THE PORTUGUESE A. Milltsry Encounter . .. .. 51 B. Polltiesl Maneuver . .. 64 C. Trading Competition. • . .. 72 D. Islamic Response ............... , . .. 81 Chapter 3: THE EMERGENCE OF ACEH IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY A. The Rise of Aceh . ........ , 88 B. Aceh's Motivations. • . .. .. 108 CONCLUSION. .. ............... 114 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY . .. .. 119 MAPS . .. ............... 126 ( INTRODUCTION Few would deny that the comlng of the Portuguese to Malacca ln the early part of the sbdeenth century brought about a new era for the peoples of Southeast Asla. They were the flrst Europeans to come to the reglon. a reglon where trade and agriculture were the main actlvltles of the people. The ambition of the portuguese to domlnate the trading actlvltles and to spread Chrlstlanlty clearly upset native traders and polltlcal rulers of the reglon at a tlme when Islam was consolldatlng Its hold on the population and local rulers clearly empowered It as the "officlal" religion. Hence. the Portuguese were regarded as both trading competltors and rellglous adversarles. ( The reactlon of the people to the Portuguese presence in Malacca was formidable. The strongest opposition was shown by Aceh whlch was strateglcally located on the northern tlp of Sumatra; It was the flrst and most fraquent place touched by Islam ln the archlpelago slnee the seventh century. At the time the portuguese conquered Malacca ln the .rly slxteenth century Aceh emerged as a powerful Musllm klngdom. Its proximlty to Malacca across the straits made It a competltor for the Indlan Ocean trade as weil as a champlon of local Interests agalnst the Portuguese. The main task of thls thesls will be to answer two major questions: the first, how rjid Aceh respond to the Portuguese? and the second. to what extent did the response provide an impetus to the rise of Aceh? ( 1 2 This study focuses only on the history of Aceh du ring the period from '. 1500 to 1579. It might seem that the period covered is quite long. However, thls thesis concentrates on the relation of Aceh wlth the Portuguese and the Impact of this relation on the ri se of Aceh rather than on a complete study of the Muslim kingdom. It was durlng thls period that Aceh, for the flrst tlme, emerged as a strong Musllm klngdom ln the reglon. This rlse constltuted the basic foundation for the gOlden age of the klngdom in the seventeenth century, especlally du ring tha relgn of Sul~ân Iskandar Muda (1607-1636). Chapter one deals with the roles of Aceh. Malacca and the Portuguese durlng the fifteenth century. There were severa 1 main powers ln the northern part of the Island of Sumatra in this century: Pasal, Pidle, Daya, Lamurl and Aceh. They played an important role ln trade and Islamie propagation, especlally Pasal and Pidie. At thls time, Malacca had emerged as a power'ul and rich Muslim sultanate ln the archlpelago, based on its status as an Important entrepot in Southeast Asla. It was the wealth and potentlal of Malacca that motlvated the Portuguese, whose ambition was to domlnate the splce trade of the raglon and to spread Chrlstlanlty and to seize the port and city. The second chapter deals wlth the response of Aceh to the Portuguese in Malacca. The response Involved military force, polltlcal challenges, and trading competition.