Contested Coastlines: Diasporas, Trade and Colonial Expansion in Eastern Sulawesi 1680-1905 drs Esther Joy Velthoen This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Murdoch University, 2002 I declare that this thesis is my own account of my research and contains as its main content work, which has not previously been submitted for a degree at any tertiary education institution. To my parents Rena Westra and Andy Velthoen Abstract In this study, the small-scale, polycentric polities in eastern Sulawesi are the prism through which political processes at the local and regional levels are explored in the period 1680-1905. Such small-scale polities were the most prevalent mode of political and social formation in the Indonesian archipelago and retained a high degree of autonomy up to the imposition of direct Dutch rule in 1905. The three sections of this study trace the position of these polities as they were integrated into overlapping spheres of regional influence that were dominated, but not controlled, by regional political centres. When the Dutch colonial state started to expand its influence over the seas, intervene in local conflict and suppress raiding in the middle of the nineteenth century, the traditional political system in which eastern Sulawesi participated was increasingly defined as a colonial periphery in relation to the remote centre of Batavia. Part one hones in on the local level: because of the small-scale of political units, individual leaders played an important role not only at the local level, but also in relations with external allies and traders. The dynamism of the polycentric structure of east coast polities was driven by the rivalry and co-operation between such individual leaders and by their ability to establish relations with regional centres and traders. The second and third parts discuss the historical developments in eastern Sulawesi in the periods 1680-1830 and 1830-1905. The themes of local conflicts and regional tributary relations with the regional centres of Bone, Ternate, and the VOC are discussed in relation to the multi-layered, dynamic system of political and economic relations that existed in these periods. In the last decades of the nineteenth century, economic changes and colonial anti-piracy campaigns started to undermine the regional system, which was based on shifting alliances, decentralised raiding and regional integration through diasporas. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements v Introduction: Perspectives, Themes and Sources 1 Small-scale Societies; Concepts and Perspectives 4 Themes 16 Historical Sources on Eastern Sulawesi 30 Part One: Small-scale Polities in Eastern Sulawesi 49 1 Leaders and Polities in Eastern Sulawesi 51 Small-scale Polities in the Southeast Asian Context 52 The Resources of Leadership 58 Leaders and Followers 72 Warfare and Raiding in Eastern Sulawesi 85 2 Polycentric Polities: Competition, Conflict and External Centres 97 The Polities and Geography of Eastern Sulawesi 97 The Politics of Polycentrism; Competition, Conflict and External Allies 108 Internal Tensions and External Allies in Tobungku 125 Part Two: Diasporas, Tribute and Warfare 1680-1825 141 iii 3 Diasporas, Tributary Relations and Local Conflict in Eastern Sulawesi 1680-1780 143 Regional Spheres of Influence in Transition 1680-1715 143 Banggai versus Mendono: Local Conflict and Regional Relations 1680-1715 152 Contrasting Perspectives on Tributary Relations in Eastern Sulawesi 162 Containing Local Violence in a Regional Context 167 4 Shifting Networks and New Diasporas 1780-1825 185 Eastern Sulawesi as part of Bone’s Sphere of Influence 190 Tripang Production and Bajo in Eastern Sulawesi 200 Raiding Diasporas 211 Part Three: The Making of a Periphery 1825-1905 235 5 A Contested Periphery: Eastern Sulawesi and Colonial Expansion 1825-1848 237 Anti-piracy Measures 1820-1835: Negotiation and Incorporation 238 Contested Spheres of Influence: Bone versus Ternate 252 6 Local Conflict and Alliances on the Shifting Colonial Frontier 1848-1880 267 The Tobungku-Tomori Conflict: Local Conflict and the Moving Colonial Frontier 265 Contested Claims and the Second Bone-Dutch War 1859-1860 276 Anti-Piracy Campaigns and Shifting Alliances ca. 1845-1880 282 7 Commodities, Cash Crops and the Colonial Bureaucracy 1880-1905 299 Small-scale Societies and the Cash-crop Commodities 1880-1905 300 Loose Ends of the Colonial State 309 Small-scale Polities in Eastern Sulawesi 1880-1905 316 iv Conclusion: The End of a Regional System 335 Bibliography 343 Glossary 369 Maps I Historical Eastern Sulawesi II Bugis Influence and settlement in Eastern Sulawesi III Banggai IV Tobelo and Magindanao routes, bases and settlements affecting the east coast of Sulawesi in the first half of the 19th century V The Indonesian Archipelago VI Sulawesi with provincial boundaries before 2001. VII The Sarasins’ map of their journey through the southeastern peninsula in 1903 v Acknowledgements In the long process of writing this thesis I was fortunate to receive support from relatives, friends, teachers, and institutions. The ‘Indische’ writers first awakened my interest in the Netherlands-Indies. They shed a new light on the familiar objects and books my father had brought from the Netherlands-Indies where he served as a soldier in the Dutch army in the troubled years of 1946-1950. Unwittingly, I followed in his trail to Makassar, Toraja and Kendari. His interest in my work was unfaltering. Willem IJzereef encouraged me to work on parts of Sulawesi that were less well known, which focussed my attention on Sulawesi’s east coast. Heather Sutherland’s encouragement and supervision of my ‘scriptie’ led me on to further expansion of the topic into a PhD. Greg Acciaioli became much more than an intellectual companion, and in many ways this thesis is a legacy of the years we spent together. His unmitigated enthusiasm for things Bugis and his inspired anthropology made a lasting impact on my outlook on life and my intellectual approach. In Perth, I was welcomed into the ‘kampung Melayu’, a group of Indonesian students and their families who lived in my neighbourhood, and were also overseas students finding their way in Australia. Kasiyah’s good cheer and Thontowi’s insights into Sulawesi societies were most appreciated. I was fortunate to be part of a varied group of fellow-Asianists. Carolyn Brewer, Ian Chalmers, Steve Dobbs, Jocelyn Grace, John McCarthy, Malcolm Mintz, David Hill, Annemarie Medcalf, Sally Sargeson, Krishna Sen, Paul Stange, Paul Tickell, Carol Warren and others gave breadth and depth to the notion of Asian Studies. Gitte Heij helped me keep things in perspective, and Ratna Soelastin showed me what merdeka really means. I was privileged to watch Aisha Chalmers develop from an inquisitive child into a formidable young woman. I am grateful for the hospitality of Gitte and Avi, and Ratna and Ian in the periods that I visited Perth after moving to Auckland. vi Murdoch University provided me with an academic and social environment that was encouraging and stimulating, and supported my studies financially with a Murdoch University Research Stipend. The Department of Education and Trade generously supported a year of overseas research in Indonesia. In Indonesia the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and Dr. Mukhlis PaEni, at that time at Hasanuddin University, Makassar, provided the institutional framework and sponsorship that made research in Indonesia possible. Dr. Mukhlis and his family were also generous with their hospitality during the periods that I was in Makassar. Sunarti and her extended family showed me a different side of life in Makassar for which I am grateful. In Palu I am indebted to Dr. Zainuddin who was my sponsor for Central Sulawesi and who put me into contact with people in Luwuk-Banggai. In Luwuk-Banggai, I enjoyed the hospitality of many people, but Umi’s household near the old centre of Luwuk was my base for research trips in the area. Her extensive network of relatives not only made travel easy, but added to my understanding of the process of Bugis migration and ‘localisation’ over several generations. In Mori and Bungku, Pak Ten Marundu and his relatives made me feel at home, especially when sea transport came to a halt around Lebaran and I had to spend extra time in Bungku. In Kendari, the late Dr Abdurrauf Tarimana was my sponsor for Southeast Sulawesi. I am grateful for the opportunity of spending several months in his large and bustling household. In New Zealand, I was fortunate to be part of the Department of Asian Languages and Literatures at the University of Auckland. I am also grateful for the Department of History for providing office space in the latter stages of writing. The friendship of Tim and Maren Behrend, Uli, Rina and Nina Kozok, Eric van Reijn and Dianne Charaz, Young Hi Lee, Atsuko Kikuchi and Graeme and Joan McCrae made me feel more at home in New Zealand. vii My family in the Netherlands made many trips to the airport and opened their homes to me when I was there: Mem and Dad, my sister Mary, her husband Henkjan and their children Jonathan, Hannah and Marieke, my brother Jay, his wife Thea and their children Jurjen, Willeke and Justien. Els Jacobs and Alice de Jong, once fellow inhabitants of the now legendary student house on the Oude Rijn, continued to treat me as a housemate whenever I was in Leiden. I enjoyed the friendship of Christiaan and Sunarti Heersink who combine Indonesian history and Bugis hospitality. Dinah Bergink’s thorough knowledge of Tolaki culture reminded me how shallow historical sources in fact are, and how much of truly local perspectives is lost to historians. Heather Sutherland’s insights and ideas shaped my thinking at various stages and found their way into this study. I am indebted to David Henley, Henk Schulte Nordholt and Paul Stange for commenting on earlier drafts, and to Alexandra Bankoff for correcting the English in parts of the manuscript.