Sultanate of Malacca
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Map of Sultanate of Malacca. |
The
Sultanate of Malacca was a
Malay sultanate founded by
Parameswara in
1400. Centered in the town of
Malacca, the sultanate stretched from southern Thailand in the north to Sumatra in the southwest. The
Portuguese invaded its capital in
1511 and in
1528, the
Sultanate of Johor was established to succeed Malacca.
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Modern Malacca's coat of arms features two mouse-deers supporting a crest. |
Parameswara was a
Hindu Srivijayan prince allegedly descendant of
Macedonian King
Alexander the Great. He escaped the
Majapahit capture of
Palembang, then settled on
Temasek island - now
Singapore - where he briefly instituted himself as the regent there after killing a
Siam representative, Temagi. However, his rule in Temasek didn't last long as native
Malays later chased him out. From the island, he fled to
Muar before deciding to make Malacca his new capital in 1402.
In
1414, Parameswara converted to
Islam after marrying a princess from
Pasai. After his conversion, he assumed the title Sultan Megat Iskandar Shah. His conversion also encouraged his subjects to embrace Islam and this is how Malacca became a sultanate.
According to the
Malay Annals, legend has it the king saw a
mouse deer outwit a
dog in Malacca. He took what he saw as a good omen and decided to establish a capital for his kingdom there. Today, the mouse deer is part of modern
Malacca's
coat of arms.
Malacca had a well-defined government with a set of laws. On top of the sultanate's hierarchy sat the
sultan and he was an absolute monarch. Below him was a
bendahara, a position similar to that of a
prime minister. Most of all, a bendahara was an adviser to the sultan. A bendahara is a common person appointed by the sultan and it was the highest ranking officer that could be held by any common people. After bendahara, a
laksamana's authority is paramount. A laksamana is an admiral and was resposible for the state and the sultan's security. He commanded the army. Later comes the
temenggung which more or less a chief of public police. At the bottom of this nobility structure are
penghulu bendahari, which was the treasurer of the state and the
shahbandars of whom were responsible to matters of trade and ports.
The most famous Malaccan bendahara is
Tun Perak. Under his advice, he managed to expand Malacca to its greatest extent.
Hang Tuah is an example of Malaccan laksamana.
The sultanate was governed with several set of laws. The formal legal text of traditional Melaka consisted of the
Undang-Undang Melaka (Laws of Melaka), variously called the
Hukum Kanun Melaka and
Risalat Hukum Kanun, and the
Undang-Undang Laut Melaka (the Maritime Laws of Melaka). The laws as written in the legal digests went through an evolutionary process. The legal rules that eventually evolved were shaped by three main influences, namely the early non-indigenous Hindu/Buddhist tradition, Islam and the indigenous "adat".
The Sultanate thrived on entrepôt trade and became the most important port in
Southeast Asia during the 15th and the early 16th century. Furthermore, Malacca was as a major player in the spice trade, serving as a gateway between the
Spice Islands and high-paying Eurasian markets. This is reflected by the Portuguese writer
Duarte Barbosa who wrote "He who is lord of Malacca has his hand on the throat of Venice".
One of the factors that contributed to the rise of Malacca was the
monsoon winds that enabled
Arab and
Indian traders from the west to travel to
China in the east and vice versa. At the height of its power, the Sultanate encompassed most of modern day Peninsula
Malaysia, the site of modern day
Singapore and a great portion of eastern
Sumatra. It was also the center of
Islam in the eastern sphere, where
imams and
ustazes came to discuss religion and the like. Muslim missionaries were also sent by the Sultan to spread Islam to other communities in the Malay Archipelago, such as in
Java,
Borneo, and the
Philippines. Most of South East Asia at that time was
Hindu.
The Sultanate's most important regional rivals were
Siam in the north and the declining
Majapahit Empire in the south. Majapahit was not able to control or effectively compete with Malacca within the archipelago, and came to an end during the later 15th century. Siam on the other hand attacked Malacca three times, but all attacks were repelled.
At the same time, Malacca had a good relationship with the
Ming government of
China, resulting in
Zheng He's visits. Parameswara had met the Chinese emperor in China to receive a Letter of Friendship, hence making Malacca the first foreign kingdom to attain such treatment. In
1409, the sultan paid tribute to the
Chinese emperor to ask for protection against
Siam. Moreover, one of the sultans,
Mansur Shah even married a Chinese princess named
Hang Li Po. This Sino-Malacca relationship helped deter Siam from further threatening Malacca.
It was in
1509, during the reign of the last Sultan of Malacca, Sultan
Mahmud Shah that the
Portuguese became the first European power to reach Malacca and Southeast Asia in general. The Portuguese delegation was led by
Admiral Lopez de Sequira. Trouble however ensued after the general feeling of rivalry between Islam and Christianity was invoked by a group of Goa Muslims in the sultan's court after the Portuguese had captured Goa. Soon, the Portuguese fleet was attacked by Malacca and was forced to flee.
In
1511, a larger Portuguese fleet from
Cochin,
India led by
Viceroy Alfonso d'Albuquerque came back to Malacca. The Viceroy made a number of demands - one of which was for permission to establish a Portuguese trading post near the city. All the demands were refused by the Sultan. Conflict was unavoidable, and after 40 days of fighting, Malacca fell to the Portuguese on
August 24.
Sultan Mahmud Shah was forced to flee Malacca. The sultan made several attempts to retake the capital but his efforts were fruitless. The Portuguese retaliated and forced the sultan to flee to
Pahang. Later, the sultan sailed to
Bintan and established a new capital there. With a base established, the sultan rallied the disarrayed Malay forces and organized several attacks and blockades against the Portuguese's position.
Frequent raids on Malacca caused the Portuguese severe hardship. The raids helped convince the Portuguese that the exiled sultan's forces must be silenced. A number of attempts were made to suppress the Malay forces, but it wasn't until
1526 that the Portuguese finally razed Bintan to the ground. The sultan then retreated to
Kampar in Sumatra where he died two years later. He left behind two sons named Muzaffar Shah and Alauddin Riayat Shah.
Muzaffar Shah was invited by the people in the north of the peninsula to become their ruler, establishing the Sultanate of Perak. Meanwhile, Mahmud's other son, Alauddin succeeded his father and made a new capital in the south and established the
Sultanate of Johore, the successor of Malacca.
Malacca was later conquered by the Dutch in
1641. Through the
Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, Malacca became a colony of the United Kingdom. In
1957, Malacca joined other
Malay states to form
Malaya and in
1963, together with
Sarawak,
Sabah and
Singapore formed
Malaysia.
*
Sultanate of Johor*
Sultanate of Kedah
