The history of Sumatra

by William Marsden

Alboquerque promised to effect it for him, and desired the prince to accompany him to Malacca, where they arrived the first of July 1511. In order to save the lives of the Portuguese prisoners, and if possible to effect their recovery, he negotiated with the king of Malacca before he proceeded to an attack on the place; which conduct of his Jeinal construed into fear, and, forsaking his new friend, passed over in the night to the Malayan monarch, whose protection he thought of more consequence to him. When Alboquerque had subdued the place, which made a vigorous resistance, the prince of Pase, seeing the error of his policy, returned, and threw himself at the governor's feet, acknowledged his injurious mistrust, and implored his pardon, which was not denied him. He doubted however it seems of a sincere reconciliation and forgiveness, and, perceiving that no measures were taking for restoring him to his kingdom, but on the contrary that Alboquerque was preparing to leave Malacca with a small force, and talked of performing his promise when he should return from Goa, he took the resolution of again attaching himself to the fortunes of the conquered monarch, and secretly collecting his dependants fled once more from the protection of the Portuguese. He probably was not insensible that the reigning king of Pase, his adversary, had for some time taken abundant pains to procure the favour of Alboquerque, and found an occasion of demonstrating his zeal. The governor, on his return from Malacca, met with a violent storm on the coast of Sumatra near the point of Timiang, where his ship was wrecked. Part of the crew making a raft were driven to Pase, where the king treated them with kindness and sent them to the coast of Coromandel by a merchant ship. Some years after these events Jeinal was enabled by his friends to carry a force to Pase, and obtained the ascendency there, but did not long enjoy his power.

Upon the reduction of Malacca the governor received messages from several of the Sumatran princes, and amongst the rest from the king of a place called Kampar, on the eastern coast, who had married a daughter of the king of Malacca, but was on ill terms with his father-in-law. He desired to become a vassal of the Portuguese crown, and to have leave to reside under their jurisdiction. His view was to obtain the important office of bandhara, or chief magistrate of the Malays, lately vacant by the execution of him who possessed it. He sent before him a present of lignum-aloes and gum-lac, the produce of his country, but Alboquerque, suspecting the honesty of his intentions, and fearing that he either aspired to the crown of Malacca or designed to entice the merchants to resort to his own kingdom, refused to permit his coming, and gave the superintendence of the natives to a person named Nina Chetuan.

1514.

After some years had elapsed, at the time when Jorge Alboquerque was governor of Malacca, this king (Abdallah by name) persisting in his views, paid him a visit, and was honourably received. At his departure he had assurances given him of liberty to establish himself at Malacca, if he should think proper, and Nina Chetuan was shortly afterwards removed from his office, though no fault was alleged against him. He took the disgrace so much to heart that, causing a pile to be erected before his door, and setting fire to it, he threw himself into the flames.*

(*Footnote. This man was not a Mahometan but one of the unconverted natives of the peninsula who are always distinguished from the Moors by the Portuguese writers.)

The intention of appointing Abdallah to the office of bandhara was quickly rumoured abroad, and, coming to the knowledge of the king of Bintang, who was driven from Malacca and now carried on a vigorous war against the Portuguese, under the command of the famous Laksamana, he resolved to prevent his arrival there. For this purpose he leagued himself with the king of Lingga, a neighbouring island, and sent out a fleet of seventy armed boats to block up the port of Kampar. By the valour of a small Portuguese armament this force was overcome in the river of that name, and the king conducted in triumph to Malacca, where he was invested in form with the important post he aspired to. But this sacrifice of his independence proved an unfortunate measure to him; for although he conducted himself in such a manner as should have given the amplest satisfaction, and appears to have been irreproachable in the execution of his trust, yet in the following year the king of Bintang found means to inspire the governor with diffidence of his fidelity, and jealousy of his power.

1515.

He was cruelly sentenced to death without the simplest forms of justice and perished in the presence of an indignant multitude, whilst he called heaven to witness his innocence and direct its vengeance against his interested accusers. This iniquitous and impolitic proceeding had such an effect upon the minds of the people that all of any property or repute forsook the place, execrating the government of the Portuguese. The consequences of this general odium reduced them to extreme difficulties for provisions, which the neighbouring countries refused to supply them with, and but for some grain at length procured from Siak with much trouble the event had proved fatal to the garrison.

1516.

Fernando Perez d'Andrade, in his way to China, touched at Pase in order to take in pepper. He found the people of the place, as well as the merchants from Bengal, Cambay, and other parts of India, much discontented with the measures then pursuing by the government of Malacca, which had stationed an armed force to oblige all vessels to resort thither with their merchandise and take in at that place, as an emporium, the cargoes they were used to collect in the straits. The king notwithstanding received Andrade well, and consented that the Portuguese should have liberty to erect a fortress in his kingdom.