Malacca Sultanate

"The monsoon wind cycle is the final and historically decisive factor in the history of global trade patterns. 

"In the Northern Hemisphere’s summer months, a high-pressure system over Siberia pulls wet and warm air off the Indian Ocean, bringing heavy rain and dominant winds that blow toward the northeast. In winter, the pattern is reversed, with Siberian low pressure pushing relatively cooler and dry air to the southwest. 

"In the age of sail, it was next to impossible for boats to travel against these winds. Mariners sailed downwind from India or China toward the southern edge of the Straits of Malacca from November to April. From May to October, they used the monsoon winds to push boats northward to India or China. This wind pattern combined with Malacca’s geographic location to make it an ideal place to await the change of the wind cycle. 

"As merchants going from South Asia to China realized that it was easier and quicker to simply exchange goods with each other at a halfway point in the straits, ports in the region developed into trade emporia where goods from afar could be imported, stored, and exchanged amongst foreign merchants. Such a system allowed Indians and Chinese to bring goods from home, exchange them for foreign goods, and return home in close to six months, rather than the almost two years it would take to travel the full distance." 

Source: Vann, Michael. "“When the World Came to Southeast Asia: Malacca and the Global Economy." Association for Asian Studies, Volume 19:2 (Fall 2014): Maritime Asia. https://www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/when-the-world-came-to-southeast-asia-malacca-and-the-global-economy/

"In the early 1400s, [Malaccan King] Parameswara embarked on several voyages to China, to visit Emperor Yongle 永樂, Zheng He, Yin Qing, and other envoys. 

Malacca's diplomatic relationships with Ming granted protection to Malacca against attacks from Siam [Thailand] and Majapahit. This encouraged the development of Malacca into a major entity on the trade route between China and India, Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

According to the original script of Ming Chronicle, chapter 325:

Envoy Yin Qing was sent to Malacca in 1405 to grant golden silk plait and golden lace veil.
Yin Qing reported that no kingdom had been established and there was no king, while an annual tax 40 golds was paid to Siam. Chieftain Pai-li-mi-su-la rejoiced greatly and Yin Qing brought him
to China for the traditional pledge of tribute. The emperor praised him and made him
King of Man-la-ka, granted him the Imperial seal, colored-money, a complete set of clothing
and the yellow regal umbrella. The Malaccan envoy replied that the “king [Parameswara] is admiring and willing to pay annual tribute, please grant the “hill” as the city of the kingdom."
The emperor agreed, and granted the inscription of imperial poetry embellished onto
stone tablet to the “hill” [where hill means Malacca].

In 1411, Admiral Zheng He brought Parameswara, his wife, and 540 officials to China to pay homage to Emperor Yongle. Upon arriving, a grand welcoming party was held. Animals were sacrificed, Parameswara was granted a two-piece, gold-embroidered suit of clothing with dragon motifs, Kylin robe, gold and silver wares, silk lace bed quilt, and gifts for all officials and followers. Upon returning home, Parameswara was granted a jade belt, brace, saddle, and a coroneted suit for his wife. Upon reaching Heaven’s Gate [China], Parameswara was again granted "a jade belt, brace, saddle, a hundred gold & platinum ingots; 400,000 banknotes; 2600 cash; 300 pieces of silk brocade voile; 1000 pieces of silk; 2 pieces of whole gold plait; 2 pieces of knee-length gown with gold threads woven through sleeves..."

Tributes that Malacca paid to Ming included: Agate, carnelian, pearl, hawksbill, coral, crane peak, golden female crane peak, suit, white cloth, Western fabric, Sa-ha-la, rhino horn, ivory, black bear, black ape, white muntjac, turkey, parrot, pian-nao, rosebush dew, su-he oil, gardenia flower, wu-ye-ni, aromatic wood, incense sticks, gold, and silver.

The arrival of Zheng He (Hajji Mahmud) and his marriage with a princess of Pasai led to an economic success unprecedented in the history of the Malay people. Melaka grew into an international trading port, heralding the golden age of Nusantara Islam. Speakers of eighty languages were reportedly found in Malacca...

In 1414, Parameswara passed away at the age of seventy. It is generally believed that he was buried on top of a hill at Tanjung Tuan near Port Dickson. A symbolic grave exists near Fort Canning in Singapore. Parameswara was succeeded by his son, Megat Iskandar Shah. 

Source: https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Malacca_Sultanate

"Malacca is a city that has been built for trade, higher than any other in the whole world, at the end of monsoons and beginning of others. Malacca is surrounded and stands in the middle, and receives trade and commerce from a large spectre of nations, a thousand leagues from each side."

Tomé Pires (c. 1468 - c.1524) was a Portuguese apothecary, colonial administrator, and diplomat. In 1510 he was commissioned by the Portuguese court to serve as a "factor of drugs" in India, and then in 1512 was sent to the port city of Malacca, recently captured by the Portuguese. There he served as the chief accountant for the royal factory. In 1515, Pires was sent to China as ambassador from the King of Portugal to the Ming Court. His mission was a failure when the Chinese court refused to recognize him because of the increasingly hostile activities of Portuguese traders in the region. Pires never left China; he was either executed by the Chinese in 1524 or possibly banished for life to a remote Chinese province.

Source: Cortesão, Armando. The Suma Oriental of Tomé Pires. Routledge, 2010.
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1800/indian-ocean-trade-before-the-european-conquest/

"Melaka is a country which has been pledged to us and which offers us tribute. The Fo-lang-ji have annexed it and, enticing us with gain, are seeking tribute and rewards. Righteousness will certainly not allow this. It is requested that: 

•  their gift be refused, 

• that the difference between following existing treaties and disobedience be clearly made known, 

• and that they be advised that only after they have returned the territory of Melaka will they be allowed to come to Court to offer a gift. 

If they refuse and blindly hold to their ways, although the foreign yi are not used to using weapons, we will have to summon the various yi to arms, proclaim the crimes and punish the Fo-lang-ji, so as to make clear the Great Precepts of Right Conduct"

— Qiu Dao Long, the Investigating Censor of Ming, Ming Shilu, 13 January 1521
      Source: Wade, Geoff (2005), Southeast Asia in the Ming Shi-lu, National University of Singapore

The Portuguese conquest of Malacca enraged the Zhengde Emperor of China when he received messengers from the exiled Sultan Mahmud. The furious Chinese emperor responded with brutal force, and three decades of prosecution of Portuguese in China.

Among the earliest victims were the Portuguese ambassasdors led by Tomé Pires in 1516. The Emperor ordered all of their property and goods to be taken, and many of them were imprisoned, tortured and executed. Pires was said to be one of those who died in the Chinese dungeons. Two more Portuguese fleets bound for China in 1521 and 1522 were attacked and defeated in the first and second Battle of Tamao. The Imperial Commander Zhu Wan killed all the Portuguese pirates who approached Chinese waters, and burned down the Portuguese base in Shuangyu, using force to prohibit trading with foreigners by sea. Moreover, Chinese traders boycotted Malacca after it fell under Portuguese control, with some Chinese in Java even assisting in Muslim attempts to invade the city (Wikipedia). 

"Ten Encounters" was an exhibition at Olfactory Art Keller in New York; ten artists from around the world were invited to explore encounters between two individuals that shaped culture to this day. The artist and perfumer Zhi’ang Chen chose to create a scent / perfume / olfactory (smell) "performance" representing the meeting between Admiral Zheng He and the Sultan of Malacca. 

Admiral Zheng He and the Sultan of Malacca

by Zhi'ang Chen

In the early 15th century, the Emperor of China appointed Admiral Zheng He as an envoy, commanding a majestic fleet of trade ships, to make contact with and establish trade relationships with kingdoms from South Asia all the way to Africa. In particular, the fleet's stop in the Sultanate of Malacca, an integral part of the Spice Routes, marked the first encounter between Chinese and Malayan heritages. Their confluence eventually produced the rich interwoven tapestry that is the unique Peranakan/Nonya culture, whose influence can be felt in Southeast Asia, including in Singapore, to this day.

Artist Statement

For this composition, I created an olfactory [smell] interpretation of the meeting between the Admiral and the Sultan, with the Admiral presenting chests brimming with patchouli-infused silks as well as fragrant jasmine and osmanthus oolong teas as gifts to the Sultan, and the Sultan offering burlap sacks overflowing with precious cloves and pepper as tribute to the Emperor. This is juxtaposed against notes of sea spray and ambergris representing the Admiral's lengthy southbound voyage, as well as
ylang-ylang and jackfruit - both native to Malacca - to add a uniquely local twist to the composition.

To hear Zhi'ang Chen talk about their work, check out this interview. 

Source: https://www.olfactoryartkeller.com/works/admiral-zheng-he-and-the-sultan-of-malacca

"The second factor in the rise of Melaka was the marriage of Parameswara’s son, Iskandar Shah, to a princess from Pasai. Pasai was a prosperous city located in north-eastern Sumatra, and was an established port well before the (re-) founding of Melaka around 1400. It was arguably also its main regional competitor for the entire lifespan of the Melaka Sultanate. 

"Connected to this marriage was the Melaka ruler’s conversion to Islam, which would ensure his port’s place within the Muslim maritime trading networks spanning the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. It was a strategic move just like the marriage to the Pasai princess. As [Italian traveler Ludovico di] Varthema observed, "the pagans [Hindus, Buddhists] do not navigate much, but it is the Moors [Muslims] who carry the merchandise." 

"Any other factors leading to the conversion of Melaka’s ruler to Islam are not entirely certain. Some believe the ruler was converted to Islam through the personal intercession of the Chinese Admiral Zheng He, at the time of his visit to the Melaka court in the early fifteenth century. Others link the conversion of the Melaka ruler to Islam solely to his marriage to a princess from Pasai." 

Source: https://brill.com/display/book/9789004407671/BP000014.xml

The Portuguese King insisted on knowing the following;

"from [Malacca], I want to know: the riches that I will derive from it, and from the greatness of the land; from whom it is lorded, and from which lordship they are; what percentage is hythem * and  Moors [Muslims], and what other jeemtes there are in the land; with whom he has a deal; and what is the most valuable merchandise from there; and who are the biggest merchants there, and what are their prices … and like armadas..." 

Foreign documents also tell us a lot about the state of the Sultanate as it approached its final five years before falling to the Portuguese. The Malays of Melaka certainly possessed cannons and other weapons, such as “spears, and some swords... and bows and blowguns”. 

But, as [Portuguese merchant Rui de] Araújo has made known to us, there was a serious shortage of gunpowder in Melaka, so much so that the Portuguese captives were forced to manufacture this essential commodity. He went on to say that the king of Melaka had limited support; he could only call on the King of Pahang, who did not have many subjects. Additionally, Melaka in 1510 was also not on good terms with Aru and Siam. 

The fact that law and order in Melaka was not fully enforced was also mentioned by Varthema ** as early as 1506. Even the orang-laut chiefs, who were known for their loyalty to the King, threatened to leave Melaka. The descriptions in Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) also confirm the worsening conditions in Melaka before the Portuguese conquest.

If we take Araújo at his word, the local traders were "all very weak," a reference to their capacity to arm their vessels (together with their men) and repel a future attack by the Portuguese.

* Ms B used Google Translate on the King's passage, so it might not be totally accurate. The words left in italics were ones that stumped google. 

** Ludovico di Varthema was an Italian traveller and aristocrat known for being one of the first non-Muslim Europeans to enter Mecca as a pilgrim. Almost everything known about his life comes from his own account of his travels, Itinerario de Ludouico de Varthema Bolognese, published in Rome in 1510.

Ludovico di Varthema, also known as Barthema and Vertomannus (c. 1470 – 1517), was an Italian traveller, diarist and aristocrat known for being one of the first non-Muslim Europeans to enter Mecca as a pilgrim. Nearly everything that is known about his life comes from his own account of his travels, Itinerario de Ludouico de Varthema Bolognese, published in Rome in 1510.

"As an ‘empire’ based on maritime trade, Melaka needed to regularly patrol the waters of the straits in order to keep piracy from neighboring tribes down. 

"Rui d’Araujo and Tomé Pires wrote about Melaka’s extended naval conflict with the king of Aru, who had a significant capacity to attack and plunder vessels.

"Also, Melaka’s marshy surroundings and hills covered in thick jungle acted as natural barriers to land-based attack on the city. Any major security threat to Melaka would have therefore come from across the adjacent maritime spaces. Seen this way, the city of Melaka somewhat resembled an island, an expression that is sometimes employed later in European documents.

"The laksamana [admiral of the navy] came from Singapore, and this connection was important, because it allowed him to command the loyalty of the orang laut, or sea-nomads, who inhabited the waters on both sides of the Singapore Straits. The laksamana also carried the title of ketua orang laut
(a type of senior chief of the orang laut) and Raja Selat (Prince of the Straits).

"The Melakan fleet was made up of around forty large galleys and other smaller support vessels, and was based in Singapore. These war galleys were manned by the orang laut, who acted as rowers.

"At the time of the Portuguese attack on Melaka in 1511, the galleys of the Melakan navy were not positioned around the capital city. They had been stationed around Singapore and the Riau Islands, but were reportedly ‘on their way’ when the city fell to Albuquerque’s attack. The laksamana is reported by Brás de Albuquerque to have been around eighty years old and offered his services to Melaka’s new masters, a claim that is also repeated in other Portuguese chronicles. But the laksamana was dissuaded from coming to Melaka by the head of Melaka’s Javanese trading community, and stayed in Singapore. His continued presence in Singapore and the revival of its port after the traumatic sacking of Melaka in 1511 are believed to have triggered a Portuguese attack on Singapore. The Portuguese burned the settlement down, and destroyed its medieval ruins.

Source: https://brill.com/display/book/9789004407671/BP000014.xml

Diogo Lopes de Sequeira (1465–1530) was a Portuguese noble, sent to analyze the trade potential in Madagascar and Malacca. He arrived at Malacca in 1509, but left the next year when he discovered that Sultan Mahmud Shah was planning his assassination. At some point he described his meeting with a captain and crew from the Ming Dynasty. 

As you read this: 

• what is likely / unlikely to be accurate in his account? 

• What habits and manners seem new or different to him? 

• What can you infer about his own customs and those of the Chinese from his account? 
  
  

"There were three Chinese vessels off this island. 

"As soon as ours [the Portuguese] arrived, the captain of the Chinese came out to meet us in a small boat skillfully-manned, accompanied by another honourable man, both of them already aged, seated in wooden chairs. Behind them stood an attendant holding a parasol which protected them from the sun, and others blowing pipes and emitting a good loud sound. 

"They proceeded straight to the vessel of the Captain-Major, which welcomed them joyfully with trumpets, as well as an artillery display. [The Chinese] saluted the Captain-Major and all the commanders in such manner as to lower their heads with their hands crossed over their breasts. When they had finished this they were invited to sit. And because their language was not understandable, a Moor [Muslim] from Malacca who knew their tongue was called for assistance. As soon as he arrived much was talked about, [the Portuguese and the Chinese] enquiring each other as to their kings and kingdoms.

"They are fair men and of pleasant manners, beardless except around their mouths, almost black long hair, thin, encapsulated in black silk caps, and over these caps, they wear tall berets which seem to be made of silk with embroidered edges like net. [They] wear tunics and jackets made from pieces of thick white fabric under further low waisted pleated jackets of satin and yellow damask, four fifths in length, with large sleeves, over trousers and boots soled in the Moorish style. They say they are Christians, eat all sorts [of] meats, and are accompanied by their wives.

"After talking for a long while, the Chinese captain asked the Captain-Major and the commanders to accept an invitation to dine aboard his vessels the following day. Having accepted, they went, to find nine tables all laid but without table cloths. They were requested to seat themselves all along one side and immediately [the tables] were covered with assorted chicken delicacies, tripes, braised and boiled pork, cakes made with honey and sugar, many preserved fruits, many foodstuffs to be eaten in porringers with silver spoons, and plenty of rice wine in porcelain.

"They are a people who eat plenty and drink frequently, but a little [at a time], all highly spiced with pickled garlic; and they eat with forks. At the beginning of the meal embroidered napkins were distributed, and when the meal was finished a toast was made, until it was time for us to bid farewell. And the Chinese captain kept them company until they reached their vessels afterwards returning to his own."

Translated from the Portuguese by: Fiona Clark

Source: ALBUQUERQUE, Luís de, ed., Crónica de descobrimento e primeiras conquistas da India pelos portugueses, Lisboa, Imprensa Nacional Casa de Moeda, 1986, pp.370-37 https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/20032/1243

As to the question of habitation and settlement around Melaka port, Hroujo * says one can see at least 10,000 houses along the coast and the river of Melaka, mostly constructed of wood, bamboo, and attap [palm]. Five hundred houses, he added, were made of ‘earth’, evidently a type of adobe. 

This description of Melaka is basically corroborated by Giovanni ** who among other things mentioned: 

“the town is situated near the sea-shore and thickly strewn with houses and rooms, and it stretches for three leagues which is most beautiful to see.”

We can also refer to earlier Chinese documents of the 15th century which provide a slightly more detailed glimpse into the settlements of the local inhabitants: 

"[Malay] houses are raised on one-storey platforms and lack a layer of planks (against the ground), but a floor of split coconut palms is erected and lashed with rattan -- exactly as if it were a sheep-pen -- at the height of about four feet." 

* Portuguese merchant Rui de Araújo

** Giovanni da Empoli was a merchant from Florence who was one of the first Europeans to travel only by sea to India. He visited Malacca during his first voyage to the East (1503-4), before the Portuguese. 

Source: Abu Bakar, Yahaya. "Foreign Documents and the Descriptions of Melaka Between A.D. 1505-1511." National University of Malaysia. https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/default/files/knowledge-bank-article/foreign_documents_and_the_descriptions_of_melaka_between_a.d._1505-1511_0.pdf‌

"The Laws of Melaka gave little value to land—in fact land was almost worthless on the Malay Peninsula, something early Dutch visitors in later times found difficult to understand. In later decades, the king is said to own all the land, and people could request a plot from him to use and live on: "All the land belongs to the king [of Johor] and is hardly valued, so that whoever asks it of him can receive enough land."

"Therefore, the wealth of a local Malay individual was measured not by the money he owned, the size of his land, or even the income he could derive from it, but rather by the labour over which he had command. In practice, this meant how many ‘slaves’ one had, keeping in mind that the term ‘slave’ was used in Southeast Asia to talk about many different degrees of personal bondage. Wealth was thus measured in terms of labour and people." 

Source: https://brill.com/display/book/9789004407671/BP000014.xml