The Rise and Fall of the Malacca Sultanate
One of the most important highways of trade in the pre-modern world was the Strait of Malacca. Bordered on its northern side by the Malay Peninsula and the southern side by the island of Sumatra.
The Malacca Sultanate was a powerful maritime and commercial empire that shaped the political, social, and cultural systems of the Malay Peninsula. Parameswara (1401 to 1511) was a Palembang prince of Hindu descent from Srivijaya, in 1402. He was the founder of Malacca. Fleeing north from the Majapahit armies, he reached a fishing village at the mouth of the Bertam River (former name of the Malacca River) where he witnessed a mouse deer outwitting a dog while resting under a Malacca tree. He took what he saw as a good omen and decided to establish a kingdom there, called Malacca.
The Rise of the Malacca Sultanate
In 1414, Parameswara embraced Islam, and change his name to Megat Iskandar Shah and married to a Muslim princess from Pasai, Sumatra. Because of this it attracted Muslim traders to come to Malacca port. He also maintain a good relation with Ming China, he sent mission after mission to Peking in1415, 1416, and 1418.
By the 1430s the city had become the preeminent commercial emporium in Southeast Asia, resorted to alike by local traders, Indian, Arab, and Persian merchants, and Chinese trade missions. These alliances helped to build Malacca into a major international trading port and an intermediary in the lucrative spice trade. Centered in the modern town of Malacca, the sultanate stretched from southern Thailand in the north to Sumatra in the southwest.
Islam in the Region
Within decades, the Sultanate of Malacca became one of the major promoters of Islam in the region. Adding to the spread of Islam in the region was the continued presence of Indian and Arab Muslim traders coming from the West and bringing their religion with them and spreading it to the local population. Another factor was the numerous visits by the Chinese Muslim admiral Zheng He (who is known as Cheng Ho in Southeast Asia) who helped spread Islam throughout the Malay Archipelago. It is important to note that as the region slowly made its way into the fold of Islam, there were no forced conversions into the religion.
Administration of the Malacca Sultanate
Upon his death in 1424, Parameswara was succeeded by his son Sri Maharaja (1424–1444) and later was succeeded by Sultan Muzaffar Shah ( 1446–1456). He was the first to use the Arabian title of ‘Sultan’, and formulate the Malacca Laws known as Risalah Hukum Kanun in protecting the sovereignty and prosperity of Malacca.
Under Sultan Muzaffar Shah the city-state became a major territorial as well as commercial power in the region and a source for the further diffusion of Islām within the Indonesian archipelago. 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. Siam on the other hand attacked Malacca three times, but all attacks were repelled.
The Bendahara acted as a Chief Minister (or modern-day Prime Minister), the Temenggung acted as a Senior Judge while the Syahbandar will need to be responsible for arming, organizing and commanding their community for Sultan. The office of the Laksamana was established during the reign of Sultan Mansur Shah (1456–1477). The duties and jurisdiction of the Laksamana were to rapidly develop the town and society of Malacca.
The Arrival of the Portuguese
In the late 1400s, the Kingdom of Portugal began to search for new trade opportunities on the high seas. The explorer Vasco de Gama managed to sail around the southern tip of Africa in the late 1400s, with the aid of Muslim navigators who were familiar with the Indian Ocean.
With this discovery in Europe, Portugal quickly became a naval power in the Indian Ocean and attempted to dominate the Asian spice market. After establishing bases in Indian cities such as Goa and Calicut around 1510, the Portuguese looked to the East to expand their trade empire.
The Fall of the Malacca Sultanate
In 1511, the Portuguese decided to conquer the important port of Malacca to control the trade with China. On July 25, 1511, the Portuguese commander, Afonso de Albuquerque, began an assault on the city. Despite allying with neighboring Muslim states, the Sultanate was unable to resist the superior Portuguese weapons and firepower, and by late August the city was conquered.
The Portuguese soon began construction on a fortress, known as A Famosa, which helped protect the Portuguese in the city from Malay counter-attacks. Much of the city center, including the main mosque and government buildings, was destroyed to provide stone for the fortress. This was the official end of the Sultanate of Malacca as the region came under foreign domination for the first time in its history.
Malacca Today
Today, Malacca is a state within Malaysia and a center of Peranakan culture. When Chinese settlers originally came to Malacca as miners, traders, and coolies, they took local brides (of Javanese, Batak, Acehnese, etc descent) and adopted many local customs. The result of this is an interesting fusion of local and Chinese cultures. The men are addressed as Babas and the women Nyonyas.
Today, in Malacca, you can still see the imprints of British, Dutch, and Portuguese forces left behind in forts, museums, churches, and towers. It was here that colonial forces first made contact with Malaysia, which eventually shaped the country into its current economic and political system.
References:
Essays, UK. (November 2018). History of the Malacca Sultanate. Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/history/history-of-the-malacca-sultanate-history-essay.php?vref=1
Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (December 15, 2014). Sultanate of Malacca Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/sultanate-of-Malacca
Egypt Today. (June 13, 2017). The Islamic History of the Sultanate of Malacca Retrieved from https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/7530/The-Islamic-History-of-the-Sultanate-of-Malacca