Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Portuguese & Dutch Eras
In 1509, the death knell of the Melaka Sultanate was sounded by the arrival of the Por-
tuguese. They laid siege to Melaka in 1511, capturing the city and driving the sultan and
his forces back to Johor. Portuguese domination lasted 130 years, though the entire period
was marked by skirmishes with local sultans.
Vying with the Portuguese for control of the spice trade, the Dutch formed an alliance
with the sultans of Johor. A joint force of Dutch and Johor soldiers and sailors besieged
Melaka in 1641 and wrested the city from the Portuguese.
Despite maintaining control of Melaka for about 150 years, the Dutch never fully real-
ised the potential of the city. High taxes forced merchants to seek out other ports and the
Dutch focused their main attention on Batavia (now Jakarta) as their regional headquarters.
It was the Dutch who brought in Muslim Bugis mercenaries from Sulawesi to establish
the present hereditary sultanate in Selangor in 1740.
It's thought that the word Malay (or Melayu) is based on the ancient Tamil word
malia,
meaning 'hill'. Other
Malay words like
bahasa
(language),
raja
(ruler) and
jaya
(success) are Sanskrit terms imported to the area by
Indian visitors as early as the 2nd century AD.
