1.The rise and the fall of Malacca Sultanate.
2.The factors which encouraged the traders to come and trade in Malacca.
1.The rise of the sultanate
Malacca was founded in 1400 by Parameswara , a fugitive prince from Palembang. He had fled from Palembang in Sumatera which was then attacked by the kingdom of Majapahit because the former had declared its independence from the latter. In the wake of the many explorations made by the portuguese in the quest to spread the gospel and obtain asian spices, Malacca was recognized as the collecting point for the much sought-after spices of the moluccas and also a centre where Islam thrived. Hence, it became a prime target of the Portuguese. if the latter succeeded in conquering Malacca, it meant that they would be able to monopolize the trading of spices and simultaneously halt the spread of islam through the preaching of the gospel. the man who succeeded in the capture of malacca was none other than the famed alfonso de albuquerque,who was a key player in much of the portuguese’ expansion efforts in asia.after 10 days under siege,malacca fell into the hands of the portuguese on 24 august 1511.many factors caused the fall of malacca. There are many factors contributed to the rise and the fall of the malacca sultanate.
under parameswara,malacca prospered,partly due to the prince’s leadership but in part that could be attributed to the strategic position of malacca itself.among the political innovation that was introduced was a system of governance by the four principle ministers (pembesar empat lipatan).the four principal ministers were the bendehara(chief minister),penghulu bendahari(treasurer),temenggung(chief of security in charge of law
and order and weight and measures) and laksamana(harbour master).
in addition to the above system of governing,the malacca sultanate also introduced two important laws:malacca statutory law(hukum kanun malacca) and sea laws of malacca(undang-undang laut malacca).the former was both a criminal as well as a civil law that detailed in 44 articles such things as roles,duties and responsibilities of the ruler and the ruled.the latter listed down the proper conduct and rules and regulations relating to shipping and trades as well as the duties and responsibilities of port officers and officers of shipping vessels.
malacca’s political stability and development became an important asset to attract more traders to use its port.in addition to its stable system of governance,it also established diplomatic relations with foreign countries,notably china and siam. In addition to that,malacca’s strategic position further enhanced it as the prime choice as a port of call.trades and traders between china and india,for example,found the natural port suitable and well shielded by the mountainous sumatera and the peninsula from the impact of the monsoon winds blowing from both the east and west.it was also
central to two major trading nations which is china in the east and india in the west.
the fall of the sultanate
the golden age of malacca,with its wealth and prestige,very much
depended on its leadership,and one leader who especially shone trough was bendahara tun perak.after his death however,there was no successor capable of running the state of malacca.tun perak’s successor,tun putih was old,weak and barely able to carry out his duties.following tun putih’s death,tun mutahir,who was elected bendahara,was no better,being more concerned about his welfare than the welfare of the state. tun mutahir also evoked the anger of the rulling king,sultan mahmud shah,when the former married off his daughter,tun fatimah to tun ali,instead of to the sultan.because of this,sultan mahmud ordered tun mutahir executed when an enemy betrayed the latter.
the reign of sultan mahmud shah as king is also another factor that caused the fall of malacca.sultan mahmud shah paid no heed to the administration of the government.he allowed his officers to act as they pleased and this encouraged much bribery and corruption among them.when sultan mahmud descended the throne to allow his successor sultan ahmad shah to reign as king,the administration of malacca deteriorated,since sultan ahmad was young and lacked experience.
the weak rulling of the government had caused a decline in malacca’s trading activities and forced many merchants to shift to acheh,the other trading centre in the region.
when tun mutahir assumed the position of bendahara after the demise of tun putih,tun mutahir,who was a tamil-islam,favoured his relatives and reserved important administration positions in the government for them.
consequently,there was much dissatisfaction among the malay muslims and tamil muslims,and the racial tensions,which had mellowed to some point due to the wise and fair reign of tun perak,flared up again.
many of the foreign merchants who came to malacca to trade did not believe loyalty to the government of malacca.some even backed the portuguese during the attack on malacca.a chinese merchant,for instance,provided on loan,5 huge barges to the portuguese while a tamil merchant known as ninachatu supplied information on malacca’s defense system.
to make matters worse,the javanese army hired by the government of malacca abandoned the state during the siege,since they were not willing to die for a country which was not their own.the colony states under malacca failed to back the state up and instead,seized the opportunity to free themselves from the reign of malacca.consequently,malacca lacked military strength and aid.
portuguese soldiers were better equipped than their malacca counterparts and possessed advanced weapons,like guns and cannons.they were also led by alfonso d’albuquerque,who was capable and experienced in the battlefield.the malacca army,on the other hand,used medievel weapons like the kris,swords,spears and lances.in addition,the portuguese army was more disciplined and experienced in comparison with the army of malacca.
all these factors demonstrate how important leadership is to a country.it can either lead a country to rise as a strong empire or cause a country to crumble.it also plays an important role in uniting people and unity among citizens of a country is essential in the formation of a strong government.
apart from all these factors,we see that political stability is another
prerequisite to ensure the expansion of a country’s economy.if we can say that weak leaders like sultan mahmud shah and tun mutahir were very much to blame for the fall of malacca,then we can in turn,attribute the success of the portuguese in becoming the first european power to find their way to the east and conquer malacca,to capable and efficient leaders like prince henry and alfonso d’albuquerque.
