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Dutch Malacca
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Key Information
| Governorate of Malacca Gouvernement Malacca | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governorates of Dutch East Indies | |||||||
| 1818–1825 | |||||||
 | |||||||
 Map of the governorate of Malacca. | |||||||
| Capital | Malacca Town | ||||||
| History | |||||||
• Established | 1818 | ||||||
| 1 March 1825 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Today part of | Malacca, Malaysia | ||||||
Dutch Malacca (1641–1825) was the longest period that Malacca was under foreign control. The Dutch ruled for almost 183 years with intermittent British occupation during the French Revolutionary and later the Napoleonic Wars (1795–1815). This era saw relative peace with little serious interruption from the Malay sultanates due to the understanding forged between the Dutch and the Sultanate of Johor in 1606. This period also marked the decline of Malacca's importance. The Dutch preferred Batavia (present-day Jakarta) as their economic and administrative centre in the region and their hold in Malacca was to prevent the loss of the city to other European powers and, subsequently, the competition that would come with it. Thus, in the 17th century, with Malacca ceasing to be an important port, the Johor Sultanate became the dominant local power in the region due to the opening of its ports and the alliance with the Dutch.
History
[edit]Dutch conquest of Portuguese Malacca
[edit]
In the early 17th century, the Dutch East India Company (Dutch: Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, VOC) began a campaign to usurp Portuguese power in the East. At that time, the Portuguese had transformed Malacca into an impregnable fortress (the Fortaleza de Malaca), controlling access to the sea lanes of the Strait of Malacca and the spice trade there. The Dutch started by launching small incursions and skirmishes against the Portuguese. The first serious attempt was the siege of Malacca in 1606 by the third VOC fleet from the Dutch Republic with eleven ships, under Admiral Cornelis Matelief de Jonge that led to the naval battle of Cape Rachado. Although the Dutch were routed, the Portuguese fleet of Martim Afonso de Castro, the Viceroy of Goa, suffered heavier casualties and the battle rallied the forces of the Sultanate of Johor in an alliance with the Dutch and later on with the Acehnese.
The Dutch along with their local Javanese allies numbered around 700 men, assaulted and wrested Malacca from the Portuguese in January 1641. Assistance was also provided to the Dutch from the Johor Sultanate who provided around 500–600 additional men. The Dutch also received supplies and rations from nearby and their recently-captured base of Batavia.[1] The campaign effectively destroyed the last bastion of Portuguese power, removing their influence in the Malay Archipelago. As per the agreement with Johor in 1606, the Dutch took control of Malacca and agreed not to seek territories or wage war with the Malay kingdoms.
Decline in trade
[edit]After the conquest of Malacca, the town yielded great profits in the 17th century, mostly due to the tin trade coming from Perak.[2]: 104 But by 1700, the Dutch struggled to revive trade in Malacca. In that year, the town was rarely able to meet its tin quotas sent to Batavia. There were several attempts to revive trade by the governor, but VOC officials in Batavia was unwilling to improve tin trading prospects there and instead made policies to divert trade to Batavia. An Englishman described the town in 1711 "a healthful place, but of no great trade". The start of Bugis rule under the Johor Sultanate encouraged trade to Riau and served to reduce trade activity in Malacca.[2]: 102–105
Roger de Laver, the governor of Malacca in 1743, commented that despite his efforts to encourage the tin trade, it still did not see any improvement and attributed it from intense competition as Indian traders mainly traded in Aceh, Kedah and Perak.[2]: 107
Transfer of control to the British
[edit]In January 1795, Dutch stadtholder William V, Prince of Orange, seeking refuge in Great Britain, issued the Kew Letters, directing Dutch governors in the colonies to temporarily transfer authority to the United Kingdom and to cooperate with the British in the war against the French, so long as the "mother country" was under threat of invasion. Malacca was thus surrendered to British control, and would be under British occupation until the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Malacca remained under nominal Dutch sovereignty throughout the nearly two decades of British governance.
Under British administration, the Portuguese-era fortress of Malacca was demolished in stages beginning in 1807, as the British feared that the Dutch would use it against them in any future regional conflict. Only the Porta de Santiago (A Famosa) was spared destruction after the belated intervention of Sir Stamford Raffles.
The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 restored Malacca to Dutch rule; however, the Dutch did not regain full control until 1818. Sovereignty over Malacca was permanently ceded to the British under the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824.
Administration of Malacca
[edit]| History of Malaysia |
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 Malaysia portal |
Malacca was controlled as a colony of the VOC. All the chief administrators of Malacca were Dutch governors except for the brief period that the city was under British Residents during the Napoleonic Wars. However, focus on the administration of Malacca eventually waned by the Dutch as they preferred to focus on Batavia.[3]
Governors of Malacca
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The town and fortress of Malacca
[edit]The Dutch improved and expanded the Portuguese fortress as well as renovating the fortress' gate in 1670, they further built walls to protect the harbour and expanded city.[citation needed] During the mid-17th century the city hall or Stadthuys was constructed and served as the administrative center of the Dutch colony, which still stands today.[4]
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The town and fortress of Malacca in 1780 -
Dutch graves in the ruined St Paul's Church -
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Leupe, P.A.; Hacobian, Mac (1936). "The Siege and Capture of Malacca from the Portuguese in 1640-1641". Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 14 (1 (124)): i–iii, 1–178. ISSN 2304-7550. JSTOR 41559848. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
- ^ a b c Andaya, Barbara Watson (1981). Perak, the Abode of Grace: A Study of an Eighteenth-century Malay state.
- ^ Lowey-Ball, ShawnaKim Blake (2015). Liquid Market, Solid State: The rise and demise of the great global emporium at Malacca, 1400-1641 - ProQuest (Thesis). Retrieved 7 November 2022.
- ^ HUSSIN, NORDIN (2002). "A Tale of Two Colonial Port-Towns in the Straits of Melaka: Dutch Melaka and English Penang". Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 75 (2 (283)): 85. ISSN 0126-7353. JSTOR 41493474.
Further reading
[edit]- De Witt, Dennis (2007). History of the Dutch in Malaysia. Malaysia: Nutmeg Publishing. ISBN 978-983-43519-0-8.
Dutch Malacca
View on Grokipediafrom Grokipedia
Dutch Malacca was the administrative territory encompassing the port city of Malacca under the control of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) from 1641 to 1795, following its conquest from Portuguese rule.[1] The VOC, seeking to dominate spice trade routes and enforce commercial monopolies in Southeast Asia, allied with the Sultan of Johor to besiege Malacca starting in August 1640, ultimately capturing the fortress on 14 January 1641 after a grueling seven-month siege involving around 700 Dutch and Javanese troops against Portuguese defenders.[1][2] Under Dutch governance, Malacca functioned less as a vibrant entrepôt—unlike in the Portuguese era—and more as a fortified outpost to intercept rival shipping in the Straits of Malacca and protect VOC interests centered in Batavia (modern Jakarta), with policies that suppressed independent trade to prioritize company profits.[3][4] The period ended when the Dutch governor surrendered the settlement to British forces in August 1795 amid the Napoleonic Wars, though Dutch control briefly resumed from 1818 to 1825 before permanent transfer via the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824.[1] Dutch rule left a legacy of architectural remnants, including bastions and churches, and administrative practices that influenced local demographics through intermarriages and governance structures, though economic stagnation relative to regional competitors marked its strategic rather than prosperous character.[1][3]
History
Conquest from the Portuguese (1640–1641)
The Dutch East India Company (VOC) launched the siege of Malacca to dismantle Portuguese commercial hegemony in the Malay Straits, a chokepoint for intra-Asian trade in spices, textiles, and other commodities that the Portuguese had monopolized since their conquest of the port in 1511.[3] The VOC's strategy emphasized naval blockade and alliance-building with regional powers opposed to Iberian influence; in this case, the Sultanate of Johor provided crucial land support, including troops and logistical aid, as Johor sought revenge for prior Portuguese incursions and blockades that had disrupted its trade.[5] This coalition reflected the VOC's broader campaign to supplant Portuguese forts across Asia, prioritizing economic control over territorial expansion. The operation commenced on 3 August 1640, when a VOC fleet under Sergeant Major Adriaan Antonijsz anchored off Malacca, comprising 12 large warships, 6 smaller sloops, and roughly 1,500 troops.[2] The Dutch imposed a tight naval blockade to starve the city, while Johor allies harassed Portuguese supply lines from the hinterland; landing parties established batteries to bombard the fortified citadel, which housed Governor Nuno Álvares Botelho and about 400-500 defenders, including casados (Portuguese settlers) and Eurasian militia.[6] Over the ensuing months, disease, desertions, and artillery duels eroded Portuguese resolve, with the fortress withstanding multiple assaults but the surrounding town suffering famine and civilian flight; Dutch records indicate minimal direct combat losses for the attackers, attributing success to attrition rather than treason, contrary to some contemporary European accounts. On 14 January 1641, following intensified bombardment and a coordinated final assault, the Portuguese surrendered the citadel after a brief but fierce hand-to-hand fight in which Botelho was wounded and later died.[7] The Dutch secured the port with Johor's assistance, executing or enslaving several hundred Portuguese captives, demolishing parts of the fortifications to prevent recapture, and imposing a monopoly on trade that redirected commerce toward Batavia.[1] This victory eliminated the last major Portuguese stronghold in the region, though Malacca's entrepôt role diminished under Dutch restrictions favoring VOC routes.[2]Initial Consolidation and Trade Expansion (1641–1700)
Following the Dutch East India Company's (VOC) capture of Malacca from the Portuguese on 14 January 1641, with assistance from the Sultan of Johor, initial consolidation focused on securing the fortress and establishing administrative control. Johan van Twist served as the first governor (1641–1642), prioritizing the repair of damaged fortifications by dispatching vessels to Batavia for materials and labor. Subsequent governors, including Joan Maetsuyker (as interim overseer from Batavia) and later figures like Outschoorn (until 18 December 1646), oversaw the garrisoning of the fort with VOC troops and the expulsion or enslavement of remaining Portuguese elements, while integrating local Malay and Chinese communities under Dutch oversight. The construction of the Stadthuys in the 1650s served as the administrative headquarters and governor's residence, symbolizing the shift to stable governance.[1][8][9] To expand trade, the VOC pursued monopolistic policies through treaties with regional Malay rulers, securing tin supplies critical for revenue. Agreements were signed with Naning in 1641, Kedah in 1642, Ujung Salang in 1643, and Bangeri in 1645, establishing fortified trading posts to enforce exclusive access; a peace treaty with Perak followed in 1655 after earlier conflicts. These efforts aimed to control the Straits of Malacca, redirecting intra-Asian commerce—such as cotton piece-goods from India, rice, and spices—through VOC channels, while exports included tin, pepper, cloves, tortoise shells, and benzoin. However, the imposition of trade restrictions, unlike the Portuguese era's relatively open port, led to a decline in overall commerce by the 1660s, as merchants bypassed Malacca for Batavia, reducing it to a strategic outpost rather than a bustling entrepôt. Outposts like that in Perak faced destruction in 1651 and abandonment by 1690, underscoring challenges in maintaining monopoly control.[3][1][9] Relations with local rulers emphasized non-territorial diplomacy, avoiding extensive conquests and respecting Malay customs to a greater degree than the Portuguese, which facilitated tin procurement from states like Perak and Kedah. Yet, by 1700, Malacca struggled to fulfill tin quotas dispatched to Batavia, reflecting the limits of VOC expansion amid regional power shifts, including Johor's wars with Jambi (1666–1673), which weakened allied trade networks. The period thus marked strategic consolidation over economic boom, with Malacca's role pivoting to blockade Portuguese remnants and secure VOC routes to the East Indies, though free trade erosion hampered prosperity.[3][1][9]Period of Decline and Internal Challenges (1700–1795)
By the early 18th century, Malacca's role as a vibrant entrepôt had significantly diminished under Dutch control, as the VOC prioritized Batavia as its primary hub for intra-Asian trade, redirecting shipments of key commodities like tin away from Malacca.[10] The settlement struggled to fulfill tin export quotas to Batavia, reflecting broader economic stagnation exacerbated by the VOC's monopolistic policies that deterred free Asian traders, who increasingly favored unrestricted ports such as Riau in Johor.[1] Internal mismanagement compounded these issues, with VOC officials engaging in corruption and inefficiency, including high operational costs and reluctance to adapt to shifting market dynamics dominated by emerging British competition.[11] Tax farming, introduced systematically from 1744, became a cornerstone of local revenue but introduced inequities and inefficiencies. Customs duties, opium monopolies, and taxes on minor goods like timber and betel leaves were auctioned to private farmers, accounting for approximately 44% of VOC income in Malacca between 1775 and 1790, with customs alone contributing over 60%.[10] However, these practices disproportionately burdened Chinese and Malay communities through discriminatory rates and poll taxes, fostering resentment and undermining long-term stability. Annual net losses averaged 100,000 Dutch guilders from 1721 to 1769, though a temporary revenue uptick occurred between 1769 and 1783 before a sharp downturn.[10] Military vulnerabilities persisted due to a modest garrison typically numbering fewer than 550 men, leaving Malacca exposed to regional threats. The Bugis seizure of Riau in 1722 shifted trade dynamics against Malacca, culminating in a Bugis siege of the settlement from 1756 to 1757 and ongoing incursions until their defeat in 1784.[1] Malay insurrections and competition for tin supplies from Perak—where the British established a presence by 1781—further eroded economic viability.[1] Governors such as Jan Crans (1772–1776), Pieter Gerardus de Bruijn (1776–1788), and Abraham Couperus (1788–1795) grappled with these pressures amid the VOC's overarching decline, marked by the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War (1780–1784), which crippled trade routes and precipitated fiscal collapse.[10][11] By 1795, these cumulative internal and external challenges rendered Malacca a peripheral outpost, vulnerable to British capture during the Napoleonic disruptions in Europe.[10]British Interregnum and Dutch Restoration (1795–1825)
In August 1795, during the French Revolutionary Wars, a British expedition from Madras, commanded by Captain Henry Newcome of HMS Orpheus and Major Archibald Brown, arrived off Malacca on 14 August and secured the surrender of the Dutch garrison on 17 August without combat.[12] The Dutch governor, Abraham Couperus, yielded to avoid escalation, as the Netherlands' alliance with France via the Batavian Republic threatened British interests in denying the port to potential French forces.[12] [1] British administration of Malacca from 1795 to 1818 operated as a subsidiary outpost under the East India Company's presidency at Penang, with residents managing local governance, justice, and defense.[13] Early residents included Archibald Brown (August–December 1795), Thomas Parr (1795–1796), Richard Tolson (1796–1797), David Campbell (1797–1798), and Aldwell Taylor (1798–1803), among others who rotated through the role amid wartime contingencies.[14] The British demolished the fortress and bastions, viewing them as indefensible relics that could aid adversaries, and prioritized strategic control of the Straits of Malacca to safeguard shipping lanes from India to China.[1] [15] Trade policies shifted toward reduced restrictions on local commerce and agriculture, though the settlement's economy stagnated relative to Penang, serving mainly as a provisioning stop with limited exports of tin, pepper, and betel nut.[1] [16] Following the Congress of Vienna and the 1815 treaty, which aimed to restore pre-war colonial holdings, Malacca was returned to Dutch sovereignty, with the handover completed on 21 September 1818.[1] The Dutch reinstated centralized governance under the Netherlands Trading Society (successor to the VOC), appointing Jan Samuel Timmerman Thijssen as governor (1818–1823), succeeded by Hendrik Stephanus van Son (1824–1825).[17] [18] Efforts focused on reviving export monopolies on spices and textiles, but persistent decline—exacerbated by silting harbors, regional competition, and the rise of Singapore in 1819—yielded minimal revenue, with annual trade volumes remaining under 1 million guilders.[1] The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of London, signed on 17 March 1824, resolved overlapping claims by ceding Malacca and its dependencies to Britain in exchange for Bencoolen (Bengkulu) on Sumatra's west coast, while delineating British influence north of the equator and Dutch south.[19] [20] Property transfers and administrative handover occurred on 1 March 1825, ending Dutch rule after 183 intermittent years and integrating Malacca into the emerging Straits Settlements under permanent British control.[1] [20] This exchange reflected pragmatic realignment, as Malacca's strategic value outweighed its economic output for the Dutch amid Britain's expanding maritime dominance.[19]Transfer to British Control (1824–1825)
The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, signed on 17 March 1824 in London, provided for the permanent cession of Malacca from the Netherlands to Great Britain, resolving lingering colonial disputes in Southeast Asia after the Dutch restoration of control in 1818 under the 1814 Convention of London.[19] The treaty delineated spheres of influence, with Britain focusing on the Malay Peninsula and the Dutch on Sumatra and the Indonesian archipelago, partly in response to Dutch objections over the British founding of Singapore in 1819.[21] Article IX explicitly stated that "the Town and Fort of Malacca, and its Dependencies," along with associated properties, were ceded to Britain, while Britain reciprocated by transferring Fort Marlborough at Bencoolen (Bengkulu) and its dependencies to the Dutch.[22] Ratifications of the treaty were exchanged on 8 August 1824, initiating preparations for the territorial exchanges.[23] In Malacca, Dutch authorities conducted inventories of public stores, buildings, artillery, and other assets to facilitate an orderly handover, amid ongoing trade activities that had seen the port's gradual decline under Dutch monopoly policies. The process reflected mutual recognition of strategic interests, with Britain seeking to consolidate control over the Straits of Malacca for free trade routes and the Dutch prioritizing their Java-centered empire.[13] British possession was formally effected on 9 April 1825, when the Dutch governor transferred authority to William Cracroft, the British commissioner from Penang, marking the end of Dutch rule in Malacca after intermittent occupations.[1] This handover included the fort, settlements, and surrounding territories, with no reported major conflicts, though some Dutch records from the period were later lost or destroyed during the transition.[24] The transfer integrated Malacca into British administrative frameworks, paving the way for its incorporation into the Straits Settlements alongside Penang and Singapore by 1826.[13]Governance and Administration
Administrative Framework under the VOC
Malacca functioned as a subordinate command post within the Dutch East India Company's (VOC) Asian network following its conquest in 1641, with administration centralized under a governor appointed by the Governor-General in Batavia.[1] The governor, typically a senior VOC merchant or military officer serving short terms to curb potential abuses of power, oversaw trade enforcement, fiscal collection, defense, and rudimentary justice, drawing authority from the company's charter that granted quasi-sovereign powers including treaty-making and military command.[10] Initial governors, such as Johan van Twist (1641–1646), focused on fortifying the settlement and integrating it into VOC logistics, while later appointees like Abraham Couperus (1788–1795) managed declining revenues amid stricter oversight from Batavia.[8] [10] The governor operated from the Stadthuys, constructed in the 1650s as the primary administrative hub housing offices for commerce, residency, and record-keeping, symbolizing VOC prioritization of commercial control over expansive territorial rule.[1] He was advised by a small council comprising senior merchants, a fiscal (for audits and prosecutions), and specialized officials such as the ontvanger for customs and an accountant for duties, ensuring checks on discretionary power while aligning local operations with company directives on monopoly enforcement.[10] Fiscal administration increasingly relied on tax farming from 1744 onward, where private bidders—often Chinese entrepreneurs—auctioned rights to collect customs (averaging 60% of tax income), opium monopolies, and minor levies like slaughter taxes, with the governor retaining oversight but allocating 25% of customs profits to Dutch personnel.[10] Subordination to Batavia's Governor-General and Council of the Indies imposed hierarchical constraints, with Malacca's governor required to submit regular reports on trade volumes, garrison status (typically under 550 Europeans), and outpost management—such as temporary forts at Perak (reoccupied 1746) and Linggi River (Fort Philippe, 1757)—limiting autonomous expansion in favor of defensive and extractive functions.[1] This structure reflected the VOC's corporate model, prioritizing profitability over benevolent governance, as local revenues funded minimal infrastructure while broader policy emanated from the Dutch Republic's Heeren XVII directors via annual fleets.[25] Judicial matters fell under a rudimentary Raad van Justitie, applying Roman-Dutch law to Europeans and adapted customary codes to indigenous populations, though enforcement waned as economic stagnation eroded administrative capacity by the late 18th century.[10]List of Governors and Key Policies
The governance of Dutch Malacca was directed by governors appointed by the VOC, who enforced the company's monopolistic trade policies, including restrictions on private commerce to funnel goods through Batavia, maintenance of defensive fortifications, regulation of customs duties typically at 10 percent on imports and exports, and oversight of a modest garrison to deter rivals and manage local populations. These policies prioritized VOC revenue over local economic vitality, contributing to Malacca's relative decline as a entrepôt after initial consolidation. Governors also navigated alliances with Malay rulers for resource extraction, such as tin from upstream territories, while suppressing residual Portuguese influence and internal unrest.[26][27] Due to the partial destruction or dispersal of Malacca's VOC archives during British occupations and subsequent transfers, comprehensive records of all governors remain fragmentary, with surviving details drawn primarily from reports, correspondence, and secondary reconstructions from Dutch and local sources.[24] Known governors and their notable policies are summarized below.| Governor | Term | Key Policies |
|---|---|---|
| Johan van Twist | 1641–1642 | Oversaw the immediate post-conquest stabilization following the siege of Portuguese Malacca on 14 January 1641; prioritized repairs to war-damaged fortifications and requested 1,000 reinforcements and supplies from Batavia to secure the outpost against counterattacks.[8][28] |
| Jeremias van Vliet | 1642–1645 | Implemented early administrative reforms to integrate captured Portuguese assets and personnel; enforced VOC trade protocols limiting free port status to protect company interests in spices and textiles routed via Batavia.[28] |
| Jan Thijssen Payart | 1646–1662 | Extended long-term fortification upgrades, including expansion of the bastions; regulated inter-island trade to curb smuggling and enforced slavery codes for labor in plantations and defenses, maintaining a population of several thousand slaves by mid-century.[28][27] |
| Balthasar Bort | 1665–1678 | Strengthened trade controls via a 10 percent ad valorem duty on all vessels (except VOC ships), prohibiting unlicensed private trade and requiring manifests for Asian junks; bolstered the garrison to 286 soldiers by 1678 for defense against Johor and Achinese threats; promoted tin procurement treaties with Perak rulers, yielding annual revenues of 20,000-30,000 guilders, while documenting a total population of about 30,000 including 4,000 Christians.[27][29] |
| W. B. Albinus | c. 1750 | Addressed economic stagnation in his 1750 memorandum by advocating relaxed trade barriers to revive shipping, but upheld VOC monopoly on key commodities like Japan copper; noted declining revenues from 100,000 guilders annually in the 1670s to under 50,000 by mid-18th century due to competition from Penang and internal corruption.[30] |
| Roger de Laver | 1743 | Attempted to stimulate tin imports through incentives for Malay traders, but reported persistent low volumes (under 1,000 bahars yearly) amid smuggling and Johor interference, reinforcing the policy of dependency on Batavia for broader commerce.[26] |
| Jan S. Timmerman Thijssen | 1818–1823 | During post-Napoleonic restoration, focused on rehabilitating infrastructure damaged in British interregnums and reviving tin trade alliances, but grappled with fiscal deficits exceeding 200,000 guilders annually amid VOC bankruptcy.[31] |
| Hendrik S. van Son | 1824–1825 | Managed the final handover to Britain under the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, liquidating VOC assets including forts and warehouses valued at over 1 million guilders; enforced transitional policies preserving Dutch legal codes until 1 April 1825.[1] |