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Expelling Portuguese Greed

[Historical Short Story by Fatchuri Rosidin]

The fall of Constantinople to the hands of the Uthmani Khilafah forces led by Muhammad al-Fatih in 1453 cut off the spice trade routes to Europe. Muhammad al-Fatih, angry that the Venetian and Genoese merchant ships fought against him while fighting the Constantinople army, stopped the supply of spices from Muslim traders who had been the only European supplier in the Mediterranean trade route.

Since then Europe began to find its way to the spice center by sea, particularly the 2 Spanish and Portuguese Catholic kingdoms. They learned to improve their ship technology so that they could match the Arab merchant ships so they could sail further out of Europe.

Upon their agreement through the mediation of Pope Alexander VII in the Tordessilas treaty of 1494, western Europe was given to Spain, and eastern areas for Portugal. They were given the right to control trade and colonize all areas within these borders, except for countries which were led by Catholics.

The victory over the Muslims of Andalusia in Granada, Spain in 1492 which ended 700 years of Islamic rule in southwestern Europe gave birth to their confidence in facing the domination of Islamic civilization. The knowledge they got from Islamic universities in Andalusia had become a doorway for European progress until they were slowly catching up.

The European adventure begins. Spain moved west and landed in South America. In 1519 under the leadership of Hernando Cortez, Spain attacked the Aztec empire and colonized it. Francisco Pizarro attacked the Inca kingdom of Peru in 1531.

The Portuguese began looking for new areas to the east. In 1487 Bartholomew Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope of Africa and entered the Indian Ocean. In the same year Vasco de Gama arrived in India. Portuguese continued to explore east until they reached Malacca in 1509 and Maluku in 1512.

Unlike the Muslim traders, the Portuguese wanted to monopolize the spice trade. They also did not have commodities to exchange, so their arrival did not get a positive response from traders from other countries.

The Portuguese also had the ambition to cut off the maritime trade route from the archipelago to Islamic rulers in Asia and Africa. In 1511 the Portuguese attacked Malacca and forced Sultan Mahmud Syah to flee to Bintan Island, Riau.

Not satisfied with the control of Malacca, in 1512 the Portuguese attacked Samudera Pasai in Aceh. These actions sparked tensions and damaged trade routes that had existed for 700 years between Arab, Chinese and Southeast Asian traders.

The fall of Malacca to the Portuguese also disturbed the kingdoms in the archipelago. In Demak, Raden Fatah asked the ulama for advice and held a cabinet meeting of the Demak Sultanate with the Walisongo Council.

“The Portuguese have attacked and controlled Malacca and Pasai. They tried to monopolize the spice trade and drive out Arab, Indian and Chinese traders. This will disrupt the trade routes of the archipelago countries, "said the Sultan of Demak, Raden Fatah.

"We cannot allow this to happen," continued Walisongo's leader, Syarif Hidayatullah alias Sunan Gunung Jati. "Before the Portuguese took any further action and attacked the archipelago countries, we must act. Malacca and Pasai are Muslim countries, our brothers. It is obligatory for us to help them expel the Portuguese. "

So a decision was made. Demak will send troops to expel the Portuguese from Malacca. Sunan Gunung Jati is believed to have formed a joint Demak-Cirebon army. After the joint force was formed, Sunan Gunung Jati appointed Fathi Yunus, the duke of Jepara who was also the son-in-law of Sultan Demak, as the warlord. Javanese people call it Pati Unus.

The joint forces are ready. Not only Demak and Cirebon, the Palembang sultanate also joined in this expedition.

In January 1513 the jihadi expeditionary force led by Fathi Yunus departed with a force of 100 warships. Thirty of these were junks weighing 350-600 tonnes. The battleship Fathi Yunus was even described by the Captain of the French Fleet, Fernao Pires de Andrade, in his letter dated February 22, 1513 to Alfonso de Albuquerque, the Portuguese leader in Southeast Asia, as the largest ship he had ever seen.

“The Pati Unus ship is very big. We hit him with the bombard, but even the biggest shots didn't get through. Esfera's cannon fire hits him but does not go through. The ship had three layers of metal, all of which were more than one coin thick. And the ship is truly so terrible, no one has even seen the like. "

Unfortunately, Demak was outnumbered. The Portuguese defense is too strong. Demak's attack was successfully broken. Fathi Yunus withdrew his troops and returned to Demak.

The defeat against the Portuguese did not make Demak despair. The lack of preparation and the number of troops is an important lesson. Demak also prepared a bigger attack and was given the name Expedition Jihad II. Raden Fatah ordered 375 warships to the king of Gowa in Makassar. At that time, the people of Gowa were known as master shipbuilders.

In 1521 the combined war fleets of Demak, Cirebon and Banten, with a strength 4 times that of the first expedition, were ready to go. Fathi Yunus, who has now become the sultan of Demak replacing Raden Fatah, returned to lead the troops. With the blessing of the leadership of Walisongo Sunan Gunung Jati, Fathi Yunus left for Malacca.

The war was fierce. Demak troops succeeded in pushing the Portuguese and controlling the battle. But unexpectedly, from behind appeared Portuguese reinforcements that were sent from their military base in Maluku. It turned out that the Portuguese had learned about the Demak attack plan and had secretly withdrawn the troops in Maluku.

Now, Fathi Yunus and his troops are surrounded. The situation turned around. One by one the Demak warship was hit by a cannon and was sunk by the Portuguese. Portuguese won the war again. Fathi Yunus and his two sons were martyred on the battlefield. He was later remembered by the Demak people as Pangeran Sabrang Lor; prince who died in battle across the sea to the north.

The victory over the war against Demak further strengthened the Portuguese position in the Malacca Strait. The Portuguese became increasingly greedy and wanted to control all of the archipelago's spices. In 1522 the Portuguese sent troops to Java and set up a fort in Sunda Kelapa.

Demak was ready again, knowing that the Portuguese troops had landed in Sunda Kelapa. Sunan Gunung Jati again formed a joint force of Demak, Cirebon and Banten. This time the warlord was entrusted to Fadhullah Khan, a Pasai Aceh nobleman who moved to Demak after Pasai was attacked by the Portuguese. The people of Demak call him Tubagus Pasai, but he is better known as Fatahillah. The Portuguese call it Faletehan.

On June 22, 1527, a joint force led by Fatahillah defeated the Portuguese and drove them out of Java. Fatahillah changed the name Sunda Kelapa to Jayakarta; which is taken from the word Fathan Mubina (QS al-Fath verse 1) which means glorious victory. Until now, 22 June is celebrated as the anniversary of the city of Jakarta. [Source: www.fatchuri.com] [DDHK News]

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Fatchuri Rosidin is the Director of IMZ Consulting, a consultant and public speaker in the fields of motivation, human resource development, leadership, parenting, and community empowerment.

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