Portuguese and Luso-Asian Legacies in Southeast Asia, 1511-2011, vol. 2: Culture and Identity in the Luso-Asian World: Tenacities & Plasticities

12. Enemies, Friends and Relations: Portuguese Eurasians during Malacca's Dutch Era and Beyond

12 ENEMIES, FRIENDS AND RELATIONS: PORTUGUESE EURASIANS DURING MALACCA’S DUTCh ERA AND BEYOND Dennis De Witt The Portuguese and the Dutch were age-old enemies, and remnants of the historical, political and religious competition between the two nations can still be found in the culture and heritage of the Portuguese Eurasian community in Malacca. Margaret Sarkissian said it best when she observed that whenever the history of the Malacca Portuguese Eurasian community touches on the Dutch era, people from this community invoke the brief tale of the cruelty of Dutchmen who “inflicted a period of religious persecution upon the hardy Portuguese, reduced them to subsistence fisherfolk, forced them into the jungle for secret church services, but were unable to crush their spirit”.1 This is a rather popular point of view that portrays the negative aspects of Malacca Portuguese Eurasians during the Dutch era that is shared by historians and writers from this community, such as the late Bernard Sta Maria2 and Gerard Fernandis.3 They, in turn, were much influenced by the views and research of Roman Catholic clerics with whom they had interacted in Malacca. The source of their research is based to a large extent on Portuguese documents, either from primary sources that were translated by those clerics, or from secondary sources obtained by them that were written by Portuguese historians, in the Portuguese language.4 Although Malacca existed for 160 years under Dutch rule, the disconnection between that community with the 257 258 Dennis De Witt Netherlands since 1825 has caused local historians to be greatly deprived of materials and books that would have given them an alternate point of view, namely, from the eyes of the Dutch. Therefore, when the history of the Malacca Portuguese Eurasian community is re-examined from a Dutch perspective, it can be seen that the Dutch period was not a time of totally rampant persecution and focused discrimination against this community. In fact, some members of the community even enjoyed economic gains and attained some manner of status when they were associated with the Dutch. It is the purpose of this study, therefore, to bring such a perspective to bear on the subject, in particular one that is informed by Malaccan church documents. ThE hISTORICAL CONFLICT When Philip II became the ruler of Spain and the Netherlands in 1556, his oppression of the people of the Low Countries and Protestantism led to the Dutch War of Independence in 1568. Spain was then the most powerful European nation. The Roman Catholic Church was the official state church of Spain and did not tolerate Protestantism. In 1594, Philip II of Spain gained the Portuguese throne as a son of Princess Isabel of Portugal, thus subordinating Portugal’s sovereignty to Spain. By definition, Spain’s enemies became those of Portugal. For that reason, Protestant Dutch merchants were no longer allowed to trade in Lisbon or in any other Portuguese-controlled ports, and the lucrative Asian trade was monopolized by the Portuguese. As a result, the Dutch eerste schipvaart (first shipping) to Asia was organized with the aim of breaking the Portuguese monopoly on Asian spices. Soon, more and more Dutch ships were making their way to Asia, and they successfully returned to Europe with their cache of spices. Dutch sailors began to gain favour among Asian Muslim rulers, and they started to undermine the Portuguese trading presence in Asia. The Dutch used the newly developed trade with Asia as an economic weapon against their enemy and threatened to break the Iberian trade monopoly in Asia by capturing Portuguese forts in the Spice Islands (the Moluccas) and forging friendships with the Malays. As the Dutch became stronger and bolder, it was inevitable that the two powers would clash in an epic battle. Soon enough, the Dutch were eyeing Malacca, and their first attempt at wresting control of the port from the Portuguese came in 1606 when they besieged the fortress. This event then led to one of the greatest sea battles in the region, known as the Battle of Portuguese Eurasians during Malacca’s Dutch Era and Beyond 259 Cape Rachado.5 From then on, the two European nations remained fierce competitors and bitter enemies in their attempt to control the Straits of Malacca and the historic port town of Malacca. Portuguese Malacca eventually fell to the Dutch in 1641 after six months of deadly conflict. It was a major blow...