group 1

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 princes
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.

malaccas 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,malaccas 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

weak rulling government


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 peraks successor,tun putih was old,weak
and barely able to carry out his duties.following tun putihs 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
malaccas trading activities and forced many merchants to shift to
acheh,the other trading centre in the region.

hostility among races

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.







disloyalty

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
malaccas 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.









the strength of the portuguese army

portuguese soldiers were better equipped than their malacca
counterparts and possessed advanced weapons,like guns and
cannons.they were also led by alfonso dalbuquerque,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 countrys 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 dalbuquerque.