Sejarah Sumatra (Marsden)/Bab 22

SEJARAH KERAJAAN ACHIN, DARI MASA KEDATANGAN EROPA.

Portugis, di bawah naungan Vasco de Gama, berangkat dari Tanjung Harapan pada tahun 1497, dan mendatangi pantai Malabar pada tahun berikutnya, Orang-orang tersebut, yang memiliki semangat kejayaan, perdagangan, dan pengumpulan berujung pada penaklukan wilayah yang makin masif, tak secara keseluruhan bergantung pada penaklukan-penaklukan pada benua India untuk menghindari mereka dari penyebaran pandangan mereka terhadap wilayah-wilayah yang lebih jauh. Mereka mengetahui beberapa catatan yang kaya dan berpengaruh dari para pedagang Guzerat mengenai Malaka, sebuah kota dagang besar yang jauh dari semenanjung India, didukung oleh Chersonnese Emas. Pemahaman ini disebarkan untuk melanggengkan kedaulatan Emanuel, yang menjadi terpesona dengan keinginan kuat untuk melibatkan dirinya sendiri pada kemajuan-kemajuan yang terjadi pada negara yang diidam-idamkan tersebut sesuai dengan ambisinya.

Ia mengerahkan armada empat kapal di bawah komando Diogo Lopez de Sequeira, yang berlayar dari Lisboa pada 8 April 1508 dengan perintah untuk menjelajahi dan mendirikan connexion-connexion di belahan timur Asia.

Setelah menyentuh Sequeira Madagaskar untuk mendatangi Cochin, dimana sebuah kapal ditambahkan pada armadanya, dan berangkat dari situ pada 8 September 1509, ia berlayar menuju Malaka; selain menggandakan kekuatan ekstrim Sumatra (ketika itu dikuasai oleh Taprobane dari orang-orang kuno) ia berlabuh di Pidir, sebuah pelabuhan utama di pulau tersebut. Di ssana, ia menemukan kapal-kapal dari Pegu, Bengal, dan daerah lainnya. Raja di tempat tersebut, seperti kebanyakan pangeran Muslim lainnya, bergelar sultan, mengirim tanggapan terhadapnya, disertai dengan penyegaran, mengkhususkan dirinya sendiri, tentang catatan penyakit, dari pembayaran penyertaannya per orang, namun menganggapnya pada saat yang sama bahwa ia harus memberikan banyak kesenangan dari persahabatan dan aliansi Portugis, yang ketenarannya sampai ke telinganya. Sequeira menjawab pesan tersebut dalam hal serupa bahwa, atas perhatian sultan, sebuah monumen kedatangan mereka didirikan di pesisir; atau lebih tempatnya, ketika penemuan dan penguasaan biasanya dilakukan oleh bangsa-bangsa Eropa. Ia menerima perilaku yang sama di sebuah tempat yang disebut Pase, yang berjarak sekitar dua puluh lima liga jauhnya di wilayah timur pada pesisir yang sama, dan terdapat juga monumen atau salib yang didirikan di sana. Penjamahan di setiap pelabuhan tersebut seperti halnya banyak lada yang dapat dikumpulkan dalam jangka pendek yang ia dapatkan di Malaka, ketika kabar penampilannya di laut tersebut diwarnai dengan kedatangannya. Disini, ia nyaris menjatuhkan pengurbanan kepada kebijakan dalam Mahmud, raja yang memerintah, ketika Portugis diwakili oleh para peniaga Arab dan Persia (dan tak sangat tidak adil) sebagai pembajak tak berhukum, yang, di dalam pra-penulisan menjalin perjanjian komersial, mula-mula lewat dorongan, dan setelah itu dengan sifat kurang ajar, menggulingkan dan memperbudak para pangeran yang dibutuhkan untuk menempatkan keyakinan mereka, atau membolehkan mereka menginjak wilayah-wilayah kekuasaan mereka. Ia kabur agar nasib tersebut tak menimpanya namun kehilangan banyak orang-orangnya, dan meninggalkan orang-orang lainnya dalam penahanan, ia kembali ke Eropa, dan memberikan catatan soal pelantikannya menjadi raja.

Sebuah armada dikirim pada tahun 1510 di bawah naungan Diogo Mendez menghimpun kepentingan Portugis di Malaka; namun Affonso d'Alboquerque, gubernur urusan mereka di India, mengerahkan skuadron tersebut di pantai Malabar sampai ia dapat menghimpun dirinya sendiri dengan pasukan yang lebih besar.

Dan pada paruh kedua Mei 1511, aku berniat untuk berlajar dari Cochin dengan sembilan belas kapal dan empat belas ratus pasukan. Ia melewati Pidir, dimana ia menemukan beberapa orang-orang daerah yang kabur dari Malaka memakai kapal dan berlindung di pantai Sumatra. Mereka menyatakan bahwa, ketika berangkat dari Pase, mereka dirawat oleh penduduk asli, yang membunuh salah satu pihak mereka dan membuat mereka bergerak ke Pidir, dimana mereka bertemu dengan pangeran yang santun dan murah hati, yang nampak menginginkan untuk berkonsiliasi terkait kebangsaan mereka. Alboquerque mengekspresikan dirinya sendiri dari contoh persahabatan tersebut, dan memperbaharui aliansi dengan sultan yang dijalin oleh Sequeira. Ia kemudian bergerak menuju Pase, yang pemimpin monarkinya didorong untuk melarikan dirinya sendiri dari penggulingan yang dilakukan melawan pengaruh Portugis, dan ketika ia tak dapat melakukan dengan mengambil busana merah, ia mengundurkan penarikannya. Di perlintasan menuju Malaka, ia turun pada jung besar, atau kapal kedaerahan, yang ia arahkan dan berniat untuk menumpang, namun musuh, menyulut api dalam jumlah besar, ia terpojok dari tempatnya, dengan pelarian sempit dari penghancuran kapalnya sendiri. Jung tersebut kemudian dilarungkan dari kejauhan sampai empat puluh pasukannya tewas, ketika Alboquerque, mendorong keberanian awaknya, mengusulkan agar mereka bahwa, jika mereka akan menyerang dan diri mereka sendiri mengetahui kapal-kapal Portugal, ia akan memperlakukan mereka sebagai teman dan menaungi mereka di bawah perlindungannya. Tawaran tersebut diterima, dan pembela kapal memberitahukan gubernur bahwa namanya adalah Jeinal, ahli waris sah dari kerajaan Pase; ia saat itu memerintah sebagai perampas tahta, yang, mengambil kemajuan pasukannya yang berjumlah sedikit dan penempatannya sendiri sebagai wali raja, telah merebut mahkota: bahwa ia membuat upaya untuk menyatakan haknya, namun kalah dalam dua pertempuran, dan kini bergerak dengan para pengikutnya ke Jawa, beberapa pangeran yang merupakan kerabatnya, dan ia harap dapat membuatnya meraih takhtanya.

Alboquerque menjanjikan dampak baginya, dan ingin pangeran menemaninya ke Malaka. Disana, mereka datang pada paruh pertama bula Juli 1511. Dalam rangka menyelamatkan nyawa para tahanan Portugis, dan jika memungkinkan dapat membebaskan mereka, ia bernegosiasi dengan raja Malaka sebelum ia memutuskan untuk menyerang tempat tersebut; yang mengerahkan Jeinal miliknya dalam keadaan mengkhawatirkan, dan, mengangkat teman barunya, berlintas sepanjang malam ke penguasa Melayu, yang ia anggap perlindungan yang lebih menonjol terhadapnya. Ketika Alboquerque merebut tempat tersebut, yang mengalami pemberontakan, pangeran Pase, melihat kesalahan dari kebijakannya, menarik diri dan menyerahkan dirinya sendiri di kaki gubernur, mengetahui ketidakpercayaan terhadapnya, dan memohon perlindungannya, yang tak disangkalinya. Namun, ia ragu memandang rekonsilisasi dan permintaan maaf dini, dan, memutuskan agar tak ada tindakan yang diambil untuk mengembalikannya ke kerajaannya, namun berseberangan dengan Alboquerque yang bersiap untuk meninggalkan Malaka dengan pasukan kecil, dan menyatakan pemenuhan janjinya ketika ia harus kembali dari Goa, ia memajukan resolusi kembali terhadap dirinya untuk kekayaan dari penguasa yang ditaklukan, dan diam-diam mengelumpulkan bawahannya kabur sekali lagi dari perlindungan Portugis. Ia mungkin tak merasakan bahwa raja Pase yang memerintah, pergerakannya, selama beberapa waktu memiliki keinginan untuk mendapatkan bantuan Alboquerque, dan menemukan kesempatan untuk menyatakan niatnya. Sekembalinya dari Malaka, gubernur dihadapkan dengan serangan di pantai Sumatra dekat ujung Timiang. Disana, kapalnya karam. Sebagian dari awak membuat rakit untuk menuju Pase. Disana, raja memperlakukan mereka dengan kemurahan hati dan mengirim mereka ke pantai Coromandel dengan sebuah kapal dagang. Beberapa tahun setelah peristiwa tersebut, Jeinal diijinkan oleh para temannya untuk membawa pasukan ke Pase, dan mengangkat dirinya sendiri di sana, namun tak menikmati kekuasaannya dalam jangka waktu yang lama.

Setelah penyusutan Malaka, gubernur menerima pesan dari para pangeran Sumatran, dan salah satunya berasal dari seorang raja dari sebuah tempat yang disebut Kampar, di pantai timur, yang telah menikahi seorang putri dari raja Malaka, namun memiliki hukuman yang buruk dengan ayah mertuanya. Ia ingin menjadi vassal takhta Portugis, dan hengkang untuk berada di bawah yurisdiksi mereka. Pandangannya diterima menjadi bagian penting dari bandhara, atau pemimpin magistrat Melayu, yang sedang lowong akibat eksekusinya yang diberikan terhadapnya. Ia mengirimkannya gaharu dan kosambi, hasil bumi dari daerahnya, namun Alboquerque, yang mencurigai kejujuran dari tujuan-tujuannya, dan mengkhawatirkan bahwa ia menginginkan takhta Malaka atau mendorong para pedagang untuk singgah ke kerajaannya, enggan mengijinkan kedatangannya, dan menyerahkan kepemimpinan penduduk asli kepada seseorang bernama Nina Chetuan.

Setelah beberapa tahun berlalu, pada masa saat Jorge Alboquerque menjadi gubernur Malaka, sang raja (yang bernama Abdallah) menyatakan pandangannya, menerima kunjungannya dan diberi kehormatan. Pada keberangkatannya, ia memberikannya bantuan pembebasan untuk menghimpun dirinya sendiri di Malaka, jika ia harus berpikir yang sebenarnya, dan Nina Chetuan tak lama setelah itu digulingkan dari kekuasaannya, meskipun tak ada kesalahan yang didakwakan kepadanya. Ia dinyatakan sebagai aib sehingga banyak orang mendakwanya, menyebabkan tiang didirikan di samping pintunya, dan menyulut api terhadapnya, ia melemparkan dirinya sendiri ke perapian.*

(*Catatan kaki. Pria ini bukanlah seorang Mahometan namun salah satu penduduk asli yang tak berpindah keyakinan dari semenanjung tersebut yang seringkali disamakan dengan bangsa Moor oleh para penulis Portugis.)

Tujuan pelantikan Abdallah pada jabatan bandhara dengan cepat menjadi rumor di luar negeri, dan, sampai ke sepengetahuan raja Bintang, yang bergerak dari Malaka dan kini melakukan perang melawan Portugis, di bawah komando Laksamana terkenal, ia memutuskan untuk menghindari kedatangannya di sna. Atas tujuan tersebut, ia menyekutukan dirinya sendiri dengan raja Lingga, sebuah pulau tetangga, dan mengirim armada tujuh puluh perahu bersenjata untuk memblok pelabuhan Kampar. Dengan pengerahan pasukan Portugis yang kecil, pasukan tersebut datang ke sungai dengan nama tersebut, dan raja menyatakan kemenangan terhadap Malaka. Di sana, ia berinvestasi dalam bentuk pos penting yang diinginkan olehnya. Namun pengurbanan tersebut atas kemerdekaannya memberikan dampak tak menguntungkan baginya; karena meskipun ia mengangkat dirinya sendiri dalam cara semacam itu seperti yang seharusnya memberikan kepuasan terbesar, dan nampak menghindarkannya dalam eksekusi kepercayaannya, pada tahun berikutnya, raja Bintang menemukan cara untuk mempengaruhi gubernur dengan kekuatan menonjolnya, dan menggulingkan kekuasaannya.

Ia dengan kejam dihukum mati tanpa bentuk pengadilan tersederhana dan dipertontonkan di hadapan masyarakat yang murka, sementara ia menyerukan bahwa surga menyaksikan ketidakbersalahannya dan mengarahkan penyalahannya terhadap para penuduh berkepentingannya. Kelaliman dan ketidaksopanannya memiliki dampak terhadap pikiran rakyat terhadap seluruh harta benda atau nama baik pada tempat tersebut, yang mengusik pemerintah Portugis. Akibat tontonan umum tersebut mengurangkan perbedaan ekstrim untuk tujuan-tujuan mereka, yang membuat negara-negara tetangga enggan untuk mensuplai mereka, dan meskipun biji-bijian melimpah didatangkan dari Siak dengan banyak ketegangan, peristiwa tersebut menerima dampak fatal untuk garisun tersebut.

Fernando Perez d'Andrade, dalam perjalanannya menuju Tiongkok, datang ke Pase dalam rangka mengambil lada. Ia menemukan warga di tempat tersebut, serta para peniaga asal Bengal, Cambay, dan belahan India lainnya, kebanyakan tak terikat dengan aturan-aturan yang ketika itu diatur oleh pemerintahan Malaka, yang telah mengerahkan pasukan bersenjata untuk mengatur seluruh kapal untuk menawarkannya dengan pernak-pernik mereka dan merebut tempat tersebut, sebagai emporium, kargo-kargo yang dipakai oleh mereka untuk dikumpulkan di selat. Raja juga tak menerima Andrade, dan menantang agar Portugis harus memiliki kebebasan untuk mendirikan benteng di kerajaannya.

Extraordinary accounts having been related of certain islands abounding in gold, which were reported by the general fame of India to lie off the southern coast of Sumatra, a ship and small brigantine, under the command of Diogo Pacheco, an experienced seaman, were sent in order to make the discovery of them. Having proceeded as far as Daya the brigantine was lost in a gale of wind. Pacheco stood on to Barus, a place renowned for its gold trade, and for gum benzoin of a peculiar scent, which the country produced. It was much frequented by vessels, both from the neighbouring ports in the island, and from those in the West of India, whence it was supplied with cotton cloths. The merchants, terrified at the approach of the Portuguese, forsook their ships and fled precipitately to the shore. The chiefs of the country sent to inquire the motives of his visit, which he informed them were to establish friendly connexions and to give them assurances of unmolested freedom of trade at the city of Malacca. Refreshments were then ordered for his fleet, and upon landing he was treated with respect by the inhabitants, who brought the articles of their country to exchange with him for merchandise. His chief view was to obtain information respecting the situation and other circumstances of the ilhas d'Ouro, but they seemed jealous of imparting any. At length, after giving him a laboured detail of the dangers attending the navigation of the seas where they were said to lie, they represented their situation to be distant a hundred leagues to the south-east of Barus, amidst labyrinths of shoals and reefs through which it was impossible to steer with any but the smallest boats. If these islands, so celebrated about this time, existed anywhere but in the regions of fancy,* they were probably those of Tiku, to which it is possible that much gold might be brought from the neighbouring country of Menangkabau. Pacheco, leaving Barus, proceeded to the southward, but did not make the wished-for discovery. He reached the channel that divides Sumatra from Java, which he called the strait of Polimban, from a city he erroneously supposed to lie on the Javan shore, and passing through this returned to Malacca by the east; being the first European who sailed round the island of Sumatra. In the following year he sailed once more in search of these islands, which were afterwards the object of many fruitless voyages; but touching again at Barus he met with resistance there and perished with all his companions.

(*Footnote. Linschoten makes particular mention of having seen them, and gives practical directions for the navigation, but the golden dreams of the Portuguese were never realized in them.)

A little before this time a ship under the command of Gaspar d'Acosta was lost on the island of Gamispola (Pulo Gomez) near Achin Head, when the people from Achin attacked and plundered the crew, killing many and taking the rest prisoners. A ship also which belonged to Joano de Lima was plundered in the road, and the Portuguese which belonged to her put to death. These insults and others committed at Pase induced the governor of Malacca, Garcia de Sa, to dispatch a vessel under Manuel Pacheco to take satisfaction; which he endeavoured to effect by blocking up the ports, and depriving the towns of all sources of provision, particularly their fisheries. As he cruised between Achin and Pase a boat with five men, going to take in fresh water at a river nigh to the latter, would have been cut off had not the people, by wonderful efforts of valour, overcome the numerous party which attacked them. The sultan, alarmed for the consequences of this affray, sent immediately to sue for reconciliation, offering to make atonement for the loss of property the merchants had sustained by the licentiousness of his people, from a participation in whose crimes he sought to vindicate himself. The advantage derived from the connexion with this place induced the government of Malacca to be satisfied with his apology, and cargoes of pepper and raw silk were shortly after procured there; the former being much wanted for the ships bound to China.

Jeinal, who had fled to the king of Malacca, as before mentioned, followed that monarch to the island of Bintang, and received one of his daughters in marriage. Six or seven years elapsed before the situation of affairs enabled the king to lend him any effectual assistance, but at length some advantages gained over the Portuguese afforded a proper opportunity, and accordingly a fleet was fitted out, with which Jeinal sailed for Pase. In order to form a judgment of the transactions of this kingdom it must be understood that the people, having an idea of predestination, always conceived present possession to constitute right, however that possession might have been acquired; but yet they made no scruple of deposing and murdering their sovereigns, and justified their acts by this argument; that the fate of concerns so important as the lives of kings was in the hands of God, whose vicegerents they were, and that if it was not agreeable to him and the consequence of his will that they should perish by the daggers of their subjects it could not so happen. Thus it appears that their religious ideas were just strong enough to banish from their minds every moral sentiment. The natural consequence of these maxims was that their kings were merely the tyrants of the day; and it is said that whilst a certain ship remained in the port no less than two were murdered, and a third set up: but allowance should perhaps be made for the medium through which these accounts have been transmitted to us.

The maternal uncle of Jeinal, who, on account of his father's infirmities, had been some time regent, and had deprived him of the succession to the throne, was also king of Aru or Rou, a country not far distant, and thus became monarch of both places. The caprices of the Pase people, who submitted quietly to his usurpation, rendered them ere long discontented with his government, and being a stranger they had the less compunction in putting him to death. Another king was set up in his room, who soon fell by the hands of some natives of Aru who resided at Pase, in revenge for the assassination of their countryman.

A fresh monarch was elected by the people, and in his reign it was that Jeinal appeared with a force from Bintang, who, carrying everything before him, put his rival to death, and took possession of the throne. The son of the deceased, a youth of about twelve years of age, made his escape, accompanied by the Mulana or chief priest of the city, and procured a conveyance to the west of India. There they threw themselves at the feet of the Portuguese governor, Lopez Sequeira, then engaged in an expedition to the Red Sea, imploring his aid to drive the invader from their country, and to establish the young prince in his rights, who would thenceforth consider himself as a vassal of the crown of Portugal. It was urged that Jeinal, as being nearly allied to the king of Bintang, was an avowed enemy to that nation, which he had manifested in some recent outrages committed against the merchants from Malacca who traded at Pase. Sequeira, partly from compassion, and partly from political motives, resolved to succour this prince, and by placing him on the throne establish a firm interest in the affairs of his kingdom. He accordingly gave orders to Jorge Alboquerque, who was then proceeding with a strong fleet towards Malacca, to take the youth with him, whose name was Orfacam,* and after having expelled Jeinal to put him in possession of the sovereignty.

(*Footnote. Evidently corrupted, as are most of the country names and titles, which shows that the Portuguese were not at this period much conversant in the Malayan language.)

When Jeinal entered upon the administration of the political concerns of the kingdom, although he had promised his father-in-law to carry on the war in concert with him, yet, being apprehensive of the effects of the Portuguese power, he judged it more for his interest to seek a reconciliation with them than to provoke their resentment, and in pursuance of that system had so far recommended himself to Garcia de Sa, the governor of Malacca, that he formed a treaty of alliance with him. This was however soon interrupted, and chiefly by the imprudence of a man named Diogo Vaz, who made use of such insulting language to the king, because he delayed payment of a sum of money he owed him, that the courtiers, seized with indignation, immediately stabbed him with their krises, and, the alarm running through the city, others of the Portuguese were likewise murdered. The news of this affair, reaching Goa, was an additional motive for the resolution taken of dethroning him.

Jorge d'Alboquerque arrived at Pase in 1521 with Prince Orfacam, and the inhabitants came off in great numbers to welcome his return. The king of Aru had brought thither a considerable force the preceding day, designing to take satisfaction for the murder of his relation, the uncle of Jeinal, and now proposed to Alboquerque that they should make the attack in conjunction, who thought proper to decline it. Jeinal, although he well knew the intention of the enemy, yet sent a friendly message to Alboquerque, who in answer required him to relinquish his crown in favour of him whom he styled the lawful prince. He then represented to him the injustice of attempting to force him from the possession of what was his, not only by right of conquest but of hereditary descent, as was well known to the governor himself; that he was willing to consider himself as the vassal of the king of Portugal, and to grant every advantage in point of trade that they could expect from the administration of his rival; and that since his obtaining the crown he had manifested the utmost friendship to the Portuguese, for which he appealed to the treaty formed with him by the government of Malacca, which was not disturbed by any fault that could in justice be imputed to himself. These arguments, like all others that pass between states which harbour inimical designs, had no effect upon Alboquerque, who, after reconnoitring the ground, gave orders for the attack. The king was now sensible that there was nothing left for him but to conquer or die, and resolved to defend himself to extremity in an entrenchment he had formed at some distance from the town of Pase, where he had never yet ventured to reside as the people were in general incensed against him on account of the destruction of the late king of their choice; for though they were ever ready to demolish those whom they disliked, yet were they equally zealous to sacrifice their own lives in the cause of those to whom they were attached. The Portuguese force consisted but of three hundred men, yet such was the superiority they possessed in war over the inhabitants of these countries that they entirely routed Jeinal's army, which amounted to three thousand, with many elephants, although they fought bravely. When he fell they became dispirited, and, the people of Aru joining in the pursuit, a dreadful slaughter succeeded, and upwards of two thousand Sumatrans lay dead, with the loss of only five or six Europeans; but several were wounded, among whom was Alboquerque himself.

The next measure was to place the young prince upon the throne, which was performed with much ceremony. The mulana was appointed his governor, and Nina Cunapan, who in several instances had shown a friendship for the Portuguese, was continued in the office of Shabandar. It was stipulated that the prince should do homage to the crown of Portugal, give a grant of the whole produce of pepper of his country at a certain price, and defray the charges of a fortress which they then prepared to erect in his kingdom, and of which Miranda d'Azeuedo was appointed captain, with a garrison of a hundred soldiers. The materials were mostly timber, with which the ruins of Jeinal's entrenchment supplied them. After Alboquerque's departure the works had nearly fallen into the hands of an enemy, named Melek-el-adil, who called himself sultan of Pase and made several desultory attacks upon them; but he was at length totally routed, and the fortifications were completed without further molestation.

A fleet which sailed from the west of India a short time after that of Alboquerque, under the command of Jorge de Brito, anchored in the road of Achin, in their way to the Molucca Islands. There was at this time at that place a man of the name of Joano Borba, who spoke the language of the country, having formerly fled thither from Pase when Diogo Vaz was assassinated. Being afterwards intrusted with the command of a trading vessel from Goa, which foundered at sea, he again reached Achin, with nine men in a small boat, and was hospitably received by the king, when he learned that the ship had been destined to his port. Borba came off to the fleet along with a messenger sent by the king to welcome the commander and offer him refreshments for his fleet, and, being a man of extraordinary loquacity, he gave a pompous description to Brito of a temple in the country in which was deposited a large quantity of gold: he mentioned likewise that the king was in possession of the artillery and merchandise of Gaspar d'Acosta's vessel, some time since wrecked there; and also of the goods saved from a brigantine driven on shore at Daya, in Pacheco's expedition; as well as of Joano de Lima's ship, which he had caused to be cut off. Brito, being tempted by the golden prize, which he conceived already in his power, and inflamed by Borba's representation of the king's iniquities, sent a message in return to demand the restitution of the artillery, ship, and goods, which had been unlawfully seized. The king replied that, if he wanted those articles to be refunded, he must make his demand to the sea which had swallowed them up. Brito and his captains now resolved to proceed to an attack upon the place, and so secure did they make themselves of their prey that they refused permission to a ship lately arrived, and which did not belong to their squadron, to join them or participate in the profits of their adventure. They prepared to land two hundred men in small boats; a larger, with a more considerable detachment and their artillery, being ordered to follow. About daybreak they had proceeded halfway up the river, and came near to a little fort designed to defend the passage, where Brito thought it advisable to stop till the remainder of their force should join them; but, being importuned by his people, he advanced to make himself master of the fort, which was readily effected. Here he again resolved to make his stand, but by the imprudence of his ensign, who had drawn some of the party into a skirmish with the Achinese, he was forced to quit that post in order to save his colours, which were in danger. At this juncture the king appeared at the head of eight hundred or a thousand men, and six elephants. A desperate conflict ensued, in which the Portuguese received considerable injury. Brito sent orders for the party he had left to come up, and endeavoured to retreat to the fort, but he found himself so situated that it could not be executed without much loss, and presently after he received a wound from an arrow through the cheeks. No assistance arriving, it was proposed that they should retire in the best manner they could to their boats; but this Brito would not consent to, preferring death to flight, and immediately a lance pierced his thighs, and he fell to the ground. The Portuguese, rendered desperate, renewed the combat with redoubled vigour, all crowding to the spot where their commander lay, but their exertions availed them nothing against such unequal force, and they only rushed on to sacrifice. Almost every man was killed, and among these were near fifty persons of family who had embarked as volunteers. Those who escaped belonged chiefly to the corps-de-reserve, who did not, or could not, come up in time to succour their unfortunate companions. Upon this merited defeat the squadron immediately weighed anchor, and, after falling in with two vessels bound on the discovery of the Ilhas d'Ouro, arrived at Pase, where they found Alboquerque employed in the construction of his fortress, and went with him to make an attack on Bintang.

Pada masa ketika Malaka jatuh ke tangan Portugis, Achin and Daya dikatakan oleh para sejrawan bahwa daerah tersebut menjadi bagian dari provinsi Pidir, dan diperintah oleh dua budak yang diangkat oleh sultan, yang masing-masing diberi kemenakan untuk dinikahi. Harus dipahami, budak-budak di daerah tersebut berbeda dari kebanyakan belahan dunia lainnya, dan biasanya diperlakukan sebagau anak keluarga. Beberapa diantara mereka berasal dari benua India, yang dipekerjakan untuk perdagangan oleh para majikan mereka; mereka diberikan hak-hak tertentu yang menguntungkan dan ijin untuk bermukim di daerah terpisah di kota tersebut. Seringkali, terjadi juga orang yang lahir dari orang baik-baik, menyadari bahwa ia perlu mendapatkan perlindungan dari beberapa orang yang berkuasa, menjadi budak sukarela untuk keperluan tersebut, dan para bangsawan, menjadi bangga akan ketergantungan semacam itu, mendorong praktek dengan memperlakukan mereka dengan tingkat penghormatan, dan kebanyakan dari mereka mengangkat pewari mereka. Budak dari deskripsi ini yang memegang pemerintahan Achin memiliki dua putra, yang sulung bernama Raja Ibrahim, dan yang bungsu bernama Raja Lella, dan dibawa ke rumah majikan mereka. Ayahnya yang tua menarik diri dari jabatannya; namun pada catatan soal jasa kepercayaannya terhadap sultan memberikan penggantian jabatan kepada putra sulungnya, yang nampaknya merupakan pemuda berambisi dan sangat bertemperamen. Keirihatian terjadi antara dirinya dan pemimpin Daya ketika mereka bertemu di Pidir, dan kemudian ketika ia berkuasa, ia berencana melakukan pembalasan, dan memutuskan untuk melakukan kekerasan terhadap distrik pesaingnya. Ketika sultan terlibat, tak hanya menambahkan pengerahan kekuatannya namun menghasutnya untuk membenci majikannya, dan ia menaruh rasa tidak hormat dengan enggan untuk melayaninya, atas permintaan sultan, para tahanan Portugis tertentu diambil dari kapal yang hilang di Pulo Gomez, dan setelah itu ia bersekutu dengan Shabandar dari Pase. Tindakan tersebut mewujudkan tujuan penghapusan kesetiaan sepenuhnya, ayahnya didorong untuk menariknya dari penugasannya dengan mempersembahkan obligasi yang diperhutangkan keluarga tersebut terhadap sultan, dan hubungan tersebut nyaris menghubungkan mereka. Namun sejauh ini, keputusan dari menghasilkan barang apapun berdampak pada tawarannya terhadap keinginan ayahnya, dan memerintahkannya ditahan dalam kurungan, dimana ia meninggal.

Terusik atas tindakan tersebut, sultan menanggapinya dengan tindakan yang lebih ekstrim terhadapnya; namun dengan pengerahan kapal-kapal Portugis, seperti halnya yang sebelumnya, dan kekalahan pihak Inggris, ia menjadi sangat kuat dalam artileri dan amunisi, dan sehingga meraih kesuksesan, ketika ia menghimpun petingginya dan bersiap untuk mempertahankan dirinya sendiri. Pasukannya meraih keunggulan di Pidir, dan pada akhirnya ia meminta sultan untuk mengungsi dan membantu perbentengan Eropa di Pase, didampingi oleh keponakannya, pemimpin Daya, yang juga terlepas dari jabatannya.

Ibrahim had for some time infested the Portuguese by sending out parties against them, both by sea and land; but these being always baffled in their attempts with much loss, he began to conceive a violent antipathy against that nation, which he ever after indulged to excess. He got possession of the city of Pidir by bribing the principal officers, a mode of warfare that he often found successful and seldom neglected to attempt. These he prevailed upon to write a letter to their master, couched in artful terms, in which they besought him to come to their assistance with a body of Portuguese, as the only chance of repelling the enemy by whom they pretended to be invested. The sultan showed this letter to Andre Henriquez, then governor of the fort, who, thinking it a good opportunity to chastise the Achinese, sent by sea a detachment of eighty Europeans and two hundred Malays under the command of his brother Manuel, whilst the sultan marched overland with a thousand men and fifteen elephants to the relief of the place. They arrived at Pidir in the night, but, being secretly informed that the king of Achin was master of the city, and that the demand for succour was a stratagem, they endeavoured to make their retreat; which the land troops effected, but before the tide could enable the Portuguese to get their boats afloat they were attacked by the Achinese, who killed Manuel and thirty-five of his men.

Henriquez, perceiving his situation at Pase was becoming critical, not only from the force of the enemy but the sickly state of his garrison, and the want of provisions, which the country people now withheld from him, discontinuing the fairs that they were used to keep three times in the week, dispatched advices to the governor of India, demanding immediate succours, and also sent to request assistance of the king of Aru, who had always proved the steadfast friend of Malacca, and who, though not wealthy, because his country was not a place of trade, was yet one of the most powerful princes in those parts. The king expressed his joy in having an opportunity of serving his allies, and promised his utmost aid; not only from friendship to them, but indignation against Ibrahim, whom he regarded as a rebellious slave.

A supply of stores at length arrived from India under the charge of Lopo d'Azuedo, who had orders to relieve Henriquez in the command; but, disputes having arisen between them, and chiefly on the subject of certain works which the shabandar of Pase had been permitted to erect adjoining to the fortress, d'Azuedo, to avoid coming to an open rupture, departed for Malacca. Ibrahim, having found means to corrupt the honesty of this shabandar, who had received his office from Alboquerque, gained intelligence through him of all that passed. This treason, it is supposed, he would not have yielded to but for the desperate situation of affairs. The country of Pase was now entirely in subjection to the Achinese, and nothing remained unconquered but the capital, whilst the garrison was distracted with internal divisions.

After the acquisition of Pidir the king thought it necessary to remain there some time in order to confirm his authority, and sent his brother Raja Lella with a large army to reduce the territories of Pase, which he effected in the course of three months, and with the more facility because all the principal nobility had fallen in the action with Jeinal. He fixed his camp within half a league of the city, and gave notice to Ibrahim of the state in which matters were, who speedily joined him, being anxious to render himself master of the place before the promised succours from the king of Aru could arrive. His first step was to issue a proclamation, giving notice to the people of the town that whoever should submit to his authority within six days should have their lives, families, and properties secured to them, but that all others must expect to feel the punishment due to their obstinacy. This had the effect he looked for, the greater part of the inhabitants coming over to his camp. He then commenced his military operations, and in the third attack got possession of the town after much slaughter; those who escaped his fury taking shelter in the neighbouring mountains and thick woods. He sent a message to the commander of the fortress, requiring him to abandon it and to deliver into his hands the kings of Pidir and Daya, to whom he had given protection. Henriquez returned a spirited answer to this summons, but, being sickly at the time, at best of an unsteady disposition, and too much attached to his trading concerns for a soldier, he resolved to relinquish the command to his relation Aires Coelho, and take passage for the West of India.

He had not advanced farther on his voyage than the point of Pidir, when he fell in with two Portuguese ships bound to the Moluccas, the captains of which he made acquainted with the situation of the garrison, and they immediately proceeded to its relief. Arriving in the night they heard great firing of cannon, and learned next morning that the Achinese had made a furious assault in hopes of carrying the fortress before the ships, which were descried at a distance, could throw succours into it. They had mastered some of the outworks, and the garrison represented that it was impossible for them to support such another shock without aid from the vessels. The captains, with as much force as could be spared, entered the fort, and a sally was shortly afterwards resolved on and executed, in which the besiegers sustained considerable damage. Every effort was likewise employed to repair the breaches and stop up the mines that had been made by the enemy in order to effect a passage into the place. Ibrahim now attempted to draw them into a snare by removing his camp to a distance and making a feint of abandoning his enterprise; but this stratagem proved ineffectual. Reflecting then with indignation that his own force consisted of fifteen thousand men whilst that of the Europeans did not exceed three hundred and fifty, many of whom were sick and wounded, and others worn out with the fatigue of continual duty (intelligence whereof was conveyed to him), he resolved once more to return to the siege, and make a general assault upon all parts of the fortification at once. Two hours before daybreak he caused the place to be surrounded with eight thousand men, who approached in perfect silence. The nighttime was preferred by these people for making their attacks as being then most secure from the effect of firearms, and they also generally chose a time of rain, when the powder would not burn. As soon as they found themselves perceived they set up a hideous shout, and, fixing their scaling ladders, made of bamboo and wonderfully light, to the number of six hundred, they attempted to force their way through the embrasures for the guns; but after a strenuous contest they were at length repulsed. Seven elephants were driven with violence against the paling of one of the bastions, which gave way before them like a hedge, and overset all the men who were on it. Javelins and pikes these enormous beasts made no account of, but upon setting fire to powder under their trunks they drew back with precipitation in spite of all the efforts of their drivers, overthrew their own people, and, flying to the distance of several miles, could not again be brought into the lines. The Achinese upon receiving this check thought to take revenge by setting fire to some vessels that were in the dockyard; but this proved an unfortunate measure to them, for by the light which it occasioned the garrison were enabled to point their guns, and did abundant execution.

Henriquez, after beating sometime against a contrary wind, put back to Pase, and, coming on shore the day after this conflict, resumed his command. A council was soon after held to determine what measures were fittest to be pursued in the present situation of affairs, and, taking into their consideration that no further assistance could be expected from the west of India in less than six months, that the garrison was sickly and provisions short, it was resolved by a majority of votes to abandon the place, and measures were taken accordingly. In order to conceal their intentions from the enemy they ordered such of the artillery and stores as could be removed conveniently to be packed up in the form of merchandise and then shipped off. A party was left to set fire to the buildings, and trains of powder were so disposed as to lead to the larger cannon, which they overcharged that they might burst as soon as heated. But this was not effectually executed, and the pieces mostly fell into the hands of the Achinese, who upon the first alarm of the evacuation rushed in, extinguished the flames, and turned upon the Portuguese their own artillery, many of whom were killed in the water as they hurried to get into their boats. They now lost as much credit by this ill conducted retreat as they had acquired by their gallant defence, and were insulted by the reproachful shouts of the enemy, whose power was greatly increased by this acquisition of military stores, and of which they often severely experienced the effects. To render their disgrace more striking it happened that as they sailed out of the harbour they met thirty boats laden with provisions for their use from the king of Aru, who was himself on his march overland with four thousand men: and when they arrived at Malacca they found troops and stores embarked there for their relief. The unfortunate princes who had sought an asylum with them now joined in their flight; the sultan of Pase proceeded to Malacca, and the sultan of Pidir and chief of Daya took refuge with the king of Aru.

Raja Nara, king of Indragiri, in conjunction with a force from Bintang, attacked the king of a neighbouring island called Lingga, who was in friendship with the Portuguese. A message which passed on this occasion gives a just idea of the style and manners of this people. Upon their acquainting the king of Lingga, in their summons of surrender, that they had lately overcome the fleet of Malacca, he replied that his intelligence informed him of the contrary; that he had just made a festival and killed fifty goats to celebrate one defeat which they had received, and hoped soon to kill a hundred in order to celebrate a second. His expectations were fulfilled, or rather anticipated, for the Portuguese, having a knowledge of the king of Indragiri's design, sent out a small fleet which routed the combined force before the king of Lingga was acquainted with their arrival, his capital being situated high up on the river.

Pada tahun berikutnya, ketika penaklukan Bintang, raja tersebut mengirim bantuan ke sekutu-sekutu Eropa-nya.

However well founded the accounts may have been which the Portuguese have given us of the cruelties committed against their people by the king of Achin, the barbarity does not appear to have been only on one side. Francisco de Mello, being sent in an armed vessel with dispatches to Goa, met near Achin Head with a ship of that nation just arrived from Mecca and supposed to be richly laden. As she had on board three hundred Achinese and forty Arabs he dared not venture to board her, but battered her at a distance, when suddenly she filled and sunk, to the extreme disappointment of the Portuguese, who thereby lost their prize; but they wreaked their vengeance on the unfortunate crew as they endeavoured to save themselves by swimming, and boast that they did not suffer a man to escape. Opportunities of retaliation soon offered.

Simano de Sousa, going with a reinforcement to the Moluccas from Cochin, was overtaken in the bay by a violent storm, which forced him to stow many of his guns in the hold; and, having lost several of his men through fatigue, he made for the nearest port he could take shelter in, which proved to be Achin. The king, having the destruction of the Portuguese at heart, and resolving if possible to seize their vessel, sent off a message to De Sousa recommending his standing in closer to the shore, where he would have more shelter from the gale which still continued, and lie more conveniently for getting off water and provisions, at the same time inviting him to land. This artifice not succeeding, he ordered out the next morning a thousand men in twenty boats, who at first pretended they were come to assist in mooring the ship; but the captain, aware of their hostile design, fired amongst them, when a fierce engagement took place in which the Achinese were repulsed with great slaughter, but not until they had destroyed forty of the Portuguese. The king, enraged at this disappointment, ordered a second attack, threatening to have his admiral trampled to death by elephants if he failed of success. A boat was sent ahead of this fleet with a signal of peace, and assurances to De Sousa that the king, as soon as he was made acquainted with the injury that had been committed, had caused the perpetrators of it to be punished, and now once more requested him to come on shore and trust to his honour. This proposal some of the crew were inclined that he should accept, but being animated by a speech that he made to them it was resolved that they should die with arms in their hands in preference to a disgraceful and hazardous submission. The combat was therefore renewed, with extreme fury on the one side, and uncommon efforts of courage on the other, and the assailants were a second time repulsed; but one of those who had boarded the vessel and afterwards made his escape represented to the Achinese the reduced and helpless situation of their enemy, and, fresh supplies coming off, they were encouraged to return to the attack. De Sousa and his people were at length almost all cut to pieces, and those who survived, being desperately wounded, were overpowered, and led prisoners to the king, who unexpectedly treated them with extraordinary kindness, in order to cover the designs he harboured, and pretended to lament the fate of their brave commander. He directed them to fix upon one of their companions, who should go in his name to the governor of Malacca, to desire he would immediately send to take possession of the ship, which he meant to restore, as well as to liberate them. He hoped by this artifice to draw more of the Portuguese into his power, and at the same time to effect a purpose of a political nature. A war had recently broken out between him and the king of Aru, the latter of whom had deputed ambassadors to Malacca, to solicit assistance, in return for his former services, and which was readily promised to him. It was highly the interest of the king of Achin to prevent this junction, and therefore, though determined to relax nothing in his plans of revenge, he hastened to dispatch Antonio Caldeira, one of the captives, with proposals of accommodation and alliance, offering to restore not only this vessel, but also the artillery which he had taken at Pase. These terms appeared to the governor too advantageous to be rejected. Conceiving a favourable idea of the king's intentions, from the confidence which Caldeira, who was deceived by the humanity shown to the wounded captives, appeared to place in his sincerity, he became deaf to the representations that were made to him by more experienced persons of his insidious character. A message was sent back, agreeing to accept his friendship on the proposed conditions, and engaging to withhold the promised succours from the king of Aru. Caldeira, in his way to Achin, touched at an island, where he was cut off with those who accompanied him. The ambassadors from Aru being acquainted with this breach of faith, retired in great disgust, and the king, incensed at the ingratitude shown him, concluded a peace with Achin; but not till after an engagement between their fleets had taken place, in which the victory remained undecided.

In order that he might learn the causes of the obscurity in which his negotiations with Malacca rested, Ibrahim dispatched a secret messenger to Senaia Raja, bandhara of that city, with whom he held a correspondence; desiring also to be informed of the strength of the garrison. Hearing in answer that the governor newly arrived was inclined to think favourably of him, he immediately sent an ambassador to wait on him with assurances of his pacific and friendly disposition, who returned in company with persons empowered, on the governor's part, to negotiate a treaty of commerce. These, upon their arrival at Achin, were loaded with favours and costly presents, the news of which quickly flew to Malacca, and, the business they came on being adjusted, they were suffered to depart; but they had not sailed far before they were overtaken by boats sent after them, and were stripped and murdered. The governor, who had heard of their setting out, concluded they were lost by accident. Intelligence of this mistaken opinion was transmitted to the king, who thereupon had the audacity to request that he might be honoured with the presence of some Portuguese of rank and consequence in his capital, to ratify in a becoming manner the articles that had been drawn up; as he ardently wished to see that nation trafficking freely in his dominions.

The deluded governor, in compliance with this request, adopted the resolution of sending thither a large ship under the command of Manuel Pacheco, with a rich cargo, the property of himself and several merchants of Malacca, who themselves embarked with the idea of making extraordinary profits. Senaia conveyed notice of this preparation to Achin, informing the king at the same time that, if he could make himself master of this vessel, Malacca must fall an easy prey to him, as the place was weakened of half its force for the equipment. When Pacheco approached the harbour he was surrounded by a great number of boats, and some of the people began to suspect treachery, but so strongly did the spirit of delusion prevail in this business that they could not persuade the captain to put himself on his guard. He soon had reason to repent his credulity. Perceiving an arrow pass close by him, he hastened to put on his coat of mail, when a second pierced his neck, and he soon expired. The vessel then became an easy prey, and the people, being made prisoners, were shortly afterwards massacred by the king's order, along with the unfortunate remnant of De Sousa's crew, so long flattered with the hopes of release. By this capture the king was supposed to have remained in possession of more artillery than was left in Malacca, and he immediately fitted out a fleet to take advantage of its exposed state. The pride of success causing him to imagine it already in his power, he sent a taunting message to the governor in which he thanked him for the late instances of his liberality, and let him know he should trouble him for the remainder of his naval force.

Senaia had promised to put the citadel into his hands, and this had certainly been executed but for an accident that discovered his treasonable designs. The crews of some vessels of the Achinese fleet landed on a part of the coast not far from the city, where they were well entertained by the natives, and in the openness of conviviality related the transactions which had lately passed at Achin, the correspondence of Senaia, and the scheme that was laid for rising on the Portuguese when they should be at church, murdering them, and seizing the fortress. Intelligence of this was reported with speed to the governor, who had Senaia instantly apprehended and executed. This punishment served to intimidate those among the inhabitants who were engaged in the conspiracy, and disconcerted the plans of the king of Achin.

This appears to be the last transaction of Ibrahim's reign recorded by the Portuguese historians. His death is stated by De Barros to have taken place in the year 1528 in consequence of poison administered to him by one of his wives, to revenge the injuries her brother, the chief of Daya, had suffered at his hand. In a Malayan work (lately come into my possession) containing the annals of the kingdom of Achin, it is said that a king, whose title was sultan Saleh-eddin-shah, obtained the sovereignty in a year answering to 1511 of our era, and who, after reigning about eighteen years, was dethroned by a brother in 1529. Notwithstanding some apparent discordance between the two accounts there can be little doubt of the circumstances applying to the same individual, as it may well be presumed that, according to the usual practice in the East, he adopted upon ascending the throne a title different from the name which he had originally borne, although that might continue to be his more familiar appellation, especially in the mouths of his enemies. The want of precise coincidence in the dates cannot be thought an objection, as the event not falling under the immediate observation of the Portuguese they cannot pretend to accuracy within a few months, and even their account of the subsequent transactions renders it more probable that it happened in 1529; nor are the facts of his being dethroned by the brother, or put to death by the sister, materially at variance with each other; and the latter circumstance, whether true or false, might naturally enough be reported at Malacca.

His successor took the name of Ala-eddin-shah, and afterwards, from his great enterprises, acquired the additional epithet of keher or the powerful. By the Portuguese he is said to have styled himself king of Achin, Barus, Pidir, Pase, Daya, and Batta, prince of the land of the two seas, and of the mines of Menangkabau.

Nothing is recorded of his reign until the year 1537, in which he twice attacked Malacca. The first time he sent an army of three thousand men who landed near the city by night, unperceived by the garrison, and, having committed some ravages in the suburbs, were advancing to the bridge, when the governor, Estavano de Gama, sallied out with a party and obliged them to retreat for shelter to the woods. Here they defended themselves during the next day, but on the following night they re-embarked, with the loss of five hundred men. A few months afterwards the king had the place invested with a larger force; but in the interval the works had been repaired and strengthened, and after three days ineffectual attempt the Achinese were again constrained to retire.

In the year 1547 he once more fitted out a fleet against Malacca, where a descent was made; but, contented with some trifling plunder, the army re-embarked, and the vessels proceeded to the river of Parles on the Malayan coast. Hither they were followed by a Portuguese squadron, which attacked and defeated a division of the fleet at the mouth of the river. This victory was rendered famous, not so much by the valour of the combatants, as by a revelation opportunely made from heaven to the celebrated missionary Francisco Xavier of the time and circumstances of it, and which he announced to the garrison at a moment when the approach of a powerful invader from another quarter had caused much alarm and apprehension among them.

Many transactions of the reign of this prince, particularly with the neighbouring states of Batta and Aru (about the years 1539 and 1541) are mentioned by Ferdinand Mendez Pinto; but his writings are too apocryphal to allow of the facts being recorded upon his authority. Yet there is the strongest internal evidence of his having been more intimately acquainted with the countries of which we are now speaking, the character of the inhabitants, and the political transactions of the period, than any of his contemporaries; and it appears highly probable that what he has related is substantially true: but there is also reason to believe that he composed his work from recollection after his return to Europe, and he may not have been scrupulous in supplying from a fertile imagination the unavoidable failures of a memory, however richly stored.

Ala-eddin meninggal, menurut Catatan Tawarikh

Ia digantikan oleh sultan Hussein­shah, yang berkuasa sekitar delapan tahun, dan sekarat pada 1565 digantikan oleh putranya, seorang bayi. Anak tersebut hanya hidup selama tujuh bulan; dan pada tahun yang sama, takhta diduduki oleh Raja Firman-shah, yang dibunuh tak lama setelahnya.

Penggantinya, Raja Janil, mengalami nasib serupa ketika ia berkuasa sepuluh bulan. Peristiwa tersebut terjadi pada 1567. Sultan Mansur-shah, dari kerajaan Perak di semenanjung, kemudian yang memegang takhta.

Kekuatan-kekuatan barat India membentuk liga untuk tujuan menumpas Portugis. Raja Achin diundang untuk ikut serta, dan, sesuai dengan kehendak pihak-pihak yang terlibat, ia bersiap untuk menyerang mereka di Malaka, danmengerahkan sejumlah armada, yang terdiri dari lima belas ribu orang, dan empat ratus orang Turki, dengan dua ratus buah artileri dari berbagai ukuran. Dalam rangka meredam musuh, ia menempatkan pasukannya bergerak menuju Jawa, dan mengirim sebuah surat, disertai dengan persembahan keris, kepada gubernur menawarkan persahabatan yang kuat. Seseorang yang ia turunkan di pesisir, diduga untuk memata-matai, ditangkap, dan disiksa agar mengaku bahwa ia ditugaskan oleh kaisar Utsmaniyah dan raja Achin untuk meracuni para perwira penting di tempat tersebut, dan menyilut kebakaran terhadap gudang senjata mereka. Ia dihukum mati dan jasadnya dimutiloasi untuk dikirimkan kepada raja. Ini menimbulkan pertikaian. Ia langsung mendaratkan seluruh pasukannya dan melakukan pengepungan. Serangan-serangan kejutan dilakukan dengan berbagai keberhasilan dan jumlah yang sangat tak setara. Pada satu tempat, pemimpin Aru, putra sulung raja, dibunuh. Di tempat lain, Portugis dikalahkan dan kehilangan banyak perwira. Berbagai siasat dilakukan untuk menakuti dan mengguncang iman para penduduk kota. Serangan umum terjadi, setelah berbagai upaya dorongan, dan resiko penghancuran langsung, dapat berhasil terkepung. Rajanya, yang melihat segala upayanya tak berbuah, sepanjang pelariannya, kehilangan tiga ribu pasukan di belakang tembok, selain sekitar lima ratus orang yang dikatakan tewas akibat luka-luka mereka pada perjalanan. Raja Ujong-tanah atau Johor, yang datang dengan armada untuk membantu tempat tersebut, menyadari bahwa laut yang jatuh tertutupi dengan jasad-jasad. Ini dianggap sebagai salah satu pengepungan paling nekat dan terhormat yang dialami oleh Portugis di India. Meskipun seluruh pasukan mereka berjumlah lima belas ratus orang, tak lebih dari dua ratus orang yang merupakan orang Eropa.

Pada tahun berikutnya, kapal dari Achin datang ke Jawa, dengan para perwakilan menghadap ratu Japara, yang diharapkan oleh raja membangkitkan musuh baru melawan Portugis, bertemu di selat dengan kapal dari Malaka, yang memberikannya dan seluruh rakyat dengan pedang. Hal ini nampaknya untuk memaksimalkan perang yang tak pernah memberikan jalan terhadap musuh, entah melalui pemberontakan atau pengajuan.

Pada 1569, sebuah kapal tunggal, yang dikomandani oleh Lopez Carrasco, yang bergerak di dekat Achin, menghadapi armada yang datang dari pelabuhan, terdiri dari dua puluh galley besar dan seratus delapan puluh kapal lainnya, yang dikomandani oleh raja sendiri, dan mendadak berniat melawan Malaka. Keadaan Portugis menjadi tertekan. Mereka tak dapat kabur, dan sehingga memutuskan untuk mati layaknya pria. Selama tiga hari, mereka melakukan serangan berkelanjutan. Setelah penghancuran empat puluh kapal musuh, dan mereka sendiri berkurang dalam keadaan karam, kapal kedua nampak dalam penglihatan. Raja memutuskan untuk menarik diri ke pelabuhan dengan pasukannya.

Sulit menentukan antara keduanya yang lebih mencengangkan, kekuatan yang dikerahkan oleh sepasukan yang terdiri dari seluruh kekuatan Malaka, atau sumber daya dan kegigihan penguasa Achin.

In 1573, after forming an alliance with the queen of Japara, the object of which was the destruction of the European power, he appeared again before Malacca with ninety vessels, twenty-five of them large galleys, with seven thousand men and great store of artillery. He began his operations by sending a party to set fire to the suburbs of the town, but a timely shower of rain prevented its taking effect. He then resolved on a different mode of warfare, and tried to starve the place to a surrender by blocking up the harbour and cutting off all supplies of provisions. The Portuguese, to prevent the fatal consequences of this measure, collected those few vessels which they were masters of, and, a merchant ship of some force arriving opportunely, they put to sea, attacked the enemy's fleet, killed the principal captain, and obtained a complete victory.

In the year following Malacca was invested by an armada from the queen of Japara, of three hundred sail, eighty of which were junks of four hundred tons burden. After besieging the place for three months, till the very air became corrupted by their stay, the fleet retired with little more than five thousand men, of fifteen that embarked on the expedition.

Scarcely was the Javanese force departed when the king of Achin once more appeared with a fleet that is described as covering the straits. He ordered an attack upon three Portuguese frigates that were in the road protecting some provision vessels, which was executed with such a furious discharge of artillery that they were presently destroyed with all their crews. This was a dreadful blow to Malacca, and lamented, as the historian relates, with tears of blood by the little garrison, who were not now above a hundred and fifty men, and of those a great part non­effective. The king, elated with his success, landed his troops, and laid siege to the fort, which he battered at intervals during seventeen days. The fire of the Portuguese became very slack, and after some time totally ceased, as the governor judged it prudent to reserve his small stock of ammunition for an effort at the last extremity. The king, alarmed at this silence, which he construed into a preparation for some dangerous stratagem, was seized with a panic, and, suddenly raising the siege, embarked with the utmost precipitation; unexpectedly relieving the garrison from the ruin that hung over it, and which seemed inevitable in the ordinary course of events.

In 1582 we find the king appearing again before Malacca with a hundred and fifty sail of vessels. After some skirmishes with the Portuguese ships, in which the success was nearly equal on both sides, the Achinese proceeded to attack Johor, the king of which was then in alliance with Malacca. Twelve ships followed them thither, and, having burned some of their galleys, defeated the rest and obliged them to fly to Achin. The operations of these campaigns, and particularly the valour of the commander, named Raja Makuta, are alluded to in Queen Elizabeth's letter to the king, delivered in 1602 by Sir James Lancaster.

About three or four years after this misfortune Mansur-shah prepared a fleet of no less than three hundred sail of vessels, and was ready to embark once more upon his favourite enterprise, when he was murdered, together with his queen and many of the principal nobility, by the general of the forces, who had long formed designs upon the crown.

This was perpetrated in May 1585, when he had reigned nearly eighteen years. In his time the consequence of the kingdom of Achin is represented to have arrived at a considerable height, and its friendship to have been courted by the most powerful states. No city in India possessed a more flourishing trade, the port being crowded with merchant vessels which were encouraged to resort thither by the moderate rates of the customs levied; and although the Portuguese and their ships were continually plundered, those belonging to every Asiatic power, from Mecca in the West to Japan in the East, appear to have enjoyed protection and security. The despotic authority of the monarch was counterpoised by the influence of the orang-kayas or nobility, who are described as being possessed of great wealth, living in fortified houses, surrounded by numerous dependants, and feeling themselves above control, often giving a licentious range to their proud and impatient tempers.

The late monarch's daughter and only child was married to the king of Johor,* by whom she had a son, who, being regarded as heir to the crown of Achin, had been brought to the latter place to be educated under the eye of his grandfather. When the general (whose name is corruptly written Moratiza) assumed the powers of government, he declared himself the protector of this child, and we find him mentioned in the Annals by the title of Sultan Buyong (or the Boy).

(*Footnote. The king of Achin sent on this occasion to Johor a piece of ordnance, such as for greatness, length, and workmanship (says Linschoten), could hardly be matched in all Christendom. It was afterwards taken by the Portuguese, who shipped it for Europe, but the vessel was lost in her passage.)

But before he had completed the third year of his nominal reign he also was dispatched, and the usurper took formal possession of the throne in the year 1588, by the name of Ala-eddin Rayet-shah,* being then at an advanced period of life.

(*Footnote. Valentyn, by an obvious corruption, names him Sulthan Alciden Ryetza, and this coincidence is strongly in favour of the authenticity and correctness of the Annals. John Davis, who will be hereafter mentioned, calls him, with sufficient accuracy, Sultan Aladin.)

The Annals say he was the grandson of Sultan Firman-shah; but the Europeans who visited Achin during his reign report him to have been originally a fisherman, who, having afterwards served in the wars against Malacca, showed so much courage, prudence, and skill in maritime affairs that the late king made him at length the chief commander of his forces, and gave him one of his nearest kinswomen to wife, in right of whom he is said to have laid claim to the throne.

The French Commodore Beaulieu relates the circumstances of this revolution in a very different manner.*

(*Footnote. The commodore had great opportunity of information, was a man of very superior ability, and indefatigable in his inquiries upon all subjects, as appears by the excellent account of his voyage, and of Achin in particular, written by himself, and published in Thevenot's collection, of which there is an English translation in Harris; but it is possible he may, in this instance, have been amused by a plausible tale from the grandson of this monarch, with whom he had much intercourse. John Davis, an intelligent English navigator whose account I have followed, might have been more likely to hear the truth as he was at Achin (though not a frequenter of the court) during Ala-eddin's reign, whereas Beaulieu did not arrive till twenty' years after, and the report of his having been originally a fisherman is also mentioned by the Dutch writers.)

He says that, upon the extinction of the ancient royal line, which happened about forty years before the period at which he wrote, the orang-kayas met in order to choose a king, but, every one affecting the dignity for himself, they could not agree and resolved to decide it by force. In this ferment the cadi or chief judge by his authority and remonstrances persuaded them to offer the crown to a certain noble who in all these divisions had taken no part, but had lived in the reputation of a wise, experienced man, being then seventy years of age, and descended from one of the most respectable families of the country. After several excuses on his side, and entreaties and even threats on theirs, he at length consented to accept the dignity thus imposed upon him, provided they should regard him as a father, and receive correction from him as his children; but no sooner was he in possession of the sovereign power than (like Pope Sixtus the Fifth) he showed a different face, and the first step after his accession was to invite the orang-kayas to a feast, where, as they were separately introduced, he caused them to be seized and murdered in a court behind the palace. He then proceeded to demolish their fortified houses, and lodged their cannon, arms, and goods in the castle, taking measures to prevent in future the erection of any buildings of substantial materials that could afford him grounds of jealousy. He raised his own adherents from the lower class of people to the first dignities of the state, and of those who presumed to express any disapprobation of his conduct he made great slaughter, being supposed to have executed not less than twenty thousand persons in the first year of his reign.

From the silence of the Portuguese writers with respect to the actions of this king we have reason to conclude that he did not make any attempts to disturb their settlement of Malacca; and it even appears that some persons in the character of ambassadors or agents from that power resided at Achin, the principal object of whose policy appears to have been that of inspiring him with jealousy and hatred of the Hollanders, who in their turn were actively exerting themselves to supplant the conquerors of India.

Towards the close of the sixteenth century they began to navigate these seas; and in June 1600 visited Achin with two ships, but had no cause to boast of the hospitality of their reception. An attempt was made to cut them off, and evidently by the orders or connivance of the king, who had prevailed upon the Dutch admiral to take on board troops and military stores for an expedition meditated, or pretended, against the city of Johor, which these ships were to bombard. Several of the crews were murdered, but after a desperate conflict in both ships the treacherous assailants were overcome and driven into the water, "and it was some pleasure (says John Davis, an Englishman, who was the principal pilot of the squadron) to see how the base Indians did fly, how they were killed, and how well they were drowned."* This barbarous and apparently unprovoked attack was attributed, but perhaps without any just grounds, to the instigation of the Portuguese.

(*Footnote. All the Dutchmen on shore at the time were made prisoners, and many of them continued in that state for several years. Among these was Captain Frederick Houtman, whose Vocabulary of the Malayan language was printed at Amsterdam in 1604, being the first that was published in Europe. My copy has the writer's autograph.)

In November 1600 Paulus van Caarden, having also the command of two Dutch ships, was received upon his landing with much ceremony; but at his first audience the king refused to read a letter from the Prince of Orange, upon its being suggested to him that instead of paper it was written on the skin of an unclean animal; and the subsequent treatment experienced by this officer was uniformly bad. It appears however that in December 1601 the king was so far reconciled to this new power as to send two ambassadors to Holland, one of whom died there in August 1602, and the other returned to Achin subsequently to the death of his master.

The first English fleet that made its appearance in this part of the world, and laid the foundation of a commerce which was in time to eclipse that of every other European state, arrived at Achin in June 1602. Sir James Lancaster, who commanded it, was received by the king with abundant ceremony and respect, which seem with these monarchs to have been usually proportioned to the number of vessels and apparent strength of their foreign guests. The queen of England's letter was conveyed to court with great pomp, and the general, after delivering a rich present, the most admired article of which was a fan of feathers, declared the purpose of his coming was to establish peace and amity between his royal mistress and her loving brother, the great and mighty king of Achin. He was invited to a banquet prepared for his entertainment, in which the service was of gold, and the king's damsels, who were richly attired and adorned with bracelets and jewels, were ordered to divert him with dancing and music. Before he retired he was arrayed by the king in a magnificent habit of the country, and armed with two krises. In the present sent as a return for the queen's there was, among other matters, a valuable ruby set in a ring. Two of the nobles, one of whom was the chief priest, were appointed to settle with Lancaster the terms of a commercial treaty, which was accordingly drawn up and executed in an explicit and regular manner. The Portuguese ambassador, or more properly the Spanish, as those kingdoms were now united, kept a watchful and jealous eye upon his proceedings; but by bribing the spies who surrounded him he foiled them at their own arts, and acquired intelligence that enabled him to take a rich prize in the straits of Malacca, with which he returned to Achin; and, having loaded what pepper he could procure there, took his departure in November of the same year. On this occasion it was requested by the king that he and his officers would favour him by singing one of the psalms of David, which was performed with much solemnity.

Very little is known of the military transactions of this reign, and no conquest but that of Pase is recorded. He had two sons, the younger of whom he made king of Pidir, and the elder, styled Sultan Muda, he kept at Achin, in order to succeed him in the throne. In the year 1603 he resolved to divide the charge of government with his intended heir, as he found his extraordinary age began to render him unequal to the task, and accordingly invested him with royal dignity; but the effect which might have been foreseen quickly followed this measure. The son, who was already advanced in years, became impatient to enjoy more complete power, and, thinking his father had possessed the crown sufficiently long, he confined him in a prison, where his days were soon ended.

The exact period at which this event took place is not known, but, calculating from the duration of his reign as stated in the Annals, it must have been early in the year 1604.* He was then ninety-five years of age,** and described to be a hale man, but extremely gross and fat.

(*Footnote. The Dutch commander Joris van Spilbergen took leave of him in April 1603, and his ambassador to Holland, who returned in December, 1604, found his son on the throne, according to Valentyn. Commodore Beaulieu says he died in 1603.)

(**Footnote. According to Beaulieu Davis says he was about a hundred; and the Dutch voyages mention that his great age prevented his ever appearing out of his palace.)

His constitution must have been uncommonly vigorous, and his muscular strength is indicated by this ludicrous circumstance, that when he once condescended to embrace a Dutch admiral, contrary to the usual manners of his country, the pressure of his arms was so violent as to cause excessive pain to the person so honoured. He was passionately addicted to women, gaming, and drink, his favourite beverage being arrack. By the severity of his punishments he kept his subjects in extreme awe of him; and the merchants were obliged to submit to more exactions and oppressions than were felt under the government of his predecessors. The seizure of certain vessels belonging to the people of Bantam and other arbitrary proceedings of that nature are said to have deterred the traders of India from entering into his ports.

The new king, who took the name of Ali Maghayat-shah, proved himself, from indolence or want of capacity, unfit to reign. He was always surrounded by his women, who were not only his attendants but his guards, and carried arms for that purpose. His occupations were the bath and the chase, and the affairs of state were neglected insomuch that murders, robberies, oppression, and an infinity of disorders took place in the kingdom for want of a regular and strict administration of justice. A son of the daughter of Ala-eddin had been a favourite of his grandfather, at the time of whose death he was twenty-three years of age, and continued, with his mother, to reside at the court after that event. His uncle the king of Achin having given him a rebuke on some occasion, he left his palace abruptly and fled to the king of Pidir, who received him with affection, and refused to send him back at the desire of the elder brother, or to offer any violence to a young prince whom their father loved. This was the occasion of an inveterate war which cost the lives of many thousand people. The nephew commanded the forces of Pidir, and for some time maintained the advantage, but these, at length seeing themselves much inferior in numbers to the army of Ali-Maghayat, refused to march, and the king was obliged to give him up, when he was conveyed to Achin and put in close confinement.

Not long afterwards a Portuguese squadron under Martin Alfonso, going to the relief of Malacca, then besieged by the Dutch, anchored in Achin road with the resolution of taking revenge on the king for receiving these their rivals into his ports, contrary to the stipulations of a treaty that had been entered into between them. The viceroy landed his men, who were opposed by a strong force on the part of the Achinese; but after a stout resistance they gained the first turf fort with two pieces of cannon, and commenced an attack upon the second, of masonry. In this critical juncture the young prince sent a message to his uncle requesting he might be permitted to join the army and expose himself in the ranks, declaring himself more willing to die in battle against the Kafers (so they always affected to call the Portuguese) than to languish like a slave in chains. The fears which operated upon the king's mind induced him to consent to his release. The prince showed so much bravery on this occasion, and conducted two or three attacks with such success that Alfonso was obliged to order a retreat, after wasting two days and losing three hundred men in this fruitless attempt. The reputation of the prince was raised by this affair to a high pitch amongst the people of Achin. His mother, who was an active, ambitious woman, formed the design of placing him on the throne, and furnished him with large sums of money, to be distributed in gratuities amongst the principal orang cayas. At the same time he endeavoured to ingratiate himself by his manners with all classes of people. To the rich he was courteous; to the poor he was affable; and he was the constant companion of those who were in the profession of arms. When the king had reigned between three and four years he died suddenly, and at the hour of his death the prince got access to the castle. He bribed the guards, made liberal promises to the officers, advanced a large sum of money to the governor, and sending for the chief priest obliged him by threats to crown him. In fine he managed the revolution so happily that he was proclaimed king before night, to the great joy of the people, who conceived vast hopes from his liberality, courtesy, and valour. The king of Pidir was speedily acquainted with the news of his brother's death, but not of the subsequent transactions, and came the next day to take possession of his inheritance. As he approached the castle with a small retinue he was seized by orders from the reigning prince, who, forgetting the favours he had received, kept him prisoner for a month, and then, sending him into the country under the pretence of a commodious retreat, had him murdered on the way. Those who put the crown on his head were not better requited; particularly the Maharaja, or governor of the castle. In a short time his disappointed subjects found that instead of being humane he was cruel; instead of being liberal he displayed extreme avarice, and instead of being affable he manifested a temper austere and inexorable.

This king, whom the Annals name Iskander Muda, was known to our travellers by the title of sultan Paduka Sri (words equivalent to most gracious), sovereign of Achin and of the countries of Aru, Dilli, Johor, Pahang, Kedah, and Perak on the one side, and of Barus, Pasaman, Tiku, Sileda, and Priaman on the other. Some of these places were conquered by him, and others he inherited.

He showed much friendship to the Hollanders in the early part of his reign; and in the year 1613 gave permission to the English to settle a factory, granting them many indulgences, in consequence of a letter and present from king James the first. He bestowed on Captain Best, who was the bearer of them, the title of orang kaya putih, and entertained him with the fighting of elephants, buffaloes, rams, and tigers. His answer to king James (a translation of which is to be found in Purchas) is couched in the most friendly terms, and he there styles himself king of all Sumatra. He expressed a strong desire that the king of England should send him one of his countrywomen to wife, and promised to make her eldest son king of all the pepper countries, that so the English might be supplied with that commodity by a monarch of their own nation. But notwithstanding his strong professions of attachment to us, and his natural connexion with the Hollanders, arising from their joint enmity to the Portuguese, it was not many years before he began to oppress both nations and use his endeavours to ruin their trade. He became jealous of their growing power, and particularly in consequence of intelligence that reached him concerning the encroachments made by the latter in the island of Java.

The conquest of Aru seems never to have been thoroughly effected by the kings of Achin. Paduka Sri carried his arms thither and boasted of having obtained some victories.

In 1613 he subdued Siak in its neighbourhood. Early in the same year he sent an expedition against the kingdom of Johor (which had always maintained a political connexion with Aru) and, reducing the city after a siege of twenty-nine days, plundered it of everything moveable, and made slaves of the miserable inhabitants. The king fled to the island of Bintang, but his youngest brother and coadjutor was taken prisoner and carried to Achin. The old king of Johor, who had so often engaged the Portuguese, left three sons, the eldest of whom succeeded him by the title of Iang de per-tuan.*

(*Footnote. This is not an individual title or proper name, but signifies the sovereign or reigning monarch. In like manner Rega Bongsu signifies the king's youngest brother, as Raja Muda does the heir apparent.)

The second was made king of Siak, and the third, called Raja Bongsu, reigned jointly with the first. He it was who assisted the Hollanders in the first siege of Malacca, and corresponded with Prince Maurice. The king of Achin was married to their sister, but this did not prevent a long and cruel war between them. A Dutch factory at Johor was involved in the consequences of this war, and several of that nation were among the prisoners. In the course of the same year however the king of Achin thought proper to establish Raja Bongsu on the throne of Johor, sending him back for that purpose with great honours, assisting him to rebuild the fort and city, and giving him one of his own sisters in marriage.

In 1615 the king of Achin sailed to the attack of Malacca in a fleet which he had been four years employed in preparing. It consisted of above five hundred sail, of which a hundred were large galleys, greater than any at that time built in Europe, carrying each from six to eight hundred men, with three large cannon and several smaller pieces. These galleys the orang kayas were obliged to furnish, repair, and man, at the peril of their lives. The soldiers served without pay, and carried three months provision at their own charge. In this great fleet there were computed to be sixty thousand men, whom the king commanded in person. His wives and household were taken to sea with him. Coming in sight of the Portuguese ships in the afternoon, they received many shot from them but avoided returning any, as if from contempt. The next day they got ready for battle, and drew up in form of a half moon. A desperate engagement took place and lasted without intermission till midnight, during which the Portuguese admiral was three times boarded, and repeatedly on fire. Many vessels on both sides were also in flames and afforded light to continue the combat. At length the Achinese gave way, after losing fifty sail of different sizes, and twenty thousand men. They retired to Bancalis, on the eastern coast of Sumatra, and shortly afterwards sailed for Achin, the Portuguese not daring to pursue their victory, both on account of the damage they had sustained and their apprehension of the Hollanders, who were expected at Malacca. The king proposed that the prisoners taken should be mutually given up, which was agreed to, and was the first instance of that act of humanity and civilisation between the two powers.

Three years afterwards the king made a conquest of the cities of Kedah and Perak on the Malayan coast, and also of a place called Dilli in Sumatra. This last had been strongly fortified by the assistance of the Portuguese, and gave an opportunity of displaying much skill in the attack. Trenches were regularly opened before it and a siege carried on for six weeks ere it fell. In the same year the king of Jorcan (a place unknown at present by that name) fled for refuge to Malacca with eighty sail of boats, having been expelled his dominions by the king of Achin. The Portuguese were not in a condition to afford him relief, being themselves surrounded with enemies and fearful of an attack from the Achinese more especially; but the king was then making preparations against an invasion he heard was meditated by the viceroy of Goa. Reciprocal apprehensions kept each party on the defensive.

The French being desirous of participating in the commerce of Achin, of which all the European nations had formed great ideas, and all found themselves disappointed in, sent out a squadron commanded by General Beaulieu, which arrived in January 1621, and finally left it in December of the same year. He brought magnificent presents to the king, but these did not content his insatiable avarice, and he employed a variety of mean arts to draw from him further gifts. Beaulieu met also with many difficulties, and was forced to submit to much extortion in his endeavours to procure a loading of pepper, of which Achin itself, as has been observed, produced but little. The king informed him that he had some time since ordered all the plants to be destroyed, not only because the cultivation of them proved an injury to more useful agriculture, but also lest their produce might tempt the Europeans to serve him, as they had served the kings of Jakatra and Bantam. From this apprehension he had lately been induced to expel the English and Dutch from their settlements at Priaman and Tiku, where the principal quantity of pepper was procured, and of which places he changed the governor every third year to prevent any connexions dangerous to his authority from being formed. He had likewise driven the Dutch from a factory they were attempting to settle at Padang; which place appears to be the most remote on the western coast of the island to which the Achinese conquests at any time extended.

Still retaining a strong desire to possess himself of Malacca, so many years the grand object of Achinese ambition, he imprisoned the ambassador then at his court, and made extraordinary preparations for the siege, which he designed to undertake in person. The laksamana or commander in chief (who had effected all the king's late conquests) attempted to oppose this resolution; but the maharaja, willing to flatter his master's propensity, undertook to put him in possession of the city and had the command of the fleet given to him, as the other had of the land forces. The king set out on the expedition with a fleet of two hundred and fifty sail (forty­seven of them not less than a hundred feet in the keel), in which were twenty thousand men well appointed, and a great train of artillery. After being some time on board, with his family and retinue as usual, he determined, on account of an ill omen that was observed, to return to the shore. The generals, proceeding without him, soon arrived before Malacca. Having landed their men they made a judicious disposition, and began the attack with much courage and military skill. The Portuguese were obliged to abandon several of their posts, one of which, after a defence of fifty days, was levelled with the ground, and from its ruins strong works were raised by the laksamana. The maharaja had seized another post advantageously situated. From their several camps they had lines of communication, and the boats on the river were stationed in such a manner that the place was completely invested. Matters were in this posture when a force of two thousand men came to the assistance of the besieged from the king of Pahang, and likewise five sail of Portuguese vessels from the coast of Coromandel; but all was insufficient to remove so powerful an enemy, although by that time they had lost four thousand of their troops in the different attacks and skirmishes. In the latter end of the year a fleet of thirty sail of ships, large and small, under the command of Nunno Alvarez Botello, having on board nine hundred European soldiers, appeared off Malacca, and blocked up the fleet of Achin in a river about three miles from the town. This entirely altered the complexion of affairs. The besiegers retired from their advanced works and hastened to the defence of their galleys, erecting batteries by the side of the river. The maharaja being summoned to surrender returned a civil but resolute answer. In the night, endeavouring to make his escape with the smaller vessels through the midst of the Portuguese, he was repulsed and wounded. Next day the whole force of the Achinese dropped down the stream with a design to fight their way, but after an engagement of two hours their principal galley, named the Terror of the World, was boarded and taken, after losing five hundred men of seven which she carried. Many other vessels were afterwards captured or sunk. The laksamana hung out a white flag and sent to treat with Nunno, but, some difficulty arising about the terms, the engagement was renewed with great warmth. News was brought to the Portuguese that the maharaja was killed and that the king of Pahang was approaching with a hundred sail of vessels to reinforce them. Still the Achinese kept up a dreadful fire, which seemed to render the final success doubtful; but at length they sent proposals desiring only to be allowed three galleys of all their fleet to carry away four thousand men who remained of twenty that came before the town. It was answered that they must surrender at discretion; which the laksamana hesitating to do, a furious assault took place both by water and land upon his galleys and works, which were all effectually destroyed or captured, not a ship and scarcely a man escaping. He himself in the last extremity fled to the woods, but was seized ere long by the king of Pahang's scouts. Being brought before the governor he said to him, with an undaunted countenance, "Behold here the laksamana for the first time overcome!" He was treated with respect but kept a prisoner, and sent on his own famous ship to Goa in order to be from thence conveyed to Portugal: but death deprived his enemies of that distinguished ornament of their triumph.

This signal defeat proved so important a blow to the power of Achin that we read of no further attempts to renew the war until the year 1635, when the king, encouraged by the feuds which at this time prevailed in Malacca, again violated the law of nations, to him little known, by imprisoning their ambassador, and caused all the Portuguese about his court to be murdered. No military operations however immediately took place in consequence of this barbarous proceeding.

In the year 1640 the Dutch with twelve men of war, and the king of Achin with twenty-five galleys, appeared before that harassed and devoted city; which at length, in the following year was wrested from the hands of the Portuguese, who had so long, through such difficulties, maintained possession of it. This year was also marked by the death of the sultan, whom the Dutch writers name Paduka Sri, at the age of sixty, after a reign of thirty-five years; having just lived to see his hereditary foe subdued; and as if the opposition of the Portuguese power, which seems first to have occasioned the rise of that of Achin, was also necessary to its existence, the splendour and consequence of the kingdom from that period rapidly declined.

The prodigious wealth and resources of the monarchy during his reign are best evinced by the expeditions he was enabled to fit out; but being no less covetous than ambitious he contrived to make the expenses fall upon his subjects, and at the same time filled his treasury with gold by pressing the merchants and plundering the neighbouring states. An intelligent person (General Beaulieu), who was for some time at his court, and had opportunities of information on the subject, uses this strong expression--that he was infinitely rich. He constantly employed in his castle three hundred goldsmiths. This would seem an exaggeration, but that it is well known the Malayan princes have them always about them in great numbers at this day, working in the manufacture of filigree, for which the country is so famous. His naval strength has been already sufficiently described. He was possessed of two thousand brass guns and small arms in proportion. His trained elephants amounted to some hundreds. His armies were probably raised only upon the occasion which called for their acting, and that in a mode similar to what was established under the feudal system in Europe. The valley of Achin alone was said to be able to furnish forty thousand men upon an emergency. A certain number of warriors however were always kept on foot for the protection of the king and his capital. Of these the superior class were called ulubalang, and the inferior amba-raja, who were entirely devoted to his service and resembled the janizaries of Constantinople. Two hundred horsemen nightly patrolled the grounds about the castle, the inner courts and apartments of which were guarded by three thousand women. The king's eunuchs amounted to five hundred.

The disposition of this monarch was cruel and sanguinary. A multitude of instances are recorded of the horrible barbarity of his punishments, and for the most trivial offences. He imprisoned his own mother and put her to the torture, suspecting her to have been engaged in a conspiracy against him with some of the principal nobles, whom he caused to be executed. He murdered his nephew, the king of Johor's son, of whose favour with his mother he was jealous. He also put to death a son of the king of Bantam, and another of the king of Pahang, who were both his near relations. None of the royal family survived in 1622 but his own son, a youth of eighteen, who had been thrice banished the court, and was thought to owe his continuance in life only to his surpassing his father, if possible, in cruelty, and being hated by all ranks of people. He was at one time made king of Pidir but recalled on account of his excesses, confined in prison and put to strange tortures by his father, whom he did not outlive. The whole territory of Achin was almost depopulated by wars, executions, and oppression. The king endeavoured to repeople the country by his conquests. Having ravaged the kingdoms of Johor, Pahang, Kedah, Perak, and Dilli, he transported the inhabitants from those places to Achin, to the number of twenty-two thousand persons. But this barbarous policy did not produce the effect he hoped; for the unhappy people, being brought naked to his dominions, and not allowed any kind of maintenance on their arrival, died of hunger in the streets. In the planning his military enterprises he was generally guided by the distresses of his neighbours, for whom, as for his prey, he unceasingly lay in wait; and his preparatory measures were taken with such secrecy that the execution alone unravelled them. Insidious political craft and wanton delight in blood united in him to complete the character of a tyrant.

It must here be observed that, with respect to the period of this remarkable reign, the European and Malayan authorities are considerably at variance, the latter assigning to it something less than thirty solar years, and placing the death of Iskander Muda in December 1636. The Annals further state that he was succeeded by sultan Ala-eddin­Mahayat-shah, who reigned only about four years and died in February 1641. That this is the more accurate account I have no hesitation in believing, although Valentyn, who gives a detail of the king's magnificent funeral, was persuaded that the reign which ended in 1641 was the same that began in 1607. But he collected his information eighty years after the event, and as it does not appear that any European whose journal has been given to the world was on the spot at that period, the death of an obscure monarch who died after a short reign may well have been confounded by persons at a distance with that of his more celebrated predecessor. Both authorities however are agreed in the important fact that the successor to the throne in 1641 was a female. This person is described by Valentyn as being the wife of the old king, and not his daughter, as by some had been asserted; but from the Annals it appears that she was his daughter, named Taju al-alum; and as it was in her right that Maghayat-shah (certainly her husband), obtained the crown, so upon his decease, there being no male heir, she peaceably succeeded him in the government, and became the first queen regent of Achin. The succession having thenceforward continued nearly sixty years in the female line, this may be regarded as a new era in the history of the country. The nobles finding their power less restrained, and their individual consequence more felt under an administration of this kind than when ruled by kings (as sometimes they were with a rod of iron) supported these pageants, whom they governed as they thought fit, and thereby virtually changed the constitution into an aristocracy or oligarchy. The business of the state was managed by twelve orang-kayas, four of whom were superior to the rest, and among these the maharaja, or governor of the kingdom, was considered as the chief. It does not appear, nor is it probable, that the queen had the power of appointing or removing any of these great officers. No applications were made to the throne but in their presence, nor any public resolution taken but as they determined in council. The great object of their political jealousy seems to have been the pretensions of the king of Johor to the crown, in virtue of repeated intermarriages between the royal families of the two countries, and it may be presumed that the alarms excited from that quarter materially contributed to reconcile them to the female domination. They are accordingly said to have formed an engagement amongst themselves never to pay obedience to a foreign prince, nor to allow their royal mistress to contract any marriage that might eventually lead to such a consequence.* At the same time, by a new treaty with Johor, its king was indirectly excused from the homage to the crown of Achin which had been insisted upon by her predecessors and was the occasion of frequent wars.

(*Footnote. However fanciful it may be thought, I cannot doubt that the example of our Queen Elizabeth, whose character and government were highly popular with the Achinese on account of her triumphant contest with the united powers of Spain and Portugal, had a strong influence in the establishment of this new species of monarchy, and that the example of her sister's marriage with Philip may have contributed to the resolution taken by the nobles. The actions of our illustrious queen were a common topic of conversation between the old tyrant and Sir James Lancaster.)

In proportion as the political consequence of the kingdom declined, its history, as noticed by foreigners, becomes obscure. Little is recorded of the transactions of her reign, and it is likely that Achin took no active part in the concerns of neighbouring powers, but suffered the Hollanders, who maintained in general a friendly intercourse with her, to remain in quiet possession of Malacca.

In 1643 they sent an ambassador to compliment her upon her accession, and at the same time to solicit payment for a quantity of valuable jewels ordered by the deceased king, but for the amount of which she declined to make herself responsible.

It is said (but the fact will admit of much doubt) that in 1660 she was inclined to marry one of their countrymen, and would have carried her design into execution had not the East India Company prevented by their authority a connexion that might, as they prudently judged, be productive of embarrassment to their affairs.

The Dutch however complain that she gave assistance to their enemies the people of Perak, and in 1664 it was found necessary to send a squadron under the command of Pieter de Bitter to bring her to reason. As it happened that she was at this time at war with some of her own dependants he made himself master of several places on the western coast that were nominally at least belonging to Achin.

About 1666 the English establishments at Achin and some ports to the southward appear to have given considerable umbrage to their rivals.

In 1669 the people of Dilli on the north-eastern coast threw off their allegiance, and the power of the kingdom became gradually more and more circumscribed.

This queen died in 1675, after reigning, with a degree of tranquillity little known in these countries, upwards of thirty-four years.

The people being now accustomed and reconciled to female rule, which they found more lenient than that of their kings, acquiesced in general in the established mode of government.

And she was immediately succeeded by another female monarch, named Nur al-alum, who reigned little more than two years and died in 1677.

The queen who succeeded her was named Anayet-shah.

In the year 1684 she received an embassy from the English government of Madras, and appeared at that time to be about forty years. The persons who were on this occasion presented to her express their suspicions, which were suggested to them by a doubt prevailing amongst the inhabitants, that this sovereign was not a real queen, but a eunuch dressed up in female apparel, and imposed on the public by the artifices of the orang kayas. But as such a cheat, though managed with every semblance of reality (which they observe was the case) could not be carried on for any number of years without detection, and as the same idea does not appear to have been entertained at any other period, it is probable they were mistaken in their surmise. Her person they describe to have been large, and her voice surprisingly strong, but not manly.*

(*Footnote. The following curious passage is extracted from the journal of these gentlemen's proceedings. "We went to give our attendance at the palace this day as customary. Being arrived at the place of audience with the orang cayos, the queen was pleased to order us to come nearer, when her majesty was very inquisitive into the use of our wearing periwigs, and what was the convenience of them; to all which we returned satisfactory answers. After this her majesty desired of Mr. Ord, if it were no affront to him, that he would take off his periwig, that she might see how he appeared without it; which, according to her majesty's request, he did. She then told us she had heard of our business, and would give her answer by the orang cayos; and so we retired." I venture, with submission, to observe that this anecdote seems to put the question of the sex beyond controversy.)

The purport of the embassy was to obtain liberty to erect a fortification in her territory, which she peremptorily refused, being contrary to the established rules of the kingdom; adding that if the governor of Madras would fill her palace with gold she could not permit him to build with brick either fort or house. To have a factory of timber and plank was the utmost indulgence that could be allowed; and on that footing the return of the English, who had not traded there for many years, should be welcomed with great friendship. The queen herself, the orang kayas represented, was not allowed to fortify lest some foreign power might avail themselves of it to enslave the country. In the course of these negotiations it was mentioned that the agriculture of Achin had suffered considerably of late years by reason of a general licence given to all the inhabitants to search for gold in the mountains and rivers which afforded that article; whereas the business had formerly been restricted to certain authorized persons, and the rest obliged to till the ground.

The court feared to give a public sanction for the settlement of the English on any part of the southern coast lest it should embroil them with the other European powers.*

(*Footnote. The design of settling a factory at this period in the dominions of Achin was occasioned by the recent loss of our establishment at Bantam, which had been originally fixed by Sir James Lancaster in 1603. The circumstances of this event were as follows. The old sultan had thought proper to share the regal power with his son in the year 1677, and this measure was attended with the obvious effect of a jealousy between the parent and child, which soon broke forth into open hostilities. The policy of the Dutch led them to take an active part in favour of the young sultan, who had inclined most to their interests and now solicited their aid. The English on the other hand discouraged what appeared to them an unnatural rebellion, but without interfering, as they said, in any other character than that of mediators, or affording military assistance to either party; and which their extreme weakness rather than their assertions renders probable. On the twenty-eighth of March 1682 the Dutch landed a considerable force from Batavia, and soon terminated the war. They placed the young sultan on the throne, delivering the father into his custody, and obtained from him in return for these favours an exclusive privilege of trade in his territories; which was evidently the sole object they had in view. On the first day of April possession was taken of the English factory by a party of Dutch and country soldiers, and on the twelfth the agent and council were obliged to embark with their property on vessels provided for the purpose, which carried them to Batavia. From thence they proceeded to Surat on the twenty-second of August in the following year.

In order to retain a share in the pepper-trade the English turned their thoughts towards Achin, and a deputation, consisting of two gentlemen, of the names of Old and Cawley, was sent thither in 1684; the success of which is above related. It happened that at this time certain Rajas or chiefs of the country of Priaman and other places on the west coast of Sumatra were at Achin also to solicit aid of that court against the Dutch, who had made war upon and otherwise molested them. These immediately applied to Mr. Ord, expressing a strong desire that the English should settle in their respective districts, offering ground for a fort and the exclusive purchase of their pepper. They consented to embark for Madras, where an agreement was formed with them by the governor in the beginning of the year 1685 on the terms they had proposed. In consequence of this an expedition was fitted out with the design of establishing a settlement at Priaman; but a day or two before the ships sailed an invitation to the like purport was received from the chiefs of Bang­kaulu (since corruptly called Bencoolen); and as it was known that a considerable proportion of the pepper that used to be exported from Bantam had been collected from the neighbourhood of Bencoolen (at a place called Silebar), it was judged advisable that Mr. Ord, who was the person entrusted with the management of this business, should first proceed thither; particularly as at that season of the year it was the windward port. He arrived there on the twenty-fifth day of June 1685, and, after taking possession of the country assigned to the English Company, and leaving Mr. Broome in charge of the place, he sailed for the purpose of establishing the other settlements. He stopped first at Indrapura, where he found three Englishmen who were left of a small factory that had been some time before settled there by a man of the name of Du Jardin. Here he learned that the Dutch, having obtained a knowledge of the original intention of our fixing at Priaman, had anticipated us therein and sent a party to occupy the situation. In the meantime it was understood in Europe that this place was the chief of our establishments on the coast, and ships were accordingly consigned thither. The same was supposed at Madras, and troops and stores were sent to reinforce it, which were afterwards landed at Indrapura. A settlement was then formed at Manjuta, and another attempted at Batang-kapas in 1686; but here the Dutch, assisted by a party amongst the natives, assaulted and drove out our people. Every possible opposition, as it was natural to expect, was given by these our rivals to the success of our factories. They fixed themselves in the neighbourhood of them and endeavoured to obstruct the country people from carrying pepper to them or supplying them with provisions either by sea or land. Our interests however in the end prevailed, and Bencoolen in particular, to which the other places were rendered subordinate in 1686, began to acquire some degree of vigour and respectability. In 1689 encouragement was given to Chinese colonists to settle there, whose number has been continually increasing from that time. In 1691 the Dutch felt the loss of their influence at Silebar and other of the southern countries, where they attempted to exert authority in the name of the sultan of Bantam, and the produce of these places was delivered to the English. This revolution proceeded from the works with which about this time our factory was strengthened. In 1695 a settlement was made at Triamang, and two years after at Kattaun and Sablat. The first, in the year 1700, was removed to Bantal. Various applications were made by the natives in different parts of the island for the establishment of factories, particularly from Ayer-Bangis to the northward, Palembang on the eastern side, and the people from the countries south of Tallo, near Manna. A person was sent to survey these last, as far as Pulo Pisang and Kroi, in 1715. In consequence of the inconvenience attending the shipping of goods from Bencoolen River, which is often impracticable from the surfs, a warehouse was built in 1701 at a place then called the cove; which gave the first idea of removing the settlement to the point of land which forms the bay of Bencoolen. The unhealthiness of the old situation was thought to render this an expedient step; and accordingly about 1714 it was in great measure relinquished, and the foundations of Fort Marlborough were laid on a spot two or three miles distant. Being a high plain it was judged to possess considerable advantages; many of which however are counterbalanced by its want of the vicinity of a river, so necessary for the ready and plentiful supply of provisions. Some progress had been made in the erection of this fort when an accident happened that had nearly destroyed the Company's views. The natives incensed at ill treatment received from the Europeans, who were then but little versed in the knowledge of their dispositions or the art of managing them by conciliating methods, rose in a body in the year 1719, and forced the garrison, whose ignorant fears rendered them precipitate, to seek refuge on board their ships. These people began now to feel alarms lest the Dutch, taking advantage of the absence of the English, should attempt an establishment, and soon permitted some persons from the northern factories to resettle the place; and, supplies arriving from Madras, things returned to their former course, and the fort was completed. The Company's affairs on this coast remained in tranquillity for a number of years. The important settlement of Natal was established in 1752, and that of Tappanuli a short time afterwards; which involved the English in fresh disputes with the Dutch, who set up a claim to the country in which they are situated. In the year 1760 the French under Comte d'Estaing destroyed all the English settlements on the coast of Sumatra; but they were soon reestablished and our possession secured by the treaty of Paris in 1763. Fort Marlborough, which had been hitherto a peculiar subordinate of Fort St. George, was now formed into an independent presidency, and was furnished with a charter for erecting a mayor's court, but which has never been enforced. In 1781 a detachment of military from thence embarked upon five East India ships and took possession of Padang and all other Dutch factories in consequence of the war with that nation. In 1782 the magazine of Fort Marlborough, in which were four hundred barrels of powder, was fired by lightning and blew up; but providentially few lives were lost. In 1802 an act of parliament was passed "to authorize the East India Company to make their settlement at Fort Marlborough in the East Indies, a factory subordinate to the presidency of Fort William in Bengal, and to transfer the servants who on the reduction of that establishment shall be supernumerary, to the presidency of Fort St. George." In 1798 plants of the nutmeg and clove had for the first time been procured from the Moluccas; and in 1803 a large importation of these valuable articles of cultivation took place. As the plantations were, by the last accounts from thence, in the most flourishing state, very important commercial advantages were expected to be derived from the culture.)

A few years before these transactions she had invited the king of Siam to renew the ancient connexion between their respective states, and to unite in a league against the Dutch, by whose encroachments the commerce of her subjects and the extent of her dominions were much circumscribed. It does not appear however that this overture was attended with any effect, nor have the limits of the Achinese jurisdiction since that period extended beyond Pidir on the northern, and Barus on the western coast.

She died in 1688, having reigned something less than eleven years, and was succeeded by a young queen named Kamalat-shah; but this did not take place without a strong opposition from a faction amongst the orang kayas which wanted to set up a king, and a civil war actually commenced. The two parties drew up their forces on opposite sides of the river, and for two or three nights continued to fire at each other, but in the daytime followed their ordinary occupations. These opportunities of intercourse made them sensible of their mutual folly. They agreed to throw aside their arms and the crown remained in possession of the newly elected queen. It was said to have been esteemed essential that she should be a maiden, advanced in years, and connected by blood with the ancient royal line. In this reign an English factory, which had been long discontinued, was reestablished at Achin, but in the interval some private traders of this nation had always resided on the spot. These usually endeavoured to persuade the state that they represented the India Company, and sometimes acquired great influence, which they are accused of having employed in a manner not only detrimental to that body but to the interests of the merchants of India in general by monopolizing the trade of the port, throwing impediments in the way of all shipping not consigned to their management, and embezzling the cargoes of such as were. An asylum was also afforded, beyond the reach of law, for all persons whose crimes or debts induced them to fly from the several European settlements. These considerations chiefly made the Company resolve to reclaim their ancient privileges in that kingdom, and a deputation was sent from the presidency of Madras in the year 1695 for that purpose, with letters addressed to her illustrious majesty the queen of Achin, desiring permission to settle on the terms her predecessors had granted to them; which was readily complied with, and a factory, but on a very limited scale, was established accordingly, but soon declined and disappeared. In 1704, when Charles Lockyer (whose account of his voyage, containing a particular description of this place, was published in 1711) visited Achin, one of these independent factors, named Francis Delton, carried on a flourishing trade. In 1695 the Achinese were alarmed by the arrival of six sail of Dutch ships of force, with a number of troops on board, in their road, not having been visited by any of that nation for fifteen years, but they departed without offering any molestation.

This queen was deposed by her subjects (whose grounds of complaint are not stated) about the latter part of the year 1699, after reigning also eleven years; and with her terminated the female dynasty, which, during its continuance of about fifty-nine years, had attracted much notice in Europe.

Her successor was named Beder al-alum sherif Hasham, the nature of whose pretensions to the crown does not positively appear, but there is reason to believe that he was her brother. When he had reigned a little more than two years it pleased God (as the Annals express it) to afflict him with a distemper which caused his feet and hands to contract (probably the gout) and disqualified him for the performance of his religious duties.

Under these circumstances he was induced to resign the government in 1702, and died about a month after his abdication.

Perkasa-alum, a priest, found means by his intrigues to acquire the sovereignty, and one of his first acts was to attempt imposing certain duties on the merchandise imported by English traders, who had been indulged with an exemption from all port charges excepting the established complimentary presents upon their arrival and receiving the chap or licence. This had been stipulated in the treaty made by Sir James Lancaster, and renewed by Mr. Grey when chief of the Company's factory. The innovation excited an alarm and determined opposition on the part of the masters of ships then at the place, and they proceeded (under the conduct of Captain Alexander Hamilton, who published an account of his voyage in 1727) to the very unwarrantable step of commencing hostilities by firing upon the villages situated near the mouth of the river, and cutting off from the city all supplies of provisions by sea. The inhabitants, feeling severely the effects of these violent measures, grew clamorous against the government, which was soon obliged to restore to these insolent traders the privileges for which they contended.

Advantage was taken of the public discontents to raise an insurrection in favour of the nephew of the late queen, or, according to the Annals, the son of Beder al-alum (who was probably her brother), in the event of which Perkasa-alum was deposed about the commencement of the year 1704, and after an interregnum or anarchy of three months continuance, the young prince obtained possession of the throne, by the name of Jemal al-alum. From this period the native writers furnish very ample details of the transactions of the Achinese government, as well as of the general state of the country, whose prosperous circumstances during the early part of this king's reign are strongly contrasted with the misery and insignificance to which it was reduced by subsequent events. The causes and progress of this political decline cannot be more satisfactorily set forth than in a faithful translation of the Malayan narrative which was drawn up, or extracted from a larger work, for my use, and is distinct from the Annals already mentioned:

When raja Jemal al-alum reigned in Achin the country was exceedingly populous, the nobles had large possessions, the merchants were numerous and opulent, the judgments of the king were just, and no man could experience the severity of punishment but through his own fault. In those days the king could not trade on his own account, the nobles having combined to prevent it; but the accustomed duties of the port were considered as his revenue, and ten per cent was levied for this purpose upon all merchandise coming into the country. The city was then of great extent, the houses were of brick and stone. The most considerable merchant was a man named Daniel, a Hollander; but many of different nations were also settled there, some from Surat, some from Kutch, others from China. When ships arrived in the port, if the merchants could not take off all the cargoes the king advanced the funds for purchasing what remained, and divided the goods among them, taking no profit to himself. After the departure of the vessel the king was paid in gold the amount of his principal, without interest.

His daily amusements were in the grounds allotted for the royal sports. He was attended by a hundred young men, who were obliged to be constantly near his person day and night, and who were clothed in a sumptuous manner at a monthly expense of a hundred dollars for each man. The government of the different parts of the country was divided, under his authority, amongst the nobles. When a district appeared to be disturbed he took measures for quelling the insurrection; those who resisted his orders he caused to be apprehended; when the roads were bad he gave directions for their repair. Such was his conduct in the government. His subjects all feared him, and none dared to condemn his actions. At that time the country was in peace.

When he had been a few years on the throne a country lying to the eastward, named Batu Bara, attempted to throw off its subjection to Achin. The chiefs were ordered to repair to court to answer for their conduct, but they refused to obey. These proceedings raised the king's indignation. He assembled the nobles and required of them that each should furnish a vessel of war, to be employed on an expedition against that place, and within two months, thirty large galleys, without counting vessels of a smaller size, were built and equipped for sea. When the fleet arrived off Batu Bara (by which must be understood the Malayan district at the mouth of the river, and not the Batta territory through which it takes its course), a letter was sent on shore addressed to the refractory chiefs, summoning them to give proof of their allegiance by appearing in the king's presence, or threatening the alternative of an immediate attack. After much division in their councils it was at length agreed to feign submission, and a deputation was sent off to the royal fleet, carrying presents of fruit and provisions of all kinds. One of the chiefs carried, as his complimentary offering, some fresh coconuts, of the delicate species called kalapa-gading, into which a drug had been secretly introduced. The king observing these directed that one should be cut open for him, and having drunk of the juice, became affected with a giddiness in his head. (This symptom shows the poison to have been the upas, but too much diluted in the liquor of the nut to produce death). Being inclined to repose, the strangers were ordered to return on shore, and, finding his indisposition augment, he gave directions for being conveyed back to Achin, whither his ship sailed next day. The remainder of the fleet continued off the coast during five or six days longer, and then returned likewise without effecting the reduction of the place, which the chiefs had lost no time in fortifying.

About two years after this transaction the king, under pretence of amusement, made an excursion to the country lying near the source of the river Achin, then under the jurisdiction of a panglima or governor named Muda Seti; for it must be understood that this part of the kingdom is divided into three districts, known by the appellations of the Twenty-two, Twenty-six, and Twenty-five Mukims (see above), which were governed respectively by Muda Seti, Imam Muda, and Perbawang­Shah (or Purba-wangsa). These three chiefs had the entire control of the country, and when their views were united they had the power of deposing and setting up kings. Such was the nature of the government. The king's expedition was undertaken with the design of making himself master of the person of Muda Seti, who had given him umbrage, and on this occasion his followers of all ranks were so numerous that wherever they halted for the night the fruits of the earth were all devoured, as well as great multitudes of cattle. Muda Seti however, being aware of the designs against him, had withdrawn himself from the place of his usual residence and was not to be found when the king arrived there; but a report being brought that he had collected five or six hundred followers and was preparing to make resistance, orders were immediately given for burning his house. This being effected, the king returned immediately to Achin, leaving the forces that had accompanied him at a place called Pakan Badar, distant about half a day's journey from the capital, where they were directed to entrench themselves. From this post they were driven by the country chief, who advanced rapidly upon them with several thousand men, and forced them to fall back to Padang Siring, where the king was collecting an army, and where a battle was fought soon after, that terminated in the defeat of the royal party with great slaughter. Those who escaped took refuge in the castle along with the king.

Under these disastrous circumstances he called upon the chiefs who adhered to him to advise what was best to be done, surrounded as they were by the country people, on whom he invoked the curse of God; when one of them, named Panglima Maharaja, gave it as his opinion that the only effectual measure by which the country could be saved from ruin would be the king's withdrawing himself from the capital so long as the enemy should continue in its vicinity, appointing a regent from among the nobles to govern the country in his absence; and when subordination should be restored he might then return and take again possession of his throne. To this proposition he signified his assent on the condition that Panglima Maharaja should assure him by an oath that no treachery was intended; which oath was accordingly taken, and the king, having nominated as his substitute Maharaja Lela, one of the least considerable of the ulubalangs, retired with his wives and children to the country of the Four mukims, situated about three hours journey to the westward of the city. (The Annals say he fled to Pidir in November 1723.) Great ravages were committed by the insurgents, but they did not attack the palace, and after some days of popular confusion the chiefs of the Three districts, who (says the writer) must not be confounded with the officers about the person of the king, held a consultation amongst themselves, and, exercising an authority of which there had been frequent examples, set up Panglima Maharaja in the room of the abdicated king (by the title, say the Annals, of Juhar al-alum, in December 1723). About seven days after his elevation he was seized with a convulsive disorder in his neck and died. A nephew of Jemal al-alum, named Undei Tebang, was then placed upon the throne, but notwithstanding his having bribed the chiefs of the Three districts with thirty katties of gold, they permitted him to enjoy his dignity only a few days, and then deposed him. (The same authority states that he was set up by the chiefs of the Four mukims, and removed through the influence of Muda Seti.)

The person whom they next combined to raise to the throne was Maharaja Lela (before mentioned as the king's substitute). It was his good fortune to govern the country in tranquillity for the space of nearly twelve years, during which period the city of Achin recovered its population. (According to the Annals he began to reign in February 1724, by the title of Ala ed-din Ahmed shah Juhan, and died in June 1735.) It happened that the same day on which the event of his death took place Jemal al-alum again made his appearance, and advanced to a mosque near the city. His friends advised him to lose no time in possessing himself of the castle, but for trifling reasons that mark the weakness of his character he resolved to defer the measure till the succeeding day; and the opportunity, as might be expected, was lost. The deceased king left five sons, the eldest of whom, named Po-chat-au (or Po-wak, according to another manuscript) exhorted his brothers to unite with him in the determination of resisting a person whose pretensions were entirely inconsistent with their security. They accordingly sent to demand assistance of Perbawang-shah, chief of the district of the Twenty-five mukims, which lies the nearest to that quarter. He arrived before morning, embraced the five princes, confirmed them in their resolution, and authorised the eldest to assume the government (which he did, say the Annals, by the title of Ala ed-din Juhan-shah in September 1735.) But to this measure the concurrence of the other chiefs was wanting. At daybreak the guns of the castle began to play upon the mosque, and, some of the shot penetrating its walls, the pusillanimous Jemal al-alum, being alarmed at the danger, judged it advisable to retreat from thence and to set up his standard in another quarter, called kampong Jawa, his people at the same time retaining possession of the mosque. A regular warfare now ensued between the two parties and continued for no less than ten years (the great chiefs taking different sides), when at length some kind of compromise was effected that left Po-chat-au (Juhan­shah) in the possession of the throne, which he afterwards enjoyed peaceably for eight years, and no further mention is made of Jemal al-alum. About this period the chiefs took umbrage at his interfering in matters of trade, contrary to what they asserted to be the established custom of the realm, and assembled their forces in order to intimidate him. (The history of Achin presents a continual struggle between the monarch and the aristocracy of the country, which generally made the royal monopoly of trade the ground of crimination and pretext for their rebellions).

Panglima Muda Seti, being considered as the head of the league, came down with twenty thousand followers, and, upon the king's refusing to admit into the castle his complimentary present (considering it only as the prelude to humiliating negotiation), another war commenced that lasted for two years, and was at length terminated by Muda Seti's withdrawing from the contest and returning to his province. About five years after this event Juhan shah died, and his son, Pochat-bangta, succeeded him, but not (says this writer, who here concludes his abstract) with the general concurrence of the chiefs, and the country long continued in a disturbed state.

Kematian Juhan shah dinyatakan dalam Kitab Tawarikh terjadi pada Agustus 1760, dan pelantikan putranya, yang bernama Ala-eddin Muhammed shah, tak sampai November pada tahun yang sama. Otoritas lain terlibat dalam peristiwa tersebut pada 1761.

Sebelum ia merampungkan tahun ketiga masa kekuasaannya, sebuah pemberontakan membuatnya menyelamatkan dirinya sendiri dengan menumpangi kapal untuk perjalanan. Ini terjadi pada 1763 atau 1764. Takhtanya direbut oleh maharaja (perwira negara tingkat satu) bernama Sinara, yang menyandang gelar Beder-eddin Juhan shah, dan sekitar akhir 1765 dihukum mati oleh para pengikut penguasa yang buron, Muhammed shah, yang setelah itu mengembalikan takhta tersebut.*

(*Catatan kaki. Kapten Forrest menyatakan kepada kami bahwa ia mengunjungi istana Mahomed Selim (nama tersebut tak diberikan kepada pangeran ini oleh penulis lainnya) pada tahun 1764, dimana ia nampaknya berusia sekitar empat puluh tahun. Sulit untuk merekonsiliasikan penanggalan ini dengan peristiwa yang tercatat dari masa pemerintahan yang tak menguntungkan ini, dan aku ragu apakah ini bukanlah perampas takhta yang dilihat Kapten.)

Namun, ia melakukan revolusi lebih lanjut. Sekitar enam tahun setelah pemulihannya, istananya diserang pada malam hari oleh sekelompok dua ratus pasukan, yang dipimpin oleh seorang pria bernama Raja Udah, dan ia sempat meminta lebih untuk menarik diri lebih dini. Perampas tahta ini menyandang gelar sultan Suliman shah. Namun, setelah masa pemerintahan singkat selama tiga bulan, ia digulingkan dan terpaksa mengungsi ke salah satu pulau di laut timur. Tujuannya, jika ia memilikinya, tak disebutkan, namun ia tak pernah melakukan pertikaian apapun lebih lanjut. Dari masa ini, Muhammed menetapkan pendirian ibukotanya, meskipun umumnya dalam keadaan bergesekan.

"Pada tahun 1772," kata Kapten Forrest, "Mr. Giles Holloway, residen Tappanooly, dikirim ke Achin oleh pemerintahan Bencoolen, dengan surat dan hadir, meminta ijin dari raja untuk membuat pemukiman di sana. Aku membawakannya dari keresidenannya. Tak menjadi lebih baik pada kedatangannya, aku tak temani Tuan Holloway (seorang pria yang sangat bijaksana dan berbudi, dan yang memakai logat Melayu yang sangat lancar) pada pesisir di tempat kedatangan perdananya; dan menemukan pemasukannya yang nampaknya menunjang pengeluaran yang tak dapat aku jalankan ke istana secara keseluruhan. Terdapat anarki dan persinggungan besar pada masa itu; dan ketidakpuasan sering terjadi, seperti yang aku beritahu, dekat istana raja pada malam hari."

Kapten kemudian memutuskan untuk kembali lagi ke sana pada 1775, ia tak menerima sambutan.

Catatan Tawarikh melaporkan kematiannya terjadi pada 2 Juni 1781, dan mengamati itu dari pengumuman penutupan masa pemerintahannya di daerah tersebut tak pernah mengalami penggantian. Saudaranya, yang bernama Ala-eddin (atau Uleddin, seperti yang umum diucapkan, dan yang nampaknya memiliki gelar yang disukai dengan para pangeran Achinese), berada di pengasingan di Madras pada masa yang ditentukan, dan juga bermukim selama beberapa waktu di Bencoolen.

Putra sulung dari almarhum raja, yang ketika itu berusia sekitar delapan belas tahun, menggantikannya pada tanggal 16 bulan yang sama, dengan gelar Ala-eddin Mahmud shah Juhan, di samping perlawanan terupayakan yang disulut oleh para partisan putra lainnya oleh seorang istri kesayangan . Senjata-senjata dikerahkan di samping istana, ketika tuanku agung atau pendeta tinggi, orang yang terhormat dan berpengaruh, dalam hal terdidik, datang di antara kerumunan, tanpa pelindung kepala dan tanpa tedeng aling-aling, memimpin muridnya lewat tangannya. Menempatkan dirinya sendiri di antara faksi yang berseteru, ia menyampaikan mereka dampak berikut: bahwa pangeran yang berdiri di sebelah mereka memiliki hak alami dan klaim sah atas takhta ayahnya; bahwa ia terdidik dengan sebuah pandangan kepadanya, dan terkualifikasi untuk mendudukinya dengan penempatan dan bakatnya; bahwa ia berharap meskipun niat-niatnya atas hak kelahiran maupun kekuatan pihak yang berpihak kepadanya, namun suara umum dari subyeknya menyerukan kedaulatannya; bahwa jika hal semacam itu adalah sentimen mereka yang ia siap untuk ambil tugas-tugas penugasan, dimana ia sendiri akan membantunya dengan buah-buah pengalamannya; bahwa jika pada pertentangan mereka merasakan perkiraan untuk saingannya, tak ada darah yang harus tertumbah pada catatannya, pangeran dan pembimbingnya menuntaskan kasus tersebut ke titik tanpa perjuangan, dan dipensiunkan ke pulau yang jauh. Banding impresif tersebut memiliki dampak yang diinginkan, dan pangeran muda tersebut diundang lewat aklamasi untuk memegang tampuk pemerintahan.*

(*Footnote. Mr. Philip Braham, late chief of the East India Company's settlement of Fort Marlborough, by whom the circumstances of this event were related to me, arrived at Achin in July 1781, about a fortnight after the transaction. He thus described his audience. The king was seated in a gallery (to which there were no visible steps), at the extremity of a spacious hall or court, and a curtain which hung before him was drawn aside when it was his pleasure to appear. In this court were great numbers of female attendants, but not armed, as they have been described. Mr. Braham was introduced through a long file of guards armed with blunderbusses, and then seated on a carpet in front of the gallery. When a conversation had been carried on for some time through the Shabandar, who communicated his answers to an interpreter, by whom they were reported to the king, the latter perceiving that he spoke the Malayan language addressed him directly, and asked several questions respecting England; what number of wives and children our sovereign had; how many ships of war the English kept in India; what was the French force, and others of that nature. He expressed himself in friendly terms with regard to our nation, and said he should always be happy to countenance our traders in his ports. Even at this early period of his reign he had abolished some vexatious imposts. Mr. Braham had an opportunity of learning the great degree of power and control possessed by certain of the orang kayas, who held their respective districts in actual sovereignty, and kept the city in awe by stopping, when it suited their purpose, the supplies of provisions. Captain Forrest, who once more visited Achin in 1784 and was treated with much distinction (see his Voyage to the Mergui Archipelago page 51), says he appeared to be twenty-five years of age; but this was a misconception. Mr. Kenneth Mackenzie, who saw him in 1782, judged him to have been at that time no more than nineteen or twenty, which corresponds with Mr. Braham's statement.)

Little is known of the transactions of his reign, but that little is in favour of his personal character. The Annals (not always unexceptionable evidence when speaking of the living monarch) describe him as being endowed with every princely virtue, exercising the functions of government with vigour and rectitude, of undaunted courage, attentive to the protection of the ministers of religion, munificent to the descendants of the prophet (seiyid, but commonly pronounced sidi) and to men of learning, prompt at all times to administer justice, and consequently revered and beloved by his people. I have not been enabled to ascertain the year in which he died.

Sebuah surat Malaya dari Achin pada 1791 menyatakan bahwa kedamaian ibukota sangat terusik, dan keadaan pemerintah serta harta benda pribadi (yang diamati penulis ditarik barang-barangnya) terancam.

In 1805 his son, then aged twenty-one, was on the throne, and had a contention with his paternal uncle, and at the same time his father-in-law, named Tuanku Raja, by whom he had been compelled to fly (but only for a short time) to Pidir, the usual asylum of the Achinese monarchs. Their quarrel appears to have been rather of a family than of a political nature, and to have proceeded from the irregular conduct of the queen-mother. The low state of this young king's finances, impoverished by a fruitless struggle to enforce, by means of an expensive marine establishment, his right to an exclusive trade, had induced him to make proposals, for mutual accommodation, to the English government of Pulo Pinang.*

(*Footnote. Since the foregoing was printed the following information respecting the manners of the Batta people, obtained by Mr. Charles Holloway from Mr. W.H. Hayes, has reached my hands. "In the month of July 1805 an expedition consisting of Sepoys, Malays, and Battas was sent from Tapanuli against a chief named Punei Manungum, residing at Nega­timbul, about thirty miles inland from Old Tapanuli, in consequence of his having attacked a kampong under the protection of the company, murdered several of the inhabitants, and carried others into captivity. After a siege of three days, terms of accommodation being proposed, a cessation of hostilities took place, when the people of each party having laid aside their arms intermixed with the utmost confidence, and conversed together as if in a state of perfect amity. The terms however not proving satisfactory, each again retired to his arms and renewed the contest with their former inveteracy. On the second day the place was evacuated, and upon our people entering it Mr. Hayes found the bodies of one man and two women, whom the enemy had put to death before their departure (being the last remaining of sixteen prisoners whom they had originally carried off), and from whose legs large pieces had been cut out, evidently for the purpose of being eaten. During the progress of this expedition a small party had been sent to hold in check the chiefs of Labusukum and Singapollum (inland of Sibogah), who were confederates of Punei Manungum. These however proved stronger than was expected, and, making a sally from their kampongs, attacked the sergeant's party and killed a sepoy, whom he was obliged to abandon. Mr. Hayes, on his way from Negatimbul, was ordered to march to the support of the retreating party; but these having taken a different route he remained ignorant of the particulars of their loss. The village of Singapollam being immediately carried by storm, and the enemy retreating by one gate, as our people entered at the opposite, the accoutrements of the sepoy who had been killed the day before were seen hanging as trophies in the front of the houses, and in the town hall, Mr. Hayes saw the head entirely scalped, and one of the fingers fixed upon a fork or skewer, still warm from the fire. On proceeding to the village of Labusucom, situated little more than two hundred yards from the former, he found a large plantain leaf full of human flesh, mixed with lime-juice and chili-pepper, from which he inferred that they had been surprised in the very act of feasting on the sepoy, whose body had been divided between the two kampongs. Upon differences being settled with the chiefs they acknowledged with perfect sangfroid that such had been the case, saying at the same time, "you know it is our custom; why should we conceal it?")