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Nuku of Tidore

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Nuku
لواثق بالله الملك المنان السلطان محمد شاه امیر الدین
al-Wathiq billah al-Malik al-Mannan al-Sultan Muhammad Syah Amiruddin
"He who trusts in God, the King, the Ever Bestowing One, the Sultan Muhammad Syah Amiruddin"
Sultan of Tidore
Reign1797–1805
PredecessorKamaluddin
SuccessorZainal Abidin
Died14 November 1805
Regnal name
Sultan Muhammad al-Mabus Amiruddin Syah
FatherSultan Jamaluddin
ReligionIslam

Nuku(born c. 1738 – died 14 November 1805) was the nineteenth Sultan ofTidoreinMaluku Islands,reigning from 1797 to 1805. He is also known under the namesSultan Muhammad al-Mabus Amiruddin Syah,Saifuddin,Jou Barakati(Master of Fortune), andKaicili Paparangan(Prince of Battles). He led aresistance against Dutch colonialismin Maluku andPapuafrom 1780 which was eventually successful. Being a leader with great charisma, he gathered discontents from several ethnic groups and strove to restore Maluku to its pre-colonial division into four autonomous kingdoms. Nuku used global political conflict lines by allying with theBritishagainst the French-affiliated Dutch and helped them conquer the Dutch stronghold inTernatein 1801. In modernIndonesiahe is commemorated as apahlawan nasional(national hero).[1]

Background

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Prince Nuku was born around 1738 into one of the four branches of the royal family of Tidore.[2]Not much is known of his early years, but his father became Sultan of Tidore in 1757 under the name Jamaluddin.[3]At this time theDutch East India Company(VOC) had dominated theTidore Sultanatefor a century though it was still formally autonomous. Apart fromTidore Islandit encompassed parts ofHalmaheraandNew Guinea,which yielded foodstuff, forest and sea products that gave the Sultanate a certain economic significance.[4]However, its prestige was declining since the VOC increasingly imposed its will on Tidore and its neighbour, theSultanate of Ternate.This was aggravated by a rebellion in the Papuan islandSalawatiand incursions by theIranun peopleof southernPhilippines.[5]In 1768 the Dutch forced Sultan Jamaluddin to cede his rights toCeramwhich enraged Nuku.[6]His hatred of the VOC arose further in 1779 when his father and two brothers were arrested and exiled by the Dutch, on suspicions of misrule and conspirations with theEnglish East India Companyand the rulers ofBacanandMaguindanao.This was followed by a new treaty in 1780 where Tidore was reduced from a Dutch ally to a vassal.[7]

Early movement

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Mosque in Waru,Ceram,where Nuku had his headquarters in the 1780s and 1790s. Image from 1846.

Nuku refused to accept the new order, and left Tidore Island in 1780, sailing with his followers toPataniin Halmahera. Establishing a local base, he was proclaimed King of thePapuansand planned to seek aid fromSpanishandEnglishships. The communities of south-eastern Halmahera and thePapuan Islandshad a tradition of raiding over long distances and were co-opted by Nuku in the fight against colonial rule.[8]Thus began a movement to restoreMalukuto its old peace and prosperity. For the Papuans, Nuku appeared as a charismatic leader able to establish Koreri, an utopian realm that would arise after toppling the existing order.[9]For many Tidorese and other Malukans, Nuku was a champion for all of Maluku, since the local rulers were little more than Dutch puppets. The VOC undertook a number of sea expeditions to quell the movement with varying success. After an overwhelming victory against them in 1783, Nuku forced the current Sultan Patra Alam to declare war on the Dutch and exterminate the Dutch on the island. Nuku sailed over to Tidore where he was received enthusiastically, but his position did not last long. Tidore was in turn invaded by a strong Dutch-Ternatan force and completely defeated, more than a thousand Tidorese were killed, and Nuku had to flee. Patra Alam was deposed and exiled, and a prince from another branch, Kamaluddin, was set up as a Dutch tool.[10]The VOC thus showed that it still had muscles to quell rebellions in the center. By contrast, the rebellion continued in the periphery, led by Nuku from theRaja Ampat islandsand Ceram. TheKeiandAru Islandswere also drawn into the struggle as discontented groups joined the movement and attacked Dutch soldiers and seamen.[11]On balance, the attacks of the Dutch and their appointed Sultan Kamaluddin on the rebellious areas seriously weakened Nuku's position up to the early 1790s.[12]

Nuku's rebel allies on Gorom Island are attacked by VOC forces under Colonel Gobius in May 1791, their village being set on fire.

Gaining momentum

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After 1791 the movement somehow gained in strength. The exact reasons for this are unclear, but an increasing number of people in Maluku and Papua decided to throw in their lot with Nuku. This coincided with the establishment of relations with British merchants, who increasingly visited Maluku since the 1760s. Early contacts with the English East India Company did not have significant results until the EIC built a fort atDoreion the coast of New Guinea in 1793, an event that brought it close to Nuku's domains.[13]The French occupation of theNetherlandsin 1795 had global consequences since British squadrons were dispatched to seize the VOC possessions in Asia. The British based some of their ships in Gebe, Prince Nuku's headquarters.Ambonand theBanda Islandsfell to Nuku with the assistance of 2 british ships in early 1796, and by 1797 all VOC posts in Moluccas had fallen, except Ternate which remained in Dutch hands for the time being.[14]

With a considerable fleet, Nuku paid a visit to the new British governor in Ambon. The governor found Nuku to be a dignified gentleman who was well aware of European manners. He did not promise substantial assistance for an attack inNorth Maluku,but expressed support for Nuku's rights to the throne of Tidore. However, Nuku proceeded to occupyJailoloin Halmahera with British support. Jailolo was, until its sacking in 1551 by Ternatian and Portuguese forces following a combined Tidore, Jailolo and Spanish attempt to oust the Portuguese,one of the four Moluccan kingdomstogether with Ternate, Tidore andBacan,and a restoration of the original quadripartition was seen as a step in reestablishing precolonial harmony. Nuku therefore took care to enthrone a descendant of the old Jailolo dynasty, Muhammad Arif Bila, who had previously been ajojau(first minister) in Tidore.[15][14]

Reconquest of Tidore

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Territories associated with Ternate (red) and Tidore (orange), and vassals of Tidore (light orange)

In the next year 1797 Nuku proceeded against the Dutch positions. Bacan was occupied with the assistance of English country traders, who prevented the rebels to kill the Christian villagers. In April the rebel fleet finally reached Tidore, whose Sultan Kamaluddin had already fled to safety in Ternate. Nuku tried to attack the Dutch main fortress in Ternate, but it proved to be too strong. Instead, he put Ternate under blockade, consolidated his position and became the de facto Sultan of Tidore.[16]As such he was called Muhammad al-Mabus Amiruddin. According to aMakassareseeyewitness, "he was surrounded by twelve bodyguards armed with swords and shields, because he had little trust in all Tidorese".[17]In the coming years theBritish Navybegan to cooperate closer with Nuku, dropping the previous non-interference policy with regard to North Maluku. The Ambon governorWilliam Farquharand Nuku led a series on assaults on the Dutch in Ternate who finally had to surrender in June 1801. Immediately afterward, Farquhar officially proclaimed Nuku Sultan of Tidore, though he had already been the actual ruler for four years. Now Britain signed a treaty with Tidore where the former stood as protectors and the Sultan received an annual subsidy of 6,000 Spanish dollars in return for deliveries of the valuablecloves.The old Dutch policy of regular extirpation of spice trees in most areas was abandoned.[18]

The entrance to the sultan's residence in Tidore, early 19th century.

Political events in Europe put a quick end to the relationship, however. ThePeace of Amiensrestored most of the Dutch overseas possessions to the French-dominatedBatavian Republic,and the British left in May 1803. Nuku persisted in flying theUnion Jackfrom his residence, and the Dutch governor in Ternate opened negotiations to settle the position of Tidore. Nuku demanded that the restored Jailolo kingdom should be recognized and that his status vis-à-vis the Dutch should be "brother" rather than "child". The negotiations were delayed by the Dutch who believed that the old Sultan could not live much longer. Already in 1801 the British described him as "perfectly decrepid from persecution and continual hardships". The relations steadily worsened, especially since Sultan Jailolo repeatedly raided Ternatan territory. Eventually Nuku died on 14 November 1805, with his kingdom on the brink of war.[19]

Legacy

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A modern representation of Nuku.

Thanks to his persistency and charisma, Nuku had become the leading political figure in Maluku and Papua by the early 19th century. His nickname Jou Barakati, "Lord of Fortune" shows how he was perceived by people: a man of prowess imbued with a certain spiritual aura that would restore the shattered Malukan world.[20]He was able to attract people from a wide range of ethnicities and cultures: Tidorese, Ceramese, Papuans, Arunese, etc. Nuku's movement had a strongly Muslim aspect, which did not prevent alliances with animists and Christian British, or, for that matter, Nuku's preference for strongarrack.Personally he is described as a man of very active disposition, having "the greatest good humour and uprightness". Unlike other Sultans in this era, he only had one wife, known as Geboca, a sensible and caring woman who was an important advisor to her husband.[21]

Nuku was among the very few Indonesian leaders up to the 20th century who had the best of a major contest with European colonizers. The realm constructed by him did not long survive him, however, which shows the great importance of his personality. A new Dutch attack drove out his brother and successor Sultan Zainal Abidin from Tidore in 1806 and Maluku remained steadily in European hands until 1942.[22]

Family

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Nuku had nine half-brothers and half-sisters, whose loyalty to his cause shifted. One of them, Prince Hassan, schemed to topple Nuku as Sultan but was murdered under obscure circumstances in 1800. Another, PrinceZainal Abidin,held a vacillating position by was finally appointed to succeed his brother.[23]A purported brother known by the title Jou Mangofa made himself king in theAru Islandsin 1787 but was killed in about 1790.[24]With his wife Geboca (or Habiba Sinobe), Nuku sired two sons and a daughter:

  • Soangare Saifuddin
  • Fangare Talabuddin
  • Boki Nafisa

None of these ever succeeded to the throne, but Soangare's descendant Haji Djafar Dano Junus became titular Sultan of Tidore in 1999.

See also

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References

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  1. ^Sultan Nuku - Panglima Perang dari Tidore
  2. ^30 years in 1768; see E. Katoppo (1984)Nuku; Riwayat perjuangan kemerdekaan di Maluku Utara, 1780-1806.Jakarta: Sinar Harapan, p. 42.
  3. ^A. Haga (1884)Nederlandsch Nieuw Guinea en de Papoesche eilanden. Historische bijdrage, 1500-1883.Batavia: Bruining, p. 239.[1]
  4. ^E. Katoppo (1984), pp. 22–31.
  5. ^Leonard Andaya (1993)The world of Maluku.Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, pp. 217–9.
  6. ^Muridan Widjojo (2009)The revolt of Prince Nuku: Cross-cultural alliance-making in Maluku, c. 1780-1810.Leiden: Brill, pp. 52–3.
  7. ^Muridan Widjojo (2009), p. 56.
  8. ^Muridan Widjojo (2009), p. 119.
  9. ^Leonard Andaya (1993), pp. 220–1.
  10. ^Leonard Andaya (1993), pp. 223–7.
  11. ^Hans Hägerdal and Emilie Wellfelt (2019) "Tamalola; Transregional connectivities, Islam, and anti-colonialism on an Indonesian island",Wacana20-3.[2]
  12. ^Muridan Widjojo (2009), pp. 63–9.
  13. ^Muridan Widjojo (2009), pp. 165–85.
  14. ^abSwadling, Pamela; Wagner, Roy; Laba, Billai (2019-12-01).Plumes from Paradise.Sydney University Press. p. 114.doi:10.30722/sup.9781743325445.ISBN978-1-74332-544-5.S2CID240917675.
  15. ^Leonard Andaya (1993), p. 235.
  16. ^Leonard Andaya (1993), p. 236.
  17. ^Muridan Widjojo (2009), p. 214.
  18. ^Leonard Andaya (1993), p. 237.
  19. ^Leonard Andaya (1993), pp. 237–8.
  20. ^Leonard Andaya (1993), p. 239.
  21. ^Muridan Widjojo (2009), p. 214.
  22. ^A. Haga (1884), p. 439
  23. ^Muridan Widjojo (2009), pp. 82, 89.
  24. ^Hans Hägerdal and Emilie Wellfelt (2019), pp. 448–52
Nuku of Tidore
Preceded by
Kamaluddin
 Sultan of Tidore
1797–1805 		Succeeded by
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