Riau Islands
State | Defunct
1500 CE to 1824 CE
From Srivijayan times until the sixteenth century, Riau is a natural part of greater Malay kingdoms or sultanates, in the heart of what is often called the Malay World, which stretches from eastern Sumatra to Borneo.
The Malay-related Orang Laut tribes inhabit the islands and form the backbone of most Malay kingdoms from Srivijaya to the Johor Sultanate for the control of trade routes going through the straits.After the fall of Malacca in 1511, the Riau islands become the center of political power of the mighty Sultanate of Johor or Johor-Riau, based on Bintan Island, and are for long considered the center of Malay culture.
European powers, struggling to control the regional trade routes, take advantage of political weaknesses within the sultanate.
Singapore island, which has for centuries been part of the same greater Malay kingdoms and sultanates, and under direct control of the Sultan of Johor, comes under British control.The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 consolidates this separation, with the British controlling all territories north of the Singapore strait and the Dutch controlling territories from Riau to Java.
Capital
Related Events
Showing 2 events out of 2 total
The Buginese, also called Bugis, had originated in the vicinity of Makasar, the southwest limb of Celebes, where they are well-known for their adventurism and maritime skill.
The Buginese had been among the early Malay converts to Buddhism who had accepted many Indian customs, including a hierarchical society, ranging from the raja at the top through district officers and princes to village heads.
Along with these Indian influences had come an Indian form of writing in which a rich literature had been recorded.
The Makasarese and Buginese had early in the seventeenth century been converted to Islam.
The Buginese had levied nominal customs duties in Makasar, which had made the city a prosperous trading port.
Makasar, however, had by 1667, fallen to the Dutch East India Company, and the Buginese had begun to emigrate from Celebes to places in the Malay Archipelago not yet reached by the Western powers.
Skilled and astute fighting men, they had soon been drawn into Malay political struggles.
They had established settlements during the seventeenth century on the Klang and Selangor rivers.
They had by 1710 created a Buginese state in Selango, and by 1722 they have established themselves in Riau.
Sultan Mahmud Shah II of Johor had died in 1699 without an heir, but the succession problem had been quickly solved when the viceroy, Bendahara Abdul Jalil, declared himself the new sultan, styling himself Sultan Abdul Jalil IV.
Many, however, feel that the declaration had been illegal.
Daing Parani, a leader of adventurers from the Celebes, has spearheaded the political penetration of the Malay Peninsula by the Buginese.
Apart from the Malays, another influential faction in Johor at this time is the Minangkabau.
Both the Bugis and the Minangkabau had realized that the death of Sultan Mahmud II had provided them with the chance to exert power in Johor.
The Minangkabau had introduced a Minangkabau prince, Raja Kecil from Siak, who claims he is the posthumous son of Sultan Mahmud II.
The prince had met with the Daing Parani and promised the Bugis wealth and political power if they helped the prince to win the throne.
However, Raja Kecil had broken his promise and installed himself as the new sultan of Johor (Sultan Abdul Jalil Rahmat Shah) without the knowledge of the Bugis.
Sultan Abdul Jalil IV had fled to Pahang where he was later killed by an assassin hired by Raja Kecil.
Daing Parani had in 1722 shifted allegiance and aided Sulaiman, son of the deposed sultan, in winning back his father's throne.
In return, the Buginese had been put in control of a specially created office of under-king, a post that has made them effective rulers of Johor.
Daing Parani is killed in 1726 while interfering in a dynastic conflict in the northern Malay state of Kedah, but his family and followers will continue to expand their influence throughout the Malay Peninsula in the eighteenth century until the only groups that remain free of Buginese control are the Dutch at Malacca and the Minangkabau people in the area that will become the state of Negri Sembilan.