Banda Neira Islands have gained a reputation as the ‘Spice Island’ for a long time, for they were the only islands to produce nutmeg and mace for years, since the Portuguese, English, until the Dutch colonization eras. The islands consist of eleven small volcanic islands that belong to Maluku Province.
Based on various research, Banda Neira Islands were not ruled by a kingdom until the 16th century. Instead, a group that consists of elders called ‘Orang Kaya’ controlled life in Banda.
In addition, Orang Kaya also became the group that controlled the trade in Banda Neira Islands Maluku. The system was similar to those in the Philippines and Spain. The elders also had power over their lands based on the customary boundaries.
Spices, land ownerships, slaves, and all the rest became the leading commodities that brought a profit for Orang Kaya. They also determined the nutmeg price produced in the Banda Neira Islands.
Image 01: A contract between the Dutch East Indies Government and the Bandanese concerning the spice monopoly.
In the development, the constant increase of nutmeg price in foreign markets was in line with the escalating growth in the trade activities in Banda, Maluku. It led Orang Kaya to transform into noble merchants who collectively controlled a tiny yet wealthy group of coastal communities due to the trade activities. Thus, Orang Kaya was the one to deal with the port masters.
The existence of Orang Kaya obstructed the trade monopoly in the Banda Neira Islands Maluku. Unlike kingdoms where the kings often cooperated in monopoly, the group of Orang Kaya worked together to encounter the threat from Portuguese or English. From the beginning, Orang Kaya never allowed the Portuguese to build forts or trade offices in their territory. The emergence of the fortress in Banda started when the Dutch conquered Orang kaya in the 17th century.
Image 02: The illustration of a great massacre by Japanese samurai to the Bandanese by the Dutch in Fort Nassau.
The Dutch, who took over the Portuguese’s fort in Ambon, then moved to conquer Banda Islands and forced Orang Kaya to let them monopolize the nutmeg trade in Banda Islands. An agreement between the Dutch, represented by Jan Dirckszoon Lam, and Orang Kaya Banda, forbade the Bandanese to trade spices in the islands to anyone but the Dutch. If they broke the rule, the Bandanese must pay compensation to the Dutch.
The Governor-General J.P. Coen could reduce the power and influence of Orang Kaya in Banda Maluku after conducting a great massacre. Thus, the Dutch obtained full control to monopolize the trades after defeating Orang Kaya, and they started to exploit them through VOC.
Sources:
Contract bij commandeur Jan Dircksz. Lam met de vijf eijlanden van Banda, Nera, Poelewaij, Poderon ende Rossengijn in dato 3 Meij 1616, VOC 1072, De archieven van de Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, Nationaal Archief, Den Haag
Hanna, Willard A. Kepulauan Banda: Kolonialisme dan Akibatnya di Kepulauan Pala. PT Gramedia, 1983.
Villiers, John. “Trade and Society in the Banda Islands in the Sixteenth Century.” Modern Asian Studies, vol. 15, no. 4, 1981, pp. 723–750. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/312170. Accessed 21 Nov. 2020.
Winn, Phillip. “‘Banda Is the Blessed Land’: Sacred Practice and Identity in the Banda Islands, Maluku.” Antropologi Indonesia, no. 57, 2014, doi:10.7454/ai.v0i57.3346.
Picrture 01: https://amboyna.org/archive/1616-treaty-between-company-and-bandanese
Picture 02: https://amboyna.org/archive/modern-painting-massacre-banda
Text: Syahidah Sumayyah
Editor: Doni Ahmadi
Translator: Dhiani Probhosiwi
