Spices and the Development of Maritime Trade in Indonesian Archipelago During the Early Modern Period
Spices and the Development of Maritime Trade in Indonesian Archipelago During the Early Modern Period
Singgih Tri Sulistiyono*
singgihtri@lecturer.undip.ac.id
singgihtrisulistiyono@gmail.com
Abstrak
Tujuan utama artikel ini adalah untuk menganalisis peran rempah yang dihasilkan oleh berbagai wilayah di kepulauan Indonesia sebagai penggerak utama pelayaran dan perniagaan maritim di kawasan ini. Untuk itu, artikel ini mencoba untuk menjawab pertanyaan mengapa rempah menjadi komoditas kepulauan Indonesia yang begitu penting sejak awal abad Masehi hingga awal imperialisme Eropa? Kekuatan apa yang sesungguhnya mendorong komoditi rempah menjadi komoditas penting yang dibutuhkan oleh manusia di berbagai belahan dunia? Apa dampak popularitas rempah bagi perkembangan pelayaran dan perniagaan di kepulauan Indonesia? Artikel ini mengajukan argumen bahwa semakin populernya komoditi rempah Nusantara, terkait erat dengan perubahan peta produksi rempah dunia dan semakin tingginya permintaan komoditi, baik di pasaran Cina maupun Eropa sejalan dengan semakin berkembangnya kapitalisme di Eropa. Kapitalisme yang kemudian melahirkan imperialisme dan kolonialisme semakin mengukuhkan kedudukan penting rempah Nusantara dalam pelayaran dan perniagaan dunia.
Kata Kunci: Rempah, Perdagangan Maritim, Periode Awal Modern, Jalur Rempah, Capitalism.
Abstract
The main purpose of this article is to analyze the role of spices produced by various regions in the Indonesian archipelago as the main driver of maritime shipping and commerce in this region. For this reason, this article tries to answer the question why spices have become a commodity in the Indonesian archipelago, which is so important from the beginning of the century AD to the beginning of European imperialism? What is the real power that pushes the spice commodity into an important commodity that is needed by humans in various parts of the world? What is the impact of the popularity of spices on the development of shipping and commerce in the Indonesian archipelago? This article argues that the increasing popularity of Indonesian spice commodities is closely related to changes in the world spice production map and the increasing demand for commodities in both the Chinese and European markets in line with the development of capitalism in Europe. Capitalism which later gave birth to imperialism and colonialism further strengthened the important position of the Indonesian spices in shipping and world commerce.
Keywords: Spices, Maritime Trade, Early Modern Period, Spice Route, Capitalism.
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*Departemen Sejarah, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas Diponegoro
Editor: Achmad Sunjayadi
Translator: Dhiani Proboshiwi
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