Robert W. McRoberts - A Study in Growth (An Economic History of Melaka, 1400-1510)

A STUDY IN GROWTH: AN ECONOMIC HISTORY OF MELAKA 1400 —1510
Author(s): ROBERT W. McROBERTS

Source: Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 64, No. 2 (261)
(1991), pp. 47-78
Published by: Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41493186 .
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A STUDY IN GROWTH:
AN ECONOMIC HISTORY OF MELAKA 1400 - 1510
by
ROBERT W. McROBERTS
In 1400, Melaka was, as it had always been, a fishingvillage of littleimpor-

tance. Shortlythereafter, in either1401 or 1402, it became the site of the separate
establishmentof Raja Ahmad (r. 1414- 1424 as Megat IskanderShah), supported
bytheCelâtes who had fledPalembangwithParameswarain 1396/7.In 1403,Zheng
He's firstfleetappeared in theroads, and in 1408,Melaka was recognisedas a direct
vassal of China.
In 1400,and fora littletimeafter,Melaka's populationmusthave been small,
perhapsless thana thousand:and itseconomicimportanceand activityslight.
But, by 1509,whenthePortuguesehad arrivedin theIndian Ocean, and were,
under ď Albuquerque, seekingbases fortheirparticipationin the spice and other
trade of the region,Melaka became theirthirdgoal afterGoa and Ormuz. Obvi-
ously, this was for strategicreasons, that Melaka was so importanta part of the
Indian Ocean trade,thatthePortugueseregardeditscaptureas vitalto theirplans.
This riseof Melaka is generallyaccepted. Whatis needed is an examinationof
how thegrowthoccurred,and ofthenatureoftheMelakan economyaround1500,to
display the achievementof that centuryof growth.This paper seeks to analyse
Melaka's economichistory.As such,itis in twoparts.The firstis concernedwiththe
micro-economicquestions,and the second withthemacro-economic.
Part 1: Microeconomics
Trade, especiallythedeep ocean trade,was theglamorouspartoftheMelakan
economy, and is well-documented.1 Yet the Melakan economy comprisedmuch
more,not so well-documented.
The firstpointto be noted,a truism,is thattheactivitieswhichcan be identified
markthe societyas urban and male-dominated.There were administrators, mer-
chants,scholars,warriors,servantsand so on: but no farmers.Even the dusun,all
sourcesagree,werepleasaunces,notprimarily entities:indeed,theland
agricultural
aroundMelaka is usuallydescribedas infertile.2 Therewere,itis true,otherprimary
industries,noticeablyfishing, thoughthereis mentionofthisonlyfortheearliestpart
of the century.Indeed, referencesat theend of theperiod are to theimportof fish,
especiallyof driedfishfromJava.3This maymerelybe theresultofthevastincrease
in population,althoughit is at least noteworthy that,forthefirstthreereigns,there
are no referencesto fishingin Melaka, thisbeingconfinedto thefiefsand dependen-
cies. Perhapsthelocal fishinggroundsin Melaka wereplayedout,no earlierthanthe
middleof the century.This is a not altogetherunreasonableassumption,giventhe
subsequenthistoryof fishingin the area. The increasedsewage and seaborne traf-
ficoccasioned by the city'sgrowthmayhave affectedthefishand crab populations,
perhapsby an effecton local hydraulicoxygenand acid levels. This, however,must
remainconjecture.
47

JMBRAS
VOL.64
Withthe possibleexceptionof some minorfishingactivity,theoccupationsof

the societywere urban. That is, theyincluded traders,internationalmerchants,
priests,soldiers,administrators - all tertiaryoccupations. The orang laut were,
primarily, servants or servitors of theorangkaya. Foreignersmaywellhave supplied
themselveswithservantsfromtheirhome societies,and the courthad its own staff
drawnfromthe populationin Melaka and in the fiefsand dependencies.It is prob-
lematical as to who staffedthe service industries,the orang laut or foreigners.
Perhapsit was an amalgamof both,withlocals predominatingearlyin the period,
when they were the only source for such labour. Later, they may have been
supplementedas theseserviceindustriesexpanded by,in thefirstinstance,Malays3
fromSumatraand othereasily accessible states,and, later, otherforeigners.Aru
maintaineditselfas a marketfor labour even in 1511, such that the Portuguese
labelledita slave market.4On theotherhand,theundang-undang Melaka contained
several provisionsfordebt-service;obviously,some partof the populationwas in-
volvedin suchlabour, and maythusbe classifiedas theservitorsof the orangkaya,
and offoreigners. These debt-bondedpeople werenotnecessarilyall used as labour-
ers: theycould be used in anycapacity,untiltheirdebtwas paid.
In anycase, it cannotbe assumedthatforeigners dominatedtheserviceindus-
tries,even as late as 1511, thoughtheymay have done so: and, to a certainextent,
even the Malay populationwere migrants,given Melaka's originsand its growth
throughout thecentury.
Therewas industry of a secondarynature,in whichtheworkersmayhave been
mainlyoranglaut,non-Malaysjoiningtheirranksas timeprogressed,debt-bondage
was formalised,and as theseindustriesexpanded in bothnumberand scope. Thus,
some of the tin and gold presentedas tributewas worked in Melaka into other
objects,especially objets d'art, thoughthereis no detailedevidenceofthisbeyond
the naturalassumptionthatmostof thetinwas used bytheroyalexchequerto mint
coinage, in trade, or in emolumentsto servantsof the Crown. Kris, beladau and
otherweaponssuchas thecannonand gunsused in 15II5 werelatermade in Melaka,
and tinwas used in themanufactureof theseweapons. However,fromthefactthat
no othermetals are reportedas being traded to Melaka, it mustbe assumed that
some at leastoftheseitemsand similararticlesofmetalmanufacture wereimported,
Melaka siphoningenoughfromtheentrepottradeto satisfylocal demand.Certainly,
thismakeseconomicsense, ifit is consideredthatthesize ofthemarketservicedby
Melaka's entrepottradeand theincreasein tradethroughthecentury,facilitatedby
theincreasedMuslimpresencein theIndian Ocean tradeat thetime,wouldhave in-
creased the scale of economyin variousmanufacturing industriesthroughout Asia,
therebyencouragingregionalspecialisationin certainitems. Thus, China increas-
ingly specialised in silk and potteryas its contributionto the trade: Sumatra
developedand specialisedin thepepperindustry: Bengal and SouthIndia specialised
in printedstuffs;the Moluccas in cloves, a new industry;Javain foodstuffs; Tenas-
serimin arrack.What is especiallynoticeableabout thisspecialisationin fifteenth
centurymanufacturing, as comparedto previousspecialisations,is that,whilstmany
of the productsremainedluxuryitems,more and morewere bulk itemsor itemsof
commonusage, such as Bengali cloths,Sumatranpepper and Siamese pottery,evi-
dence on thestandardofthelastcomingfromthearchaeologicalexcavationofship-
48

PART2,1991
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49

VOL 64
JMBRAS
wrecksintheGulfofSiam.6The degreeofspecialisationingoods ofcommonusage is

also evidencedby the historyof ship-building in southeastAsia in thisperiod. Ma
in
Huan, describing dammar, had written forthe earlyperiods:7
"...when theyhave finishedbuildinga foreignship, theytake some of this
"
substance, meltitand smearitintheseams, so thatwatercannotgetin...
These 'foreignships',as Mills indicateselsewhere,8were probablyshipsdesignedto
sail to foreigncountriesratherthanshipsbuiltforforeigners. Theyweredoubtlessof
some size, designed for blue-water passage, and using somewhat the same
techniquesas those describedfor the Indian and Arab shipbuildingindustriesby
Moreland9and Barbosa.10
The declinein local shipbuildingis evidencedby Barbosa's descriptionof the
"greatjunco ships (withfourmasts)" as comingfromJava in his time. Prahus and
smallfishingvesselsmaystillhave been made in Melaka at theend oftheperiod,but
nottheblue-watershipsof theearlierperiod.
The reasonforthisdeclineis unclear,thoughitmaybe thatincreasingspeciali-
sation,and Melaka's consequentpre-occupationwithtradeand empire,caused the
wharvesat Melaka to growso congestedwithtradefacilitiesthatshipbuilding lostthe
wharfspace it needed. Perhaps therewas an increasingshortagein the vicinityof
suitable timber,which had happened to the industryin Pasai. Perhaps Melaka
ignoredthetechnologicaldevelopmentsof theperiodin thisindustry.
Therefore,bytheend oftheperiod,whilstMelaka maystillhave made itsown
warcraft, these,alongwithfishingcraftand thesmallvesselsused in tradeamongthe
islands of the Indonesian archipelagowere mostlymade in southernBurma and
centralnorthernJava: veryfewvesselsused in thelocal tradewere made elsewhere
by 1510. Vlekke writesthatin the sixteenthcentury,onlyRembang (?) in Javahad
wharvesand experiencedshipwrights, and thatmostoftheships,even ofJava,were
obtainedfromPegu.11Though thiswas afterthe fallof Melaka, it reflecteda long-
termtrend.
The Malay, Chineseand Portuguesesourceshave no referenceto ship-building
as an industryin Melaka, apartfromMa Huan's reporton theuse of dammar,and
eventhatindustry seemsto have died outsoon afterMa Huan's description.The only
otherreferenceto ship-buildingis Pires' comment12 thatby 1500 Pasai boughtits
junks in Melaka: but he does notsay thatthosevessels weremade there.Melaka was
an entrepot,tradingin any itemwhichhad a ready market.Perhaps, then,Pires'
statementshouldbe construedas beingbutfurther evidenceofthedeclineoflocal in-
dustriesin theface of the growththroughthe centuryof regionalspecialisationin
itemsforbulktradein Melaka.
One itemof theluxurytradewhichdeservesmentionis thebasis of a paper by
Duyvendak13who pointsout thatthe "Ming Shi" records"amongthe tributeof the
Melakan missionof 1411-1412, "ten itemsof (aitai: thatis "hazy and
misty";Persian'ainak [littleeyes]; Arabic 'uwaina [eye]). This is thefirstmentionin
China ofspectacles.The Chinesequicklylearned to make these ofquartz.Wherethe
Melakans had obtained these spectacles is not stated, but theywere probablya
luxuryitem,thespecialistproduct of Venice or of one of the areas in westAsia with
in
the appropriatetechnology glass manufacture. The fact that theywere tradedto
Melaka and fromthereto China in 1411- 1412 compromises later European claims
50

PART2,1991
to have introducedspectaclesto China and to otherstatesineast Asia inthesixteenth

century.
A secondpointto be notedin discussingspecialisationintradeitems,is thelack
of formalisationand specialisationin Melaka itself,initiallyand formuch of the
period,in all aspectsof local employment.Whilstthe seniorbranchesof the admi-
nistrationwere abrogatedto those born into the familiesassociated by precedent
withthe respectivepositions,and a fewotheractivitiessuch as thatof the boatmen
who servicedthe cargo vessels may have been appropriatedto a particulargroup
such as the Celâtes, such specialisationappears lackingformostof the periodin all
otherpursuits.There is no evidenceofa guildstructure or ofanything similar,which
would pointto a formalrecognitionof the natureof specialisationof task. Instead,
thereare referencesto indicatemobilityamongstthelowerclasses. Thus,thevarious
maulanabecame kadli,notbyvirtueoftheirtrainingelsewhere,butbecause oftheir
workin Melaka, whichoftenencompassedtuitionin Arabic and writingas well as
more strictly religiouswork.14However, bytheveryend of theperiod,theofficeof
kadli had become associated with the familyof Kadli Yusuf and his son Kadli
MenawarShah, Kadli Yusufbeingdescribedas a great-grandson ofMakhdumSaiyid
Abdu'l-Azizwho effectedtheconversionofMelaka inIslamin 1436.15However,this
maybe, MenawarShah is also describedas beingadeptin theuse ofthebeladau, and
in contrastto theactionsoftheMakhdumSadar Jahanwho did notrelishhisposition
on theroyalelephantin thebattleagainstď Albuquerque's forces.16
In furthersupportof thisidea of the lack of local employmentspecialisation,
thevariedsocial originsofthetradersand merchantsis important.Whilstforeigners
were generallyconfinedto tradeand religion,Malays of all classes could be traders.
Thus, theroyalfamilyand orangkayawereactivepartnersoftheforeignmerchants,
Tun Mutahir being especially prominentin this. Pires records the existence of
womenstreet-sellers, whichwas laterelaboratedbyResende.17The scale oftheirac-
tivity was doubtless petty,especiallycomparedto thatof the orangkaya, who obvi-
ously had greater access to capitaland investment capital. Indeed, as thesehawkers
were licensed,theymay have become servitorsof some patron,and such patrons
would probablyhave been membersof theorangkaya.
Finally,thearmedforceswererecruitedfromall levelsofsociety,thoughmore
usuallyfromthe Malays, the dependenciesand, formercenaries,fromJava. Class
played a definitepart in determiningrank and promotion,althoughwithinthese
bounds there may well have been considerationgiven to technicalexpertiseand
capability,in whichcase it is relevantto considerthe apparentlyhumbleoriginsof
theLaksamana Hang Tuah, Khoja Husain and Hang Nadim,evidenceforwhichlies
partlyin theirnotbeingtitled"Tun", and in thealmosttotalsilenceofthesourceon
theirorigins,18thoughtheCelate ancestryofHang Tuah and Khoja Husain mayindi-
cate that the position of Laksamana was reservedto the descendantsof the Ce-
lates.
It appears reasonableto assumethatseniornaval rankat least,withitsrequire-
mentsof abilityand technicalexpertise,mayhave been open to talent,the navyat
least havingsome degree of being a meritocracy.Thus, comparativelyhumblemen
could rise,and as faras the senioradministrative level, thoughnotto thehighest.
51

JMBRAS
VOL 64
On theotherhand,foreigners wereforthemostpartproscribedin theirchoice

of occupation,perhapsby choice, perhapsby consciousgovernmentdecision,the
formerseemingmore reasonable - while Malays, Sumatransand Javaneseof the
poorerpartsofsocietymayhave come to Melaka to make theirway,theIndiansand
Chinesewho came werealmostentirelytraders.The Arabs weremostlytraderswith
a fewmissionaries,and therewas an influxofCham refugeesin themiddleofthecen-
tury,thosewho could affordit,fleeingwiththeirservantsfroma civilwar. Overall,
mostforeigners, even poor Javaneseand Sumatransfoundemploymentsomewhere
in the trade aspect of Melaka's economy,as labourerson the wharvesor as active
traders.The apogee oftheirparticipation in tradeor religionwerethefourShahban-
daripositionsand thatof Kadli.
Malays were not so proscribed,or at least not to the same degree. Rank con-
trolledaccess to positionin theadministration, buttradeand thearmedforceswere
open to all Malays, these,to a degree,notbeingmutuallyexclusiveoccupations.
There is no evidence of wage rates,nor of wages being paid. Yet thiswas a
moneyeconomy- coinage was minted,especiallyfromtin,and certaincoins sur-
vive. There must also have been some formof recognisedscale of payment,if
nothingelse to pay offthe debt-bondagediscussedand providedforin theundang-
undang.
The consequentlow degree of specialisation,whichcharacterisedthe society
formostoftheperiod,thoughnotitsfinalappearance,reflectednotonlythelevelof
technologyand consequentinterchangeability ofcertainprofessions:italso reflected
thefactthatthesocietydid notdemandto anygreatdegreea formalisation ofprofes-
sion. Certainly,thesumptuarylaws were based on an assumption that people could
be identifiedby theirstationin life,and mostofficialswere known by a titlemore
than by a name, and to this end the various activitieswere recognised and
notionalised.Therewas, however,no formaltrainingfortheseprofessions,although
itis surethatwithineach familytrainingwouldhave been conductedforthechildren
ofbothsexes, appropriateto thepositiontheycould expectto occupyin adultlife,a
formof informalapprenticeship.For such trainingwas not formal,the closest
approximationto a school being the maulana's lessons in Arabic, literary,callig-
raphyand Sufism.The onlyformalguidelinesestablishing theparametersofanypro-
or
fession activityare those the in Maritime Code for nakhoda and othersin the
maritimetrade. Even seniorofficials'positions,despite the clear definition ofjudi-
cial dutiesin the undang-undang,were an ad hoc melangeof accumulatedrespon-
sibilities.Thus, theTemungungwas responsibleforpolice mattersand internalsec-
urity,and also forthe seating arrangementsat banquets in the innerhall of the
palace.20Bendahara Paduka Raja was in chargeof the administration, led thenavy
against the second the
Ayuthiyanattack,21superintended building of the Mahligai
"as bycustomBentanwas theBendahara's fief",22 and apparentlyturnedcarpenter
to shape and place a beam in thekitchenof theMahligaibuiltaftertheritualpollu-
tionof the previouspalace.23Hang Nadim was a warriorand sailor and eventually
Laksamana: he was sent to Kalinga to designand purchaseclothof a certainstyle
desired by Sultan Mahmud.24Even if some of these stories are merelyliterary
devices,it is at least indicativeof local attitudesthatsuch storiescould be deemed
credible.
52

PART2,1991
This lack of formalisation mustnot be construedas any defectin the society,

but ratheras the rationalisationby thesocietyof itsresourcesand manpowerin the
face of its needs, functionsand technology.In Melaka, the systemworked,partly
because of the ideal of berkhalifahand Malay notionsof sovereignty whichsaw all
citizensas servantsoftheCrown:and partlybecause oftheMalay practiceofconsen-
sual government, whichbased the machineryof societyon a consensusof opinions,
though the Sultan or hisdeputymade theultimatedecision.Anotherreasonwas the
growth of the societythroughoutthe century,thismakingindividualsmoredepen-
denton each otherwithintheirparticulargroup,as tasksbecame morespecialisedin
responseto theincreaseddemandforgoods and services.
For it is evidentthatspecialisationof task, as opposed to formalisation, was
increasing towards the end of the period. This is especiallyevident in trade, where
the undang-undanglaut, forexample, outlinedthe separate responsibilities of the
traderinport,thecaptainoftheship,crewmembersand thenakhoda,thislasta pos-
itionwhichdeveloped throughout theperiodand intothePortugueseregnum,being
completely formalised only in the Portuguese commenda.
Other positionsalso became more specialised,particularly thatof war-chief,
thevariousSri Bija 'diraja of Mahmud's reignbeingpunctiliously consciousoftheir
dignity, at the same time as theircourt rank was consolidated at a minor level,below
theseniorofficersand theLaksamana.25
There is mentionalso ofa doctor,26 and, as alreadynoted,theroleofKadli was
more preciselyunderstoodby the end of the period. A fewotherprofessionsmay
have become similarlyspecialised,although,as withHang Nadim, manyactivities
probablyretainedtheirpreviousinformalnature.
It is appropriateto mentionthe stateof evidencefora positioncorresponding
to thatof Saudagar Raja proposed by Barbara Andaya forlater Malay society.27
Whilstthereis no referencein theMalay sourcesto sucha position,Pireswrote:28
. .thekingmade whoeverdealtwithhismoneyexemptfromdues.. . and here
come thekingsofPahang,Kampar,Indragiriand others,throughtheirfactors,
to employmoneyinthe.. . junks..
Pireswroteat theend oftheperiod,withno information as to thechronologyofthis
development.29 Nor is itclearthatthesecan be classifiedas Saudagar Raja: theymay
perhapsbe classifiedas nakhoda. Pires' statementseems to indicatethe positionof
Saudagar Raja in thevassal states,but,forMelaka's ruler,witha widerinvolvement
in the trade,of a different factorwitheach vessel, thatis to the use of a nakhoda.
Further,the Shahbandarihad access to court,the Cham Shahbandarhavinga seat
there.Therefore,perhapsin Melaka thefunctionof royalmerchantwas performed
byseveralmerchants,and probablytheShahbandari.It is plausiblethatseveralmer-
chantsbe involvedin theroyaltrade,giventherangeoftradein Melaka. Perhapsthe
officeof Saudagar Raja appeared as a specialisedpositiononlyin thesmallerstates
suchas Perak,Pahang,Kampar and Indragiri,because thereone personcould more
easilydirecttheruler'sparticipationin thelocal trade,althoughthisis notto saythat
thiswas thereasonforthisdevelopment.Whatis important, in termsofthisstudy,is
that,undertheSultanate,thisspecialisedposition,perhapsa late development,was
establisheddefinitely onlyin thevassal states.
For muchof theperiod,therewas thena lack of formalisation and specialisa-
53

VOL.64
JMBRAS
tioninmostactivities.This mustnotbe confusedwithderogatoryconceptsof"primi-

tiveeconomies". Certainly,the earlyMelakan economymaybe classifiedas basic;
butitwas adequate forthesociety,and accommodateditselfto developments,espe-
ciallyto theincreasedtradeand thechangednatureofthetrade,so that,bytheend
of the period, the economy was, by contemporarystandardsat least, advanced
enough to excite the attentionof ď Albuquerque. During Melaka's century,the
Arabs enteredthesoutheastAsian tradeforthefirsttime,as competitorsto theHin-
dus. The old tradecontinued,butnew marketsdeveloped,and newmethodsofmar-
keting,and it was withthesethatthe Arabs were primarilyconcerned.New supply
centreswere also developed, Bruneibecomingprominentonlyin thisperiod,as did
Ternate, Tidore and several other centreswhichbecame major suppliersto the
Melakan trade. As thistrade expanded, so Melaka's populationgrew,bothMalay
and non-Malay.Such a large increasein populationas Melaka experiencedplaces
extraordinary demandson the goods and servicesavailable. At first,the probable
reactionwas forpeople to take on multipleduties,especiallyas the administration
soughtto encouragetradeforitspoliticalends: thus,thepositionofSriNara 'diraja,
oftentranslatedas "treasurer",includedduties as war-chief,fief-holder, diplomat
and apprenticeBendahara: and Sultan Muhammed'sestablishmentof courtritual
maybe construedas an earlyattemptat a formalrecognition, notonlyofthechanged
natureofthepolity,butalso ofthespecialisedfunctions necessaryforthestateto ad-
ministeritsincreasedpopulationand expanded economy.
However, as the population expanded ever more, so new, more specialised
positionshad to be created,to caterto the increaseddemand forvariousservices.
Thus thepositionof Laksamana is mentionedonlyafterMuzaffarhad defeatedthe
Ayuthiyans in 1448,thepostbecomingprominentonlyafterMansurhad decidedon
of
conquest his maritimeneighbours.The royalelephantswere originallycared for
by the youngmen of the palace, but Mansur created a special position,thatof Sri
Rama, and appears to have importedan Indian mahoutas hisfirstSriRama.30Even
ifthiswas done merelyto increasetheruler'sprestige,themerefactofsuchspeciali-
sationand nominalisation made thesocietyand economymoresophisticated.Justas
thepositionsat courtbecame morespecialised,so perhapsmayvariouspositionsand
activitiesin thesocietyat large,althoughitis difficult to findevidenceeitherwayon
thispoint.
At thisstage,it is to be consideredthatin all this,the statemayhave been no
morethana reagent,reactingto changesoccurringabout it. It is doubtful,whilstthe
possibilitymustbe admitted,thatanyruleror administrator had theperspicacityto
recognise how specialisationof function the
mightsupport pretensionsof therulers
and theiradministrations, or facilitatethe administration and economyofthestate,
at least untilafterthe event. This is not to denythattherewas economicplanning.
Indeed, Melaka alwayshad a long-term plan, and used thisto arrangethesocietyand
theeconomy.UnderParameswaraand theearlyrulers,theplanwas to gainindepen-
dence of Majapahit.31To thisend, the Chinese connectionwas emphasised.After
theeventsof 1436- 1446,theIndianOcean tradebecame dominantinstrategicplan-
ning,suchthattradewas facilitated,notforitsown sake, but forthefurtherance of
Melaka's politicalaims.
The economicfactorsat workas thepopulationexpanded mustalso be recog-
54

PART2,1991
nised, and allied to ideas of economy of scale. It is a truismthat as the market

expands,or demandfora particularproduct,so itbecomesmoreviablefortheindus-
triessupplyingto thatdemand,to specialisein thatproductand to develop specialist
productionmethodswhichensuretheindustry a greaterreturnon investment, within
theparametersof the laws of diminishing returns. ,
The scale ofthelate Melakan economywouldhave encouragedsuchspecialisa-
tion,as did thetechnologygains. Single-cargovesselswere morepracticalin thisre-
gardthanweremulti-cargo vessels,withtheirproblemsofstorage,especiallyas only
thelargestblue-watervesselswerebuiltwithseparateholdscapable ofstoringa vari-
etyof cargoes. The vessels of southeastAsia were more suitedto single-cargocar-
riage, thus enablingJava to specialise in exportingfoodstuffs, especiallyrice, to
Melaka, and otherstates exportedcropstheyspecialisedin, of the variousspices,or
manufactures such as cloth,potteryor luxurygoods, otherstatesin turnimporting
thesegoods.
This does notmean thatall thevesselsengagedin tradein southeastAsia from
Melaka carriedno morethanone cargotype.Obviously,theJavaneseboughta vari-
etyof goods fortheirreturnvoyage,whateverwould sell in Java,thisbeingmainly
cottonstuffs,but includingotherproductsas well. There are indicationsthatthis
problemmayhave been solvedforsome tradingstates,bysellingtheboat in Melaka
as well as itscontents:Melaka was, in anycase, chronicallyshortoftimberforbuild-
ingand forfuel,but,doubtless,mostofthevesselsso sold wouldhave been used for
theforwardcarriageoftheircargo. As well,smalltraderssellingin thesmallermar-
ketsofsoutheastAsia, thedistributive side ofMelaka's entrepottrade,took a range
of goods, and all tradersdealt in whateverwas profitable.
Thus, the single-cargovessels referredto above were a developmentof the
single-holdvessel, the developmentbeing specificallyforthe carriageof the new
bulktrade.Local distributive systems,lackingdirectcontactwiththeMelakan mar-
ket, would probablyhave retainedmulti-cargo,if single-hold,vessels, even at the
end of the period. However, the developmentsin multi-hold,and in single-hold
single-cargo,vesselsforthebulk trademusthave, by dintof reasonsof economyof
scale, reduced the profitsof the multi-cargosmall trader,what van Leur charac-
terisesas thepeddlartrade,especiallyas Melaka's tradedevelopedthataspectofthe
tradecharacterisedas entrepotand bulk. The smalltraderswould have serviced,as
theyalwayshad, the local distributive trade,wheresmall,multi-cargo vesselswere
most useful. In short,therewas an increasingspecialisationof vessel functionin
Melaka's maritimecommerceas timeprogressedand thescale oftheeconomygrew.
In generalthen,as thetradegrew,and as Melaka developedas an entrepotcap-
able ofservicingsuchvariedproducts,vesselsand demands,theeconomyofscale in
thehomeland,and in theinternationaltrade,encouragedspecialisationsuchas was
discussedin previousparagraphs.
In Melaka itself,theexpandeddomesticdemandwouldhave encouragedsome
specialisationof task,thedemandforsome productssuchas riceincreasingso much
thatmerchantswere able to specialise in the one product,whilstotherMelakans
werefreedto specialisein a varietyofoccupations,includingwar,administration and
religion,as well as certainothertradeitemsor servicefunctions, suchas gold-assay-
ing. The increasingsophisticationof the economymay also be supposed fromthe
55

JMBRAS
VOL64
variousprovisionsof the undang-undanglaut which,be it noted, was not promul-

gated untilaround 1500, by whichtime the trendto specialisationof some tasks
would have had some effect.The provisionsof the undang-undanglaut limiting
interestrates,the role of the nakhoda, the rightsof investorsin a voyage and trus-
teeship,are signsthatthe economyand societyhad need of these sophistications,
albeit limitedas theymusthave been by the low literacyrate obtainingamongthe
generalpopulation.
These trendsreflectnotonlythedynamismoftheeconomy,butalso thedanger
oftrying to classifythesocietyin descriptive,butstaticterms.The economywas not
static, is discussedin Part2.
as
Beforeturningto thatmacroeconomicdiscussion,thereis one further pointto
be made on thetrade.Therewas a dichotomyevidentinthetrade,whichmaybe clas-
sifiedas eitherbetweenluxuryitemsand basic commodities,or as entrepottradeand
local merchandising.Most commentators,startingwiththe Portuguese,have con-
centratedon the entrepottrade and ignoredthe otheraspects of Melaka's trade,
beingluredby the need in Europe forspices and the luxuriesof Asia, and thepre-
sumedimpetusthisgave to theEuropean initiativein Asia. Most mentionthetrade
in food fromJava, some mentionin detail the trade in Bengali and south Indian
cloth:thenall returnsomewhathastilyto the blue-watertrade,the spices,Arabian
horse,Ceylonesegems,Chinesesilks,thescentedwoods. Yet all theEuropean pow-
ers soon aftertheiradventintoAsia came to realisethatanothertrade,of an intra-
Asian, distributive nature,in basic commodities,also existed,and was profitable.To
thisend, thePortuguesedeveloped theircommendasystem.
Thus,therewas a real divisioninAsian trade,and inthatofMelaka. The luxury
items,along withspices, comprisedthe entrepottrade,althoughMelaka siphoned
some offforlocal consumptionand some moreforlocal distribution. The basic com-
modities, trade in which was necessitated by Melaka's chronic dearth of foodstuffs
and inabilityto feed itself,and itsinabilityto manufacturegoods of commonusage
suchas thepotterytheThais sold in suchquantity,weredesignedforlocal consump-
tionin Melaka, withsome entrepottradeeven in these,withsome beingdistributed
*
locally,and some further afield.
There seems also to have been a racial divisionin thetrade.Foreignersdomi-
natedtheentrepottrade,especiallytheIndians,Arabs, Gujeratisand Chinese: and
the Javanese,withcompetitionfromPegu and Thailand, dominatedthe trade in
basic commodities.This is notsurprising, and merelyreflectstheoriginand destina-
tionofthevariousitemsofthetrade,butitis a factorto considerin anydiscussionof
thecommercialdevelopmentoftheeconomy,displayinga regionalismthatmightbe
considerednaive: and in anyaccountofthesociety,as thisracialdivision,thoughnot
necessarily,mayhave caused friction, made moredisruptivein thatitcould
a friction
be expressedin economicterms.
Moreover, the divisionbetween luxuryand commodityitems is as much a
simplification as is thatbetweenentrepotand distributive trade,especiallywhenitis
realisedthatthecommoditytradewas carriedon throughouttheentireIndo-Pacific
region.In thesame vein,pepperwas themainitemexportedto China, not as a lux-
ury,butas an itemofbasic consumption.The Indian clothtradewas notonlya bulk
or commoditytrade,but, in Melaka, mostlyof an entrepotnature,some beingre-
56

PART2,1991
tained in Melaka or distributedlocally, but most being re-exportedto southeast

Asia. The arrackofTenasserimand Siamese potterywerebulkcommodityitemsof
trade,and bothdistributedlocallyand re-exported.It is mycontentionthatthefour
need to be combined.Thus,thetradecan be characterisedas compris-
characteristics
ing entrepot-luxury, entrepot-bulk,local Melakan luxuryand local bulk, and dis-
tributive-luxuryand distributive-bulkaspects,each withitsown merchants,service
industriesand vessel types,and itsown wharfageand labourrequirements.Whatis
definiteis thatthe complexityof the trade reflectsthe increasingcomplexityand
sophisticationof Melaka's economy,especiallytowardstheend of theperiod.
Part2: Macroeconomics
Two measurementsare to be used in thissection,efficiency and growth.
There is no directevidenceto use as a measureoftheefficiency oftheMelakan
economy. On the other hand, certainindirectindicatorscan be used.
Firstis the obvious factthatthe economygrewto the extentthatit virtually
monopolisedboththeblue-waterand thelocal distributive trade,thoughsome other
local statessuch as Pasai and, later,Aceh alwaysretainedsome function,and Aru
maintaineda significant enough share thatMahmud feltconstrainedto attackit in
1511. But thisdominancemustnotbe takenas a solelyeconomicindicator.Melaka's
success was inextricably linkedwithitspolity,whichwas alwaysthe pretensionsto
local hegemonyof the rulinghouse. Thus, Melaka conquered as manyof its com-
petitorsas it could, establishinga local empire.This, and itsuse of Islam as a com-
mercialpolicy,ensuredMelaka ofitslocal dominanceand itsdominanceas theeast-
ernand end-pointoftheArab and Guj eratiIndian Ocean trade,whichwas theblue-
watertradein whichď Albuquerque was mostinterested.
That theMelakan administration maintainedpoliciessufficiently attractiveand
conduciveto tradeis evidencedbythetraders'preferenceforMelaka as a tradingde-
stination,and therebya measureof itsefficiency.
One wayinwhichMelaka maintainedthispro-tradepolicywas throughitsstan-
dardisationof the excise levied,whichPires details.32The basic difference in excise
was on cargoesfromthe east and thosefromthewest.
Goods fromthe west (India, Arabia, Burma, Siam and pointsbetween)were
assessed as follows:
- Pegu, Thailand, Tenasserim,Kedah, Pedir and Pasai paid six percenton mer-
chandise,and "presents"on food provisions.
- Malays settledin Melaka paid threepercenton importsand the threepercent
royalduty,a major sourceof revenueto the rulers.
- foreignerssettledin Melaka paid threepercentad valoremand sixpercentroyal
due. As well,all settlers,Malay and non-Malay,had to pay "presents"in additionto
theabove, to theruler,Bendahara,Temungungand (/or?)Shahbandarofone to two
percent.While irksometo the settlers,thisad valorempaymentwould at least have
encouraged the administration to maintainsome disciplinein the market.In all,
Malays paid aroundseven to eightpercentas importduties,and non-Malaystento
eleven percent.
- withroyalconsent,a valuationcould be applied forthe cargoes of "big ships",
thatis, forthelargestof thevesselsin theblue-waterIndian Ocean trade.Designed
57

JMBRAS
VOL.64
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59

JMBRAS
VOL.64
to simplifyimport and administrativeprocedures, by reducing administrative

impedimentato trade, thissystemwas doubtlessan inducementto corruptionon
both sides but was resortedto, even in 1511, as an expedientin the case of large
cargoes. The arrangementwas thata valuationwas to be made by fiveKlings(In-
dians, probablyinitiallyHindu, but thismay have changed later in the period to
includeGujeratis)and fiveothermerchants, inthepresenceoftheTemungung,after
whichappropriateimporttariffs were levied.
Goods fromtheeast includedthosefromChina,Japan,Luzon, theRyukusand
theIndonesianarchipelago,and were assessed as follows:
- no dues were paid on merchandise,only presentsto the ruler, Bendahara,
Temungungand Shahbandar, Pires (174r) has "The presentsare a reasonable
amount,somethinglike dues." The presentsfromChinawerelargerthanthosefrom
otherareas, in keepingwithChina's traditionalattitudeto tradeas tribute,thoughit
is unclearwhetherChina's largercontribution was in totalor in proportionto goods
carried.Pires continues,"If theysold junks in Melaka, dues were 2- 3 tundaiasof
gold" per hull,payable to theroyalexchequer.
- thischangedunderTun Mutahir,suchthatgoods fromtheeast were assessed at
fifteencruzadosper 300 cruzadosvalue, thatis at fivepercent.
- food may have been assessed in the same way as food fromthe west: thatis,
perhapsonlya presentwas due. This reflectedtheconstantimportanceto Melaka of
ensuringthistrade,and, perhaps,theproblemsin tryingto assess thevalue of such
cargoes. It is unclear whetherthis lack of dues was only for food consumed in
Melaka, or to food re-exportedin boththeblue-waterand thedistributive trade.
Four pointsshouldbe made concerningthisdata. Firstly,thereis no indication
in Piresor elsewhereas to whetherthesedues werepaid onlyon merchandisetraded
in Melaka, or on goods re-exportedas well. Secondly,theverydefinitely statedper-
centages ofmany ofthese dutiesmust have demanded a bureaucracy to calculatethe
value of cargoes, make the assessmentsand to collectthe dues. Perhaps thistask
mostoftenfellto theTemungungor to theShahbandari.
Next, the standardisationof dues encouragedtrade, by theirbeing standar-
dised,and notad hoc. The variability ofratesfordifferent purposesshowsa capacity
forflexibility,and an attentionto themarket.These attitudeswouldhave givencon-
fidenceto business,and, to government, an incomeassuredwithinthenormalfluctu-
ationsof trade.
Finally,cautionmustbe taken,as alwayswhenusingthePortuguesesources,in
ascribingthe applicationof any of the above to anyperiod muchbefore1509. The
generaldifference betweeneast and westis, however,well-documented, and can be
accepted.
A thirdmeasureof the efficiency of the economyis in the adequacy or other-
wise of governmentrevenue.Apart from the importdutieslistedabove, Pires also
relatesothersources of revenue. Excise was due on any sale of a house or garden
land. This was to be a presentonly,probably(thoughthisis unclear)to theruler.
Womenstreet-sellers paid an annualquittanceto theorangkaya,to be used for
thepoor people's hospital.The arrangementseems to have been thatcertainorang
kayawereresponsibleforcollectingthisin specifiedstreetsoftheurbanarea, appor-
tionedto them.These streetswould have been associated withthemin some way,
perhapsas theirresidence.
60

PART2,1991
Pires32states thatthe dues paid on the sale of fishand fruitwere "a trifle",
whichmayhave been a reflectionof Melaka's need to supplyfood. Equally, it may
have been a governmentinitiativeto encouragelocal primaryproducers,especially
as importedmerchandisehad to accommodate"gifts"before1498,changingto a levy
of fivepercentin the period 1498- 1509. Or it maysimplyhave been thatMelaka's
bureaucracywas too busywithitsdutieswithothertrade,thatis, thatitwas insuffi-
cientto police all sales: or thatMelaka's rulersgatheredenough revenuefromthe
tariffslevied. Probably, all these factorsaffectedthe government'spolicy in this
area.
There was in additiona one percentexciseon all weightedgoods importedand
exported,perhapsto pay thestaffconcerned.Piresdoes nototherwiseclarifythena-
tureoftheseitems,butdoes statethatthistaxbroughtin a largerevenueto thestate.
Doubtless, thisalso involvedthestatein themaintenanceofan acceptedstandardof
weightsand measures.
This revenuewas supplementedby the tributelevied on the dependencies,as
displayedin Table 2. Total revenuewas sufficient to maintainthepolity:thereseems
to have been no deficitbudgeting,nor recourseto borrowing.Indeed, Mahmud's
fundswere sufficient forhimto buycannonand to hiremercenariesforhisprojected
campaignagainst Aru in 1511,though,bytheend ofthebattlewithď Albuquerque,
themercenaries'pay was a littlein arrears.
One further indicatorof efficiencyto be consideredis thebalance oftrade,on
whichthereis no directevidence. Melaka continuallyhad to importfood,a problem
made worse by its growingpopulation,whichalso affectedimportsof all the other
itemsnecessaryforlife,and whichitdidnotproduce,suchas pottery(bothexpensive
Chineseporcelainand cheaperThai pottery),timber,construction materials,cotton
and other materialsfor clothes, horses and elephantsfor labour and the armed
forces,jewellery,spices and so on. But in the long run,Melaka maynothave runa
deficittrade,ifitsimportsare balanced againstitsearnings,includingwharfageand
importand exportfees, on its entrepottrade, and the tributedetailed in Table 2,
thoughthetinand gold fromtheempirelistedas tributewouldundoubtedlyhave fi-
nanced anydeficitbalance, forwhich,see Table 2.
There seems to have been no crisisof confidencein the currency:at least,the
Thai, Malay, Chinese and Portuguesesourcesdo notmentionanydevaluation.This
negativeevidenceat theleastindicatesthattherewas notat anytimea seriousdeficit
balance of trade. Melaka's currencywas usuallytin,of local manufacture,and im-
portedgold coins. The stabilityof Melaka's currency,itspre-eminenceas a trading
port,and its continuingabilityto maintainthe expensesof impérium,mayindicate
thattherewas a long-termtrendof favourablebalances oftrade.It mustbe remem-
bered that Melaka's aim was local hegemony,local empire. Melaka was able to
achieve thisexpensiveaim, and to maintainitsempireeven after1511. As in all em-
pires,itis moothow muchthemetropoliswas financedbythedominionsand depen-
dencies.
Confidencein Melaka was probablyhigh,thoughtherewould have been fluc-
tuations.In theearlyperiod,afterChina's recognition,confidencewouldhave been
highthatthestatecould achieveitspoliticalaims. AfterthedefeatoftheAyuthiyan
invasionsin 1448 and 1456, Melaka became expansionist.Its success in achieving
61

VOL.64
JMBRAS
Table 2: The Tributelevied byMelaka on herdependenciesin 1511.

Source: Pires,"Suma Oriental",143rffand 171v ff.
Place Status Tributelevied

Bentam(Celâtes) fief rowersforMelaka, to be paid only
for theirfood: to be providedonly
forcertainmonthsoftheyear.
Bernam fief 10,000 calains of tin per annum
Bruas fief 6,000 timas (?) of tin per annum
Campocan (Kateman? Simpang-kana?)
fief gold.
Fremoso fiefoftherulersofKampar -
Indragiri vassal ruler four cattiesofgold
Kampar vassalruler four catties of gold, each of six
contos and twenty-fivecruzados.
Kedah vassal ruler -
Klang fief 4,000 calainsoftin perannum
Ligor vassal ofPahang -
Linga fief(Piressaysvassal ruler) warservice
Manjong fief 8,000 double calains of tin per
annum
Minangkabau vassal ofIndragiri -
Muar fiefoftheBendahara -
Pahang vassal ruler four cattiesofgoldperannum
Palembang independent(?) a source of mercenaries
Patani vassal ruler -
Perak fief 4 ,000timasoftinperannum
Purim fief war service: "rowingmen in great
numbers".
Rekan fief no tribute: warserviceonly
Rupat fief as forRekan
Selangor fief 6,000calainsoftinperannum
Siak vassal ruler gold
Singapura fief poor: warserviceonly
SungeiJugra fief 4,000calainsoftinperannum
Trengganu vassal ofPahang -
Tucall fief gold
local empire,and its successfulmissionaryzeal forMuslim,were politicalfactors

whichprovidedtheback-dropforexpandingbusiness,and a consequentconfidence
in business.Similarly,the risein new trade,theblue-waterbulktrade,especiallyin
spices, would have given businessan expansionistfeeling,and confidence.Obvi-
ously,thereignofTun Mutahiras Bendahara circa 1498until1510wouldhave been
one ofhighbusinessconfidence,notonlybecause ofthegrowthin theeconomyafter
thevicissitudessincethemiddleofthecentury,butalso because Tun Mutahirhimself
62

PART2,1991
was so obviouslyallied to business,forprofit'ssake, and forthesake ofhisownpolit-

ical programand ambitions.On the otherhand, the eventsof 1510-11demonstrate
the difficulty of anticipatingany allegiance by businessbeyond its own narrowin-
terestin profit.However,formostoftheperiod,and makingallowanceforthebusi-
ness cycles detailed below, it is probablyfairto say that business confidencere-
mainedconsistently good.
Thus, theindicationsare thatone mayassumethat,in pursuitofitsown goals,
and in itsown termsat least,theMelakan economywas fairlyefficient. It expanded,
it dominateditschosen niche,it managed thevicissitudesof thebusinesscycle,and
therebyassistedthestateto achieve itspoliticalaims moreeffectively.
Insofaras growthis concerned,it is obvious thatthe economyexpanded, not
least in the blue waterbulk spice trade,whichwas Melaka's contribution to thefif-
teenthcenturyworld economy, and the basis of its economic reputation.From
minor,sporadictradein 1400, thistradeexpanded enormouslyfromthe middleof
the century,to thelevelswhichattractedd'Albuquerque's attention,and whichare
detailedin Pires and manyothersources.
Obviously,thedomesticeconomyalso expanded,as theempireexpanded,and
as theurbanpopulationalso grew.
Whatwas thepopulationoftheurbanarea? Melaka startedlifeas a smallfish-
ingvillage,probablywithonlybetweenthreeand eightfamilies,sixtypeople in all, as
detailed in varioussectionsof the "Commentarios"and in Pires. Some timein the
fourteenthcentury,it may have been of sufficient size to attractthe attentionof
Sukhodya, but assuming thatWilkinsonand others who writeof thisare notmerely
over enthusiasticin equatingUjong Tanah withMelaka,33even thenthepopulation
was small, Ujong Tanah ratingonly a small mentionin the Thai recordsfor1360.
There are no otherpopulationfiguresforthefourteenth and fifteenthcenturies,and
anyfigures written at thetime would,doubtless,need to be treatedcautiously.Thus,
some doubt is cast on Pires' figureof two thousand,withthe Thais sendingrice in
trade,threeyearsafterthe establishmentof Megat Iskanderat Melaka in 1401- 2;
and ofsix thousandon theinstallationofIskanderas Sultanin 1414,34althoughboth
figuresseem acceptable.
The onlyotherpopulationfigurein the sourcesis d'Albuquerque's statement
thattherewere one hundredthousandpeople in 1511,livingin the"cityand thesub-
urbs".35
Otherfiguresare modernestimates,usuallybased on theyear1511. These are
most usefullysummarisedby Meilink-Roelofsz,who arrivesat what seems a per-
fectlyjustifiableestimateof fiftythousand,althoughothersources, especiallythe
Malay, have considerablydivergentfiguresofninetythousandand upwards.This fi-
gureis givenforthereignofMahmud36yeton thenextpage thereis a contradictory
"
figureof 190,000withthecategoricalstatementthatthiswas . . .inthecityalone. . . to
say nothingoftheinhabitantsoftheoutlyingterritories and ruraldistricts."These fi-
gures were in all probabilityestimates.Of more use is the statementlateron thesame
page that:
"...from Ayer Leleh to Hulu Muar there was an unbrokenline of habita-
"
tions,and itwas thustoo fromKampongKlingto Kulaa Penajeh.
whichindicatesa large population,and an increaseeven fromthe reignof Ala'ud-
din,concerningwhichď Albuquerque wrotethatMelaka37
63

JMBRAS
VOL.64
"became so noble a citythat it was said to contain fortythousandinhabi-

tants,amongstwhomwerepeople fromall partsoftheworld."
In writingof thefallof thecity,d'Albuquerque mentionsUtimutiRaja38
"a Javaneseheadman... who lived in the settlementof Upe and had about
fiveor six thousandslaves of his own or of his sons and sons-in-law,a very
richman."
This maywellrepresent,notpersonalslaves,buttheJavanesepopulation,Utimuti's
clients,subservientto himin his positionas JavaneseShahbandar.In similarvein,
d'Albuquerque recordedthat:39
"therewere brought...one thousandfivehundredslaves who had belonged
to theking, withtheirwivesand children."
These also maynot have been personalslaves, butthe royalhouseholdservants,or
thatpartoftheMalay populationstillin thecityafteritsconquest.At anyrate,with
wivesand childrenmakinga populationofperhapsabout sixthousand,thisalso pro-
vides a clue to thecity'spopulationin 1511.
Also to be notedis Thomaz's figureforthe "slave" (or thosein debt-bondage,
perhapssome boughtin Aru) population,40 ofthreepercentofthepopulationwhen
thePortuguesearrived,and thatofthesetwothousandonlywerestate-owned,which
means thathe estimatesa higherfigureforthe finalpopulationthanthatof 50,000.
To thisend, ifď Albuquerque's assessmentof40,000forthereignofAla'ud-dinis ac-
cepted, thenan assessmentof 50,000 in 1511 representsan increaseof 25% over a
period of thirtyyears, or a population growthrate of less than one percentper
annum,thatis, close to zero populationgrowthlimits.Whilemortality ratesmaywell
have been high,and therewere a fewfairlymajor military campaignsin thisperiod,
and the early populationwas probablypredominantly male, thisseems an exces-
sivelylow growthrate. On theotherhand,ifan assumptionis made thatthepopula-
tionoftheurbanarea grewat morenormalrates,thatis, betweentwoand threeper-
centper annum,then,over a thirty yearperiod,the populationcould well have in-
creased from40,000 to 90,000 or more. While thisremainsconjecture,it becomes
more feasible when referenceis made to the economic expansion of the period,
which would have affectedimmigrationlevels, attractingpeople fromthe rural
areas, fromtheextra-empire tradeand client-stateareas.
Whateverthecase, by 1511Melaka containeda considerablepopulationwithin
itsurbanarea of about seven to eleven square kilometres,a densityof betweenfive
thousandand thirteenthousandper square kilometre,representing a strainon all
facilitiessuchas water,food and theriverand coastal littoralas sewage and garbage
disposalfacility.
None ofthisshouldbe takento mean thattheMelakan economywas uniformly
growingthroughout theperiod.All economiesare cyclical,withperiodsofgrowthal-
ternating withperiodsofslow growth,recessionor sometimesdepression.Melaka's
economywas notstatic,and displayednormaleconomicbehaviourin thisregard.
Certainly,the lack of evidenceon thisissue is daunting:but thereis evidence
available,even ifitis indirect,and emphasisesthetradeat theexpenseofthedomes-
ticeconomy.However,tradewas so importantto Melaka, thatthe data is usefulin
thisessay.
64

PART2,1991
In 1400, Egypt,Syria,Mesopotamia, Persia and northernIndia were newly-

freedfromMongol control,and recoveringfromthewarswithTimur.It was a time
of expanded internationalcommerce,associatedwiththerecovery,and highlighted
bytheincreasedMuslimseabornetraffic, bothArab and Gujerati,afterabout 1450,
whichreachedout to Melaka and east Africa.Ormuzrosein responseto theneeds of
the west Asian trade, particularlythe trade to a Europe recoveringfromthe
calamitiesof thefourteenth century.
Japan, with the extravaganceof the Momoyama style of the Muromachi
Bakufu,especiallyunderYoshimitsu(r. 1368- 1408), had an expandingeconomy.
However, a declineset in shortlyafterhis death,culminating in the assassinationof
Yoshinoriin 1441, and the Onin War of 1466- 1477 whichled to the civilwar and
economic re-orientationof the Sengoku Jidai. Indo-China witnessedAnnamese
aggressionuntilAnnam's defeatof Cham in the 1460's, afterwhichit shortlyjoined
the nationstradingin Melaka. The Thais went throughmuch the same cycle,the
earlypart of the centurybeing devoted to internalwars, withmost Indian Ocean
trade conductedvia the Kra Isthmusportages.It was onlylate in the centurythat
Ayuthiyaexpanded itstradewithMelaka beyondthattradein foodstuffs originated
by the southern Thai statesas early as 1403, and whichPires noted.41
To thesouth,Javawas stilldominatedbyMajapahit at thestartofthecentury,
thoughbytheend oftheperioditwas obviousthatthisdominancehad declined,and
statessuch as Pate gained moreindependence.A declinehad set in late in thefour-
teenthcentury,thoughthiswas probablynot noticeable at the time. In any case,
trade fromthe archipelago was sporadic, and based on pepper and other com-
moditiesdesiredbytheChinese: tonnageand value werebothlow in 1400.Through-
out thefifteenth century,tradewithJava expanded: food, timber,shipswere espe-
ciallyexchangedforBengali clothin largequantitiesforthelast halfof theperiod.
China was forMelaka, as forall of southeastAsia, the dominanttradingpart-
nerin 1400. Under theChinese influence,theperiod 1403to 1430was one ofexpan-
sionforMelaka. Thereafter,theeconomywas forcedto seek newmarketsto replace
theChinese,who sentout no morefleets,and forwhomthenanyangarea became of
less crucial importance.By 1511, China was of minor economic importanceto
Melaka, butstillvaluable in local politicalterms.Whythespectaculardecreaseinim-
portance,at least relativelyspeakingand in comparisonwiththe trade as a whole,
cannotbe explainedsimplybytheincreasein shippingand tradeintheIndianOcean,
especiallywiththeadventofMuslimbusiness.Apartfrompepper,theChinesetrade
actuallydeclined.
The cause is usuallyseen as theshiftofChinesecapitalfromNanjingto Beijing
in the 1430's. Trade continued,especially throughGuangzhou and the ports of
Fujian. The continuingChinese demand fornanyangproducts,especiallypepper
and the aromatics,was matchedwithcontinuingworld-widedemand forChinese
products,especiallysilk and porcelain. Increasingly,as peace returnedto the Silk
Route, Chinese exportswere carriedbyoverlandcaravan. This leaves thequestion,
why, as there was a demand by south Chinese for nanyangproducts,did China
become of less importancein Melaka's entrepottrade?
Partoftheanswerlies in thealternativesupplyrouteofferedforsome products
by the Silk Route. Part of the answerlies in the sheer volume increase in Indian
65

JMBRAS
VOL 64
Ocean trade,whichespeciallysoughtthe productsof southeastAsia and the cloth

of southernIndia and Bengal.
stuffs
However, there is another part to the answer, this being a contemporary
declinein demandin China, by simpledintof the factthatthe populationof south
China declined,and to a greatextent,42as displayedin Table 3. Whilstthenational
populationwas fairlystable (56,598,337in 1403: 60,406,135in 1511), the provinces
south of the Yangzi43declined from43,336,056 in 1393 to 29,220,594in 1511, a
percentover the century.Guangdong'spopulationdeclined
decline of thirty-three
byfortypercent,Fujian's byforty-six percent,Zhejiang's byforty-nine percentand
Nanjing'sbytwenty-six percent.The only southern to
province post an increasewas
Guangxi, of thirteenpercent. It was the coastal southern provinces, base of the
nanyangtrade, where population declined. Certainly, the increasein populationin
the northernprovincescompensatedforthis:but the provincesof the southernlit-
toralwerealwaysthecentresformaritimetrade,and southeastAsia's mainmarket.
Table 3: PopulationFiguresforChina 1391- 1511.

Sources: "Ming Shi" O.P. N.B. van der Sprenkel, PopulationStatisticsot
MingChina," BSOAS 15 (2), 1953,289-327.
A. Decennial figuresforall China.
DATE POPULATION DATE POPULATION
1391 56,774,561/ 1452 53,507,730

56,874,561 1462 54,160,634
1402 56,301,026 1472 61,819,232
1412 12,692 1482 62,452,677
1422 52,688,691 1492 50,506,325
1432 50,667,805 1502 50,908,672
1442 53,949,951 1512 60,590,309
B. Populationchanges,1393- 1491,southernand south-easternChina
PROVINCE
1393>0^>ULAT10^1491
Chekiang 10,487,567 5,305,843

Fukien 3,916,806 2,106,060
Hukuang 4,702,660 3,781,714
Kiangsi 8,982,482 6,549,800
Kwangsi 1,482,671 1,676,274
Kwangtung 3,007,932 1,817,384
Nanking 10,755,938 7,983,519
NOTE: The names of the provincesare spelled using Wade-Giles as in van der
Sprenkel's work: these figuresare fromthat work. Using the Pinyinsystemof
romanisation,these names become Zhejiang, Fujian, Huguang,Jiangxi,Guangxi,
Guangdong,Nanjing.
66

PART2,1991
Such spectaculardecreases in thepopulationsof thesemarketsmusthave had

equallyseriousrepercussionson thesoutheastAsian productioncentres,theleeway
therebycreatedbetweensupplyand demandbeingtakenup onlywiththeincreasein
the Indian Ocean trade after1450. The effectof the Chinese demographicshift
would have been mostpronouncedafterabout 1440, withinone generationof the
moveoftheChinesecapital.The continuingdeclinewouldhave affecteddemandfor
theremainderofthecentury,depressingpricesfor.nanyangproductsthroughout the
period, at the same time as prices rose for Chinese products. Meanwhile, the
period 1440- 1450 must have been one of at least recessionin Melaka untilthere-
alignment of the market, necessitated by these changes.
Afterabout 1450, the trade realigned,witha more pronouncedMuslimpre-
sence in theIndian Ocean trade,and thedevelopmentofthebulkcommoditytrade.
This representeda real changein thetradeofMelaka, and in theeconomy,bydintof
thefactthatthetradechanged,especiallyin thedevelopmentofthebulktrade.Vil-
liersindicatedpart of the change when he reportedthateven in the sixteenthcen-
tury44
"Banda had 'manytreesthatyieldnutmegand mace, and growintheforestlike
othertrees(i.e. wild?)...'"
He also pointedout that"therewas apparentlyno demandin China fornutmegand
mace, and not muchforcloves."45Indeed, Pires reportedthat,by 1511,the Banda
islands produced an annual crop of fiveto six thousandbahar of mace, and six to
seven thousandbahar of nutmeg,and theMoluccas fiveto seven thousandbahar of
cloves,46thoughsubsequent records reveal low volume. Further,this trade was
dominatedby Pate Yusuf of Gresikwho sentup to fourjunks per year,and Naina
Suria Dewa, an Indian of Melaka, who sentfromfourto eightjunks per year.47He
also statesthatcloves were domesticated,on Bachian at least of theMoluccas, only
after1500.48 Garcia d'Orta emphasisedthe recentdomesticationof these spices,
relatingthateven in histime,onlyin Banda did thenutmegbear fruit,even thoughit
was wildon Ceylon, the Moluccas and Ambon where,however,the people did not
cultivateit.49Finally, Chinese demand for nutmegand mace remained constant
throughout thefifteenth century,at about twentybaharper annum.50As theoriginal
marketforsoutheastAsian goods, theChinesemarketoriginallycontrolledthescale
of production.Yet by 1511,productionof mace, nutmegand cloves51and pepper52
farexceeded Chinese demand,by thousandsof bahar. This productionwas sold. It
was sold in the vastly-expandedmarketsof west Asia and Europe. As Villiers
comments:"In spite... of theirexpense, nutmegand mace were not merelyexotic
luxuriesbut importantingredientsboth for cooking and medicine."53The same
applied to cloves and pepper. This representedthegreatchangein Melakan tradein
the last halfof the fifteenthcentury.This explosionin the spice trade,turningthis
intoa bulkcommoditytrade,was thebasis ofMelaka's vastly-expanded commercial
role aftertheearlyimpetusof the Chinese trade.
However,thisis notto say thattheremainderoftheperiodwas one ofuninter-
ruptedstability,let alone of uninterrupted growth.There were fluctuations:supply
may sometimeshave failedbecause of climaticor otherreasons: and demand cer-
tainlyfluctuated,creatingan uncertaintyin the intra- Asian trade, and a need for
long-termplanningsuch as the Melakan administration appears to have produced,
especiallyunderTun Mutahir.
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VOL64
As to the actual price movements,and the economicconditionstheyreflect,

thebest available workis thatbyEliyahuAshtor.54His studiesare ofspice pricesin
westAsia, and itmustbe consideredthatthereweresome sourcesotherthanMelaka
forthese goods, and thatMelaka tradedin otherproduce,manyof whichretained
stablepricesthroughout thecentury,as did thepriceforelephants.Althoughsupply
of theseotheritemscannotbe determined,one mayperhapspresumea certainsta-
bilityin supply,to matchthe demand of the stable populationin mostof Melaka's
marketsin thefifteenth century.55
Withtheseprovisosin theuse hereofAshtor'swork,hisstudieshave relevance
to theeconomyofMelaka, ifnothingelse thanbydemonstrating thevolatilityofthe
spice market, and its vast expansionthroughout the fifteenthcentury.To thisend,
then, Ashtor has the followingfigures of interest:56
A. in 1382,theVenetiansbought47,880 dinariofpepperand gingerin Ale-
xandriaand Beirut(1 din. = 4.25 g goldto 1425).
in 1497, theybought298, 391 ducats' worthof pepper and gingerin the
same markets(1 due = 3.45 g gold, also 1 dinarafterthe devaluationof
1425).
B . in 1404,Alexandriare-exported1440sportaof225 kgofpepper,and 704
kintarfulfuli ofginger.
in 1497,Alexandriare-exported2000 sportaofpepperand 6208 kintarof
ginger.
in 1498,thefigureswere 1588sportaofpepperand 5672 kintarofginger.
Thereafter,thefigures,whilststillhigherthanearlierinthecentury,declinedslightly
fromthehighof theearly1490's.
These figuresindicatea significant increasein thevolumetradedofthesebasic
spices: thatis, they indicate the establishment and expansionof the bulk trade in
commodities.This musthave, to some extent,reflectedon the demand forthese
spices in Melaka, especiallywhenis consideredthe simultaneousincreasein direct
Arab participationin the Indian Ocean trade, and thatof the Indian Muslims.As
well, Aleppo, whichalso re-exportedAsian goods to Europe, displayeda similar
increasein tonnagetraded.
Ashtor, however, has more informationthan this, and his compilationof
figuresforwestAsian tradehas muchmoreinformation, especiallywhenthisis allied
to information in Magalhaes-Godinhoand in Lane, both of whomhave figuresfor
thespice tradein Europe whichreflectthesame trendsas Ashtorfindsin westAsia.
These maybe summarisedthus:57
- thepriceof pepperwas low until1410,rose until1450,fluctuated
through-
out the 1450's,thenfell.In Syria,thefallin priceoccurredin 1439. Pricesremained
low fortherestof thecentury.
- the information forthe priceof cinnamonis incompletebut impliesa long
periodof low pricesfrom1435.
- the priceof gingerwas always
higherin Syriathanin Egypt.Pricesin both
centresrose fromtheend ofthefourteenth centuryuntil1427,afterwhichtherewas
a longdeclinelastingtherestofthecentury,exceptfora cycleofhighpricesofup to
25 ducatsin the 1470's. This was followedby a rapid decline to the priceof 12- 15
ducatsin the 1490's.
68

PART2,1991
- cloves had a differenthistory,theirpricebeinglow at thestartofthecentury

and stayinglow. There was a recoveryin the 1440's when the price of otherspices
eased, followedby a fall,and thena completecollapse whichlastedfromcirca 1480
to circa 1500, afterwhichpricesstartedgainingsome ground.58
cloves
êÍng6r
cinnamon
pepper .
* ' » »
1400 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 1500 1510
Table 4: Suggestedlong-termtrendsin the fifteenth-centuryWest Asian pricesfor

cloves,ginger, cinnamon and pepper.
Sources: Ashtor,"A social and economichistory..."1976, and "Spice pricesin the
Near East inthefifteenthcentury",JRAS, 1976.
and V. Magalhaes-Godinho "L'economie de l'empire Portugais au XVe et
XVIe siecles,"Paris,1969.
and F. C. Lane, "Pepper pricesbeforeda Gama," JEH 28, 1968.
Villiersreportsthat,whilstmace was alwaysmoreexpensivethannutmeg,the

price of the latterhad fallenso muchby the earlysixteenthcentury,thatthe Ban-
danese institutedprotectionistpractices,insistingthat seven bahar of nutmegbe
boughtper baharofmace.59He does notstatethatthisoccurredbefore1511,though
itundoubtedlyreflecteda long-term trend.Barbosa60reportedthesame surplus,and
thatin his timethe Bandanese burnedthe nutmegsurplus.Such a situationis evi-
dence also of thebulk natureof the tradein thisnewly-domesticatedcrop.
In short,then,priceswere firmat the timewhen Melaka was startingon its
ambitiousprogramunder Muhammed and Muzaffar,but by the timeof Mahmud
69

JMBRAS
VOL 64
and formostof his reign,whilstthe volume tradedhad increasedenormously,the

pro ratavalue had decreased,in some cases spectacularlyso.
Some flow-oneffectof these vicissitudesand marketfluctuationsmusthave
been feltin Melaka, and maywell have caused increasedcompetitionthere,at the
same time endangeringthe smaller playersin the market,and, to some extent,
rationalising themarket.Prudencemaywell have replacedan earlieroptimism,and
mayexplain Tun Mutahir'spro-businesspolicies.
WhilstAshtor'sfiguresmustnotbe applied too literallyto Melaka's trade,and
it is evidentthatMelaka's trade consistedof muchmore thanspices, untilsimilar
studiesare compiled for China, the Indian areas (especially the cloth trade), the
Malay statesand othersin theregion,thereis justification forusingAshtor'sfigures
as an indicatorforthestateof internationaltradein thisperiod.
As to the internalMelakan market,Ma Huan has information forthe early
period. After talkingof the fruits
and vegetables available, he continues:61
"Oxen, goats, fowlsand ducks, althoughtheyhave them,are not plentiful:
pricesare verydear; (and) one of theirwater-buffaloes costs more than one
chinofsilver.Donkeysand horsesare entirelyabsent."
Withtheadditionofhorseslaterin theperiod,thisestimationoftheinternalproduce
marketmay stand for the entire period, food always being a seller's marketin
Melaka. This would have been affectedonlybyagricultural vicissitudesin thegrow-
ingareas, and extraordinary increasesin thepopulation,as, forexample,theinflux
of Chams in theearly1470's.
Thus, both the local and the internationalmarketsmay be characterisedas
"bull" marketsin theearlyperiod,withbothfluctuating thereafter,butwiththelocal
tradein foodstuffs beingprobably the more stable of the two, and more consistently
commandinghighprices and profitmargins.
Further,the"bull" marketoftheearlyperiodcoincidedwiththeestablishment
and earlydevelopmentofthestate,thisdevelopmentbeingencouragedbyChinafor
various reasons of policy. As has alreadybeen noted,62China's earlyrecognition
gave theoriginalimpetusto theMelakan state,and to itsdevelopmentas a centreof
intra- Asian trade. It also definedthe natureof Melaka's involvementin thattrade,
forat least thefirsthalfof thecentury.Thus, Ma Huan wrote:63
"WheneverthetreasureshipsoftheCentralCountryarrivethere,theyat once
wall, and set up towersforthe watch-
erecteda line of stockading,like a city-
drumsat fourgates; at nighttheyhad patrolsof police carryingbells; inside
again, theyerected a second stockade, like a small city- wall, (withinwhich)
theyconstructed warehousesand granaries;(and) all themoneyand provisions
were storedin them.The shipswhichhad gone to variouscountriesreturned
to this place and assembled; theymarshalledthe foreigngoods and loaded
themintheships "
The establishmentof fortified go-downs,as describedhere, continuedthroughout
Melaka's history,the strengthof the fortifications dependingonlyon the financial
resourcesof theparticulartraderor groupof traders.
Fei Xin devoteseven moretimethandoes Ma Huan to theorganisationofthe
Chinese tradingventure,describinghow the Chinese fleetsdispersedat Samudra
(Pasai) whichbothdescribeas themainemporiumin theeasternIndianOcean in the
70

VOL.64
JMBRAS
early1400's. The fleetsre-assembledat Melaka, wherefinaltradingwas conducted,

beforethefastrunhome in late April-May.64 This dependenceon themonsoonsal-
waysaffectedtradein Melaka, as outlinedlaterin thiswork.A moreimportantcon-
siderationfromthisdetailoftheorganisationoftheChinesetradingventureis thatit
would not have broughttoo manymaterialrewardsto the Malays or to therulersof
Melaka, as thetradewas controlledbytheChinese,whoused Pasai, at leastinitially,
forpartof the venture.Melaka's onlyrewardswere thatthe finaltradingwas done
there,and thatitgainedrecognitionofitsindependence,whichwas, afterall, theaim
of itspolityin thisearlyperiod.
The disappearance of the large Chinese fleetsafter1433 caused thereforea
minorrecession,whichwas compoundedby the uncertainty of spice pricesin the
Middle East for the period 1430-^-1450.More importantly, however,it gave the
Melakans controlover the tradein theirown harbourand city,thissituationbeing
further encouragedbythesubsequentfailureof anyone tradingnationto establisha
monopolyin Melaka suchas had previouslybeen maintainedbytheChinese. To the
descendantsof Parameswara,withtheirdesireforindependence,thisconsideration
maywell have outweighedanyrecessionin tradingactivities.
Thus, Melaka's progressas emporiumwas notas smoothas is usuallyassumed,
the trade reactingto changesin demand and in price over the whole Indo-Pacific
region. Such economic behaviour is but natural,such that the vicissitudesin the
Melakan economyoutlinedin thiswork,whilsttheymustremainconjecture,can be
assumedin principle,simplyon thebasis of normaleconomicbehaviour.Theyhelp
explainthe societyand the actionsof theexecutive,butbeforeanyfirmpronounce-
mentscan be made on theeffectoftheeconomyon thesocietyand itshistory,more
informationis needed on the actual movementof the economyand its real beha-
viour.
In summary,thefollowingpointsemergein additionto thatofthefactofmove-
mentin the Melakan economy.Firstly,thatthe period 1450- 1470 offeredthebest
pricesin theIndian Ocean spice tradein thiscentury,accompanyinga régularisation
of local economies followingthe confusionof the late fourteenthcentury.This
periodof betterpricescoincidedwiththeperiodof the developmentof thespice in-
dustry,and withthatof Melakan territorial expansion,and, doubtless,thefirsttwo
helped fuel the last. However, from 1480- 1490 was a period of recession,with
pricesdepressed in the Middle East, and the fulleffectbeingfeltof the emigration
fromsouthChina whichproceeded fromthe change of capital, and whichthe rela-
tivelynew marketsof Indo-China and Siam and the outer space islands could no
morethanpartiallyreplace. These trendsaffectedall tradein Melaka, as well as af-
fectingthepolityand all otheraspirations.
The secondpointis that,whilstitis thenew trade,theIndianOcean bulktrade,
especiallyin spicesand cloth,whichhas capturedeveryone'sattention,theold trade
patternscontinued. There were Chinese tradersin Melaka in 1511; ships still
voyaged fromMelaka to the variousregionalcentresin SoutheastAsia and to the
minorcommunitiesof Sumatraand the Peninsular.This trade,however,was mun-
dane in the eyes of mostearlycommentators,thevesselsprobablybeingsmall,the
profitsnot so spectacular,and the cargoes not the spices the Europeans prized.
Therefore,even thoughtheywere probablyverynumerousand tradedall year,this
71

JMBRAS
VOL 64
otheraspect of the tradewas, albeit onlyinitially,not of interestto the Portuguese

withtheirdesire to dominatethe spice trade. Because of thislack of attentionby
earlywriters,itis difficultto ascertainanyfactsabout thishighlyimportantsectorof
Melaka's maritimecommerce.
Finally,note mustneed be made of thelevel ofwealththatcould be aspiredto
in Melaka. Thoughthe Melakan currencywas the tincaixa, gold was also used as a
measureofgreatwealth,although,naturally,standardsofwealthwerecomparative,
suchthatPirescould write:65
" And trueitis thatthispartoftheworldis richerand moreprizedthanthe
worldof the Indies, because the smallestmerchandisehere is gold, whichis
least prized, and in Melaka theyconsiderit merchandise...in Melaka they
prize garlicand onions more thanmusk,bepzoin and otherpreciousthings."
The primacyofgold as a measurementofwealthforthepopulationingeneralis
underlinedby Mahmud's commentat Bentam on the natureof regality;66 and by
Pires' accountof theofficialgold assayer,appointedbythe ruler.67This assayerdid
not chargeforhis servicesto the Crown and seniorcourtofficials,had a standard
chargefortherestof thepopulation,and paid an annual quittanceto theThroneof
halfa cattyof gold,
"And thisis a good post in Melaka, and thereis a lot in it, because it is one
"68
(post) ofgreatcredit.
As a catty,in 1511,was between33.0 and 38.4 ounces,thiscertainlywas a profitable
position,theSultan'sannual commissionalone beingat least 16.5 ounces of gold.69
The lastitemofevidenceas a measurementofthemonetarywealthavailablein
Melaka, is in the conversationcreditedto Tun Mutahir(the Bendahara, a fief-hol-
der, and a participantforovertwentyyearsin major tradingventures)and Shahban-
dar Raja Medaliar (a merchant,hisopportunity forprofitenhancedbyhispositionas
Shahbandar of the Klings, the largest tradinggroup in Melaka).70 There, Tun
Mutahiris creditedwithsix bahara, Raja Medaliar withfive. Even if the storyis
spurious,it maybe agreed thatRaja Bongsu regardedtheseas realisticassessments
of thewealthof thesetwo,one representing administration,theothertrade.As the
Bahar was estimatedto be the value of a fully-ladenship and itscontents,and was
standardisedat fourhundredpounds or one hundredand eighty- two kilogramsper
"sa-bahara-mas",71therewas obviouslyconsiderablewealthto be made in Melaka in
tradeand in administration.72
It is interestingthatresidentsofMelaka could accumulatesuchwealth,though
notsurprising in viewofthenatureofthetrade.Because ofthemonsoonalwindsys-
tems,the main tradingmonthwas April,when the Indians and Arabs arrived,and
the Chinese left.73But a residentwas placed so as to be able to tradewithboththe
earlyChinese arrivalsand thelate Indian Ocean arrivals:itwas forthisreasonthat,
as thetradeexpanded,theforeigncommunitiesexpanded,initiallyas foreigntraders
leftfactorsof theirown race in Melaka to trade forthem in theirabsence. This
warehouseaspectofthetrade,and theconsequentneed fortheeconomiccapability
to sustainlarge inventoriesover a considerableperiod of time,naturallyfavoured
residentsof the entrepotover transienttraders.The only restrainton profitability
thenwas thenumberofsuchinventory traders,thecompetitionresultingtherefrom,
and thecapabilityof each to financelong-standing and largeinventories.This situa-
72

PART2,1991
tionnaturallyfavouredthe rich,the onlyprotectionforthe smalltraderlyingin his

success to attachhimselfto a patroncapable of sustaininghimin thistradeat a not
too usuriousrateof interest.
This land-bornenatureofcommercebyMelakans is borneout bytheevidence
that,of ninetyto one hundredjunks and one hundredand fifty prahusin harbour
around the sixthof February,1510, thirtyjunks and the prahus "belonged to the
ruler and merchantsof the country."74 The remainingvessels requiredfactorsin
Melaka, whilstthelow rateoflocal venturesinlargevesselsindicatesboththatonlya
fewMelakans possessedtherequisitecapital,and thatmosttradersin Melaka would,
at themost,have participatedin thedeep ocean tradeonlymarginally, probablycon-
signingsmallcargoesto thecare of thesupercargoor nakhoda. The largenumberof
smallvesselsindicatesa largeactivityin countrytrade,especiallyas thiswas outside
themainJavaneseseason.
However, the ultimatetestof wealthin Melakan eyes was not gold, as Pires
noted,75but in the extraneousdisplayone could mount,"garlic and onions", as
foods, matteringmore to the Melakan thanwhat to the European were "precious
things".Dusun, fiefsand robes of honourweretheperquisitesoftherulerand court
aristocracy,and of enormousvalue. The presenceof servitorsand one's success as
patron,one's mannerofeatingand one's leveloffoodconsumption,and all theother
aspectsof displayavailable to urbanités,were the real measureof wealth.Because
these were visual, theywere an active inducementto all Melakans to participate
strenuouslyin the activitiesassociatedwiththeirparticularstationin thesociety;at
thesame time,itwas an inducement,perhapsunconscious,to conspicuousconsump-
tion. That is to say, thisaspect of the Melakan measurementof wealthencouraged
the entirepopulation,not merelyto consumptionof its wealth,but to do so in the
way mostcalculatedto increasetheprestigeof oneselfand one's family.For some,
and especiallyat timesofceremony,as at thevariousritesofpassage, thismayhave
extendedtheirresources,necessitatingrecourseto the money-lender.The ratesof
interestof these could oftenbe, what appear to modernman was, inordinate:the
undang-undanglaut regulatedratesof interestforship-bornecommerce,but there
appear to have been no such restrictions at any timeon land-basedinterest.In this
way, debt could become burdensome,reducingthe borrowereventuallyto a stage
where,underlaw, he became a debt-bondsmanof his creditor.
Ultimately,then, the Melakan economy and all activityin Melaka can be
describedas designedforconspicuousconsumption,or display.Not acquisitivefor
acquisition'ssake; materialist,but not forthe sake of the materialgoods; industri-
ous, butnotforthesake ofindustry alone; theMelakan, ofwhateverclass or nation-
ality,saw his activity,and the wealth therebyaccumulated,as but the means to
increasehis prestigeand social standingamongsthis peers.
In the same way, the statepursuedefficiency and growthin theeconomy,not
forpurelyeconomicreasons,butin pursuanceoritsownaims,theestablishment first
ofitsown independence,thenofitshegemonyin PeninsularMalaya and in Sumatra,
as an extensionof thatindependence.The growthofMelaka's empiredemonstrates
its abilityto expand, and therebyshows its effectiveness in achievingits economic
goals. In short,whilstit achievedthegoals itset, notleastbyproducingtheenviron-
mentto attracttradersand settlers,forMelaka the eocnomywas but a means to an
end, thatgoal being the achievementof its local politicalambitions.The Melakan
73

JMBRAS
VOL.64
economy,ultimatelythen,did not experiencecontinuous,unfetteredgrowth.In-

stead, it displayedshort-term vicissitudes,and long-termstructuralchange over a
period long-termgrowth.Ultimately,thatlong-termgrowthwas the resultof a
of
concatenationof circumstances, manybeyondlocal control,butgivencoherencein
Melaka bytheunitary,coherent,long-term politicalprogramoftheadministration,
and theopportunity thisgave forflexibility,marketfreedomand planning.
Footnotes
1 See particularly Ma Huan,Ying-yai sheng-lantr.J.V.G.Mills,1970;Pires,SumaOriental; and
ď Albuquerque's Commentarios. Aboveall,seeď Albuquerque's plansforAsiantrade inhisletterof
1stApril,1512toDomManoel, in"Cartas deAffonso deAlbuquerque," inMonumentos..., Tomol,
p.p.29-65.
2 Thus,Ma Huan,109:"Thefields areinfertile
andthecropspoor."AlsodiVarthema, Viagems...,
1863,225: "Thiscountryisnotverv ."
fertile
3 Thus,Tanjongpura offBorneo(Pires159r), Purim (Pires172r).Meilink-Roelofsz, "Asiantrade and
European influenceintheIndonesian Archipelagobetween 1500andabout1630's'Gravenhage, 1962,
variousreferences:Barbosa, "Book"191;andothers havereference totheJavanese insalting
ability
meats ofallkinds. NotealsothatBarbosa174,indescribing theproducts brought toMelakabythe
Javanese,hasnomention offish,saltedorotherwise.
4 Butď Albuquerque ,asisdiscussed below almost
,labelled theentirepopulation inthis way.
5 ď Albuquerque, "Commentarios" 3.28.(Hereafter,abbreviatedasComm. .)
6 See especially thereport byPensakC. Howitz inJournal oftheSiamSociety 65,July 1967,1-22.
7 MaHuan111.
8 MaHuan,tr. Mills ,severalfootnotesonChinese nomenclature.
9 Moreland, "TheshipsoftheArabian seaaboutA.D. 1500"inJournal oftheRoyalAsiatic Society
71(1)1939,63-74.
10 Barbosa 173-4.
11 Viekke,"Nusantara", TheHague,1959, p.86.
12 Pires142r. Pasaihasnot"a single junk...they usedtocomeandbuyjunksinMelaka...they arenot
madeinPasaibecause ofthescarcity inthecountry ofiatywood(teak)which isstrong foriunks."
13 Duyvendak, "Desultory notesontheHsi-yane-chi",T'oune-pao 42,1954, p.p.1-35.
14 "SejarahMelayu" (hereafterSM),various references.
15 Viz.SM154,157.
16 SM129.SeealsoSM84.ForSadarJahan. seeSM191.
17 Pires175r.Thereference to Resendeis tr.W. G. Maxwell, "Barretto de Resende's account of
Malacca," JournaloftheRoyalAsiatic Society, Branch
Straits 60,Dec.1911.p.p.1-18.
18 SM,various. Pires165vhasKhojaHusainas a fifth-generation descendant oftheCelâtes whocame
with Parameswara from Palembang: Piresactuallysayshewasthe"fifth grandson" ofa Celate,and
impliesanequalrelationship forTunMutahir. Alsocompare thefabulous origins ofHangTuahin
the"Hikayat HangTuah".
19 SeeG. E. Gerini, "AMalaycoin"inJournal oftheRoyalAsiatic Society35,1903, p.p.339-341, and
remarks byDr.Codrington, p.p.341-343.
20 SM160.
21 SM97.
22 SM114.
23 SM115.
24 SM165-7, 169-173,194.
25 Thus,SM200,224.Negative evidence isprovidedbythelackoftheir names ortitlesinrecords ofbalai
- seeSM,various and150f.f ..
26 SM193.
27 Various references, especially"TheIndianSaudagar Raja",JMBRASMonograph 6, 1975,p.p.
22-35:andin"Perak, theAbodeofGrace", O.U.P.,K.L., 1979.
28 Pires177v.
74

PART2,1991
29 "Cartas deAffonso deAlbuquerque" inMonumentos vol.3,6thFeb,1510from

inéditos..., Melaka,
p.p.6-7has:
" - el demalaca...hehumhomem esta metido emhumacasacomoobservante;
rey que sempre
temdadohomando e governança a bendara, seutyo;..."
30 SM 121,andBrown's notes.See alsocomments inWilkinson, "TheMalaccaSultanate", JMBRAS
13(2),Oct.1935, p!p.22-67.
31 Forwhich, seeespecially O. W.Wolters, "ThefallofSrivi jaya inMalayhistory", O.U.P.,K.L.,1970.
32 Pires174rff..
33 Wilkinson 1935, p.22.
34 Pires166r,166v.
35 Comm. 3.17.
SM180-1.
' Comm. 3.17.
38 Comm. 3.34.
39 Comm. 3.31.
40 Thomaz. 1980.d. 10.
41 Pires166r.
42 SeeMS.andthecomments thereonbvO.P.N.B.vanderSnernkel. BSOAS1953.289-327.
43 IntheMine С?svstem.
J ?these wereJianexi.
о 7Huguang.
О О Zheiiang.J О7Fuiian.
J 7Guangxi. о *Guangdong.
О О'Naniing.
* J- О
44 Villiers,1981,p. 725,reporting Castanheda, "Historia dodescrobimento e conquista daIndiapelos
Portugueses. " Coimbra. 1929.6v..155-6.
45 Ibid.,p.737.
46 Pires156r.l57r.
47 Pires157r.Pires implies four: Villiers
( 1981.p.736.)interorets this aseight.
48 Pires158r.
49 d'Orta,"Colloauios .. ed.. deFicalho. Lisb.. p.p.81. 365.auoted inVilliers.
1981. d.726.
50 Villiers,
p. 737,fn65,quoting PerodeFaria,quoted inThomaz, "Maluco e malaca', inЛ viagem de
Fernão deMasalhaes ...,Lisb., 1975,p.46.
51 d'Ortareports ontheuseofnutmeg andmaceas salad,simple andconserve, andthtathey were
shipped, preserved invinegar.
52 Viz.FeiXin:alsoseeMeilink-Roelofsz, various.
53 Villiers,1981,p. 725.Hisexcellent analysis oftheeffect onBandaandMolucca oftheearly
society
development ofthebulkspicetrade(p.p.728-731) hasdirect relevance tothedevelopment ofcon-
temporaneous Melakan society.
54 Particularlyhis"A socialandeconomic oftheNearEastintheMiddle
history Ages",Lond.,1976.
Also,many suchas"Spiceprices
articles, intheNearEastinthefifteenth centurv",JRAS1976, 26-41.
55 Forevidence from divergent sources, seeforChinatheMing Shi, andforEngland, John Burnett, "A
historyofthecostofliving," Pelican, 1969.ButEgypt andtheprovinces ofSyria andIraq,asAshtor
demonstrates ("SocialandEconomic History", 1-76, 304-320), hadstagnant internaleconomies, and
underwent a longpopulation declineinthefifteenth century.Thiswasmostly relatedtothedecline
intheir governments, andconsequent inattention toirrigation systems, accompanied bya crisisin
theirmanufacturing industries, causedbydiseaseanda shortage ofsilver,andwhich wasinturn
relatedtotherevival ofEuropean industry inthiscentury. Despitethis,theinternational tradeof
Alexandria andAleppoexpanded, although there wassomechange intheitems traded.
56 Ashtor, "SocialandEconomic History...",1976, 327-328.
57 Ashtor, JRAS1976, 26-41 . SeealsoTable4.
58 Thus,perhaps therivalry between Ternate andTidoremayhavebeenintensified bythecollapse
oftheclovepriceintheperiod1480 - 1500.Theywouldhavebeencompeting ina market much
reduced intotal value.
59 Villiers,
1981, p.73.
60 Barbosa 118.
61 YYSL112.
62 EspeciallyseeWangGungwu ,various references.
63 YYSL113.
64 FeiHsin, relevantsections.
"Xing-qasheng-lan",
75

JMBRAS
VOL64
^ Pires. 178г.
66 SM210.
67 Pires175v.
68 Pires175v.
69 Asa rough guide,incurrentprices to$9000.
,$6000
70 SM184.RajaMedaliar's method ofspeechinhisassessment ofhiswealth,to wit,"I amnotworth
allthatamount. .. I havebutfivebaharaofgold",istobetaken asbutanexample ofMalaymanners.
71 SMf.n.151:Pires p.82,f.n.3:alsoseeHobson-Jobson.
72 Thus,TunMutahir heldgoldtothevalueinpresent ofbetween
prices $12,000,000and$18,000,000.
Asisdiscussed below, hisrealvalueinMelakanterms wasmuch more, hisgoldholdingstherefore
beingbuta convenient measure formoderncommentators.
In thisconnection shouldalsobe notedRuyde Araujo'sassessment of 16/2/1510
(letter to
ď Albuquerque: thelettermayhavebeenbyoneoftheother prisoners:
"Alguns documentosremet-
tidos...(TDT)",p. 220)thatof120shipsentering Melakaharbour, only30belonged tolocals:this
demonstrates theratio oflocaloarticioation
inthetrade attheendoftheperiod.
73 The"Cartas deAffonso deAlbuquerque" intheMonumentos ..,vol.3,p.p.5-13,
inéditos. hasa letter
(probably thatwritten byRuydeAraujoandsmuggled toGoabyNainaChatu) dated which
6/2/1510,
statesthatthe"Gores" arrivedinMelakainJanuary, leavinginApril;theJavanese werepresent in
October andNovember; theBengalis inApril
arrived andleftinSeptember;andthePeguano" vame
vemnomesmo tempo" (p.7).
74 Ibid..d.6.
75 Pires178r.
SelectedBibliography
de Albuquerque, Afonso, "Cartas de Affonsode Albuquerque, seguidasde docu-
mentosque as elucidam",in Collecao de monumentosinéditospara a historia
das conquistasdos Portuguezesem Africa,Asia e America, vols. 1-4,ed. Ray-
mundoAntoniode Bulhão Pato, Academia Real das Scienciasde Lisboa; vol.
5 ed Bulhão Pato and Henrique Lopes de Mendonca; vol. 6 ed. Lopes de
Mendonca; vol. 7 no information: 1884-1935.
- The Commentaries oftheGreatAfonsoDalboquerqueysecondviceroyofIndia,
translatedfromthe Portugueseeditionof 1774, tr. Walter de Gray Birsch,
HakluytSociety,Lond. , 1875-1884.
Andaya, Barbara Watson, Perak, The Abode of С i: studyof an eighteenth-
centurvMalav state.O.U.P..K.L.. 1979.
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courts",JMBRAS 51(1), June1978,13-36.
Ashtor,Eliyahu,A social and economichistoryof theNear East in theMiddleAges,
Collins., Lond. , 1976.
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Society1976,26-41.
Barbosa, Manuel, tr.Mansel LongworthDames, Book : an accountof thecountries
borderingtheIndian Ocean and theirinhabitants. . ., HakluytSociety2ndseries,
Lond., 1918.
Barros,Joao de, Asia..., especiallyDecadas II, Lisboa, 1553.
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Duyvendak,J.J.L., "Desultorynotes on the Hsi-yang-chi",T'oung Pao 42, 1954,
1-35.
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Fei Xin, Xing-qa sheng-lan, tr. Paul Wheatleyas "The Golden Khersonese", Uni.
Malaya Press,K.L. , 1961.
Gerini,G. E., "A Malay coin", Jnl.Royal Asiatic Society35, 1903, 339-341,with
remarksbyDr. Codrington,341-343.
Howitz, Pensak C., "Two ancientshipwrecksin the Gulfof Thailand: a reporton
archaeologicalinvestigations" , Jnl.Siam Society65 (2) , July1967,1-22.
F.
Lane, C., "Pepper prices before da Gama", Jnl.Economic History28, 1968.
Liaw Yock-Fang, tr., Undang-undangMelaka: the laws of Melaka, Bibliotheca
Indonesica,KoninklijkInstituutvoorTaal-, Land- en Volkenkunde,Martinus
Nijhoff, The Hague, 1976.
Ma Huan, Ying-yaisheng-lan,tr. J.V.G. Mills, The Overall Surveyof theOcean's
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Magalhaes-Godinho,V., V economiede ГempirePortugaisau XVe etXVf siecles,
Paris,1969.
Maxwell,W. George, "A translationof ChaptersI and XV of de Eredia's Declara-
ramde Malaca", JRAS (SB) 60, Dec. 1911,18-24.
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of theeast,fromtheRed Sea to Japan, written in Malacca and India in 1512-
1515,HakluytSociety second series no. 89, Lond. , 1944.
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78


Robert W. McRoberts - A Study in Growth (An Economic History of Melaka, 1400-1510)

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Robert W. McRoberts - A Study in Growth (An Economic History of Melaka, 1400-1510)

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A STUDY IN GROWTH: AN ECONOMIC HISTORY OF MELAKA 1400 —1510

Author(s): ROBERT W. McROBERTS

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In 1400, Melaka was, as it had always been, a fishingvillage of littleimpor-

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Withthe possibleexceptionof some minorfishingactivity,theoccupationsof

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wrecksintheGulfofSiam.6The degreeofspecialisationingoods ofcommonusage is

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to have introducedspectaclesto China and to otherstatesineast Asia inthesixteenth

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On theotherhand,foreigners wereforthemostpartproscribedin theirchoice

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This lack of formalisation mustnot be construedas any defectin the society,

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tioninmostactivities.This mustnotbe confusedwithderogatoryconceptsof"primi-

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nised, and allied to ideas of economy of scale. It is a truismthat as the market

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variousprovisionsof the undang-undanglaut which,be it noted, was not promul-

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tained in Melaka or distributedlocally, but most being re-exportedto southeast

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to simplifyimport and administrativeprocedures, by reducing administrative

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Table 2: The Tributelevied byMelaka on herdependenciesin 1511.

Place Status Tributelevied

local empire,and its successfulmissionaryzeal forMuslim,were politicalfactors

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was so obviouslyallied to business,forprofit'ssake, and forthesake ofhisownpolit-

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"became so noble a citythat it was said to contain fortythousandinhabi-

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In 1400, Egypt,Syria,Mesopotamia, Persia and northernIndia were newly-

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Ocean trade,whichespeciallysoughtthe productsof southeastAsia and the cloth

Table 3: PopulationFiguresforChina 1391- 1511.

A. Decennial figuresforall China.

DATE POPULATION DATE POPULATION

1391 56,774,561/ 1452 53,507,730

B. Populationchanges,1393- 1491,southernand south-easternChina

Chekiang 10,487,567 5,305,843

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Such spectaculardecreases in thepopulationsof thesemarketsmusthave had

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As to the actual price movements,and the economicconditionstheyreflect,

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- cloves had a differenthistory,theirpricebeinglow at thestartofthecentury

Table 4: Suggestedlong-termtrendsin the fifteenth-centuryWest Asian pricesfor

Villiersreportsthat,whilstmace was alwaysmoreexpensivethannutmeg,the

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and formostof his reign,whilstthe volume tradedhad increasedenormously,the

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early1400's. The fleetsre-assembledat Melaka, wherefinaltradingwas conducted,

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otheraspect of the tradewas, albeit onlyinitially,not of interestto the Portuguese

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tionnaturallyfavouredthe rich,the onlyprotectionforthe smalltraderlyingin his

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economy,ultimatelythen,did not experiencecontinuous,unfetteredgrowth.In-