Rise of the Portuguese in Southeast Asia.

At the beginning of the 16th century, trade with the East was monopolized by the Muslim Powers
including the Ottoman Turks, who controlled trade in the Eastern Mediterranean with their capture
of Constantinople. The continent’s only source of Oriental goods were Genoa and Venice who had
amicable relations with the Turks. However, Muslim monopoly on trade with East Asia was ended by
the Kingdom of Portugal. The Portuguese ushered in an era of Western domination in the East
including in Southeast Asia, which lasted till the first half of the 20th century.

The discovery of the route to Asia around Africa by Bartholomew Diaz and the arrival of Vasco Da
Gama in Calicut allowed the Portuguese to bypass the Mediterranean. They set out to wrestle
control of trade in the Indian Ocean into their hands and diverting trade through the Cape of Good
Hope from the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. Under the leadership of Afonso De Albuquerque and his
predecessor Francisco De Almeida, they took control of the Malabar Coast in India and Socotra, the
main gateway to the Red Sea, followed by the capture of Goa. Therefore, with their conquest of
strategic areas in the Indian Ocean, the Portuguese under Albuquerque set their sights on Malacca –
the hub of trade between the East and the West in Southeast Asia.

Apart from the discovery of new sea routes, what made the Portuguese successful and pushed them
to pursue a policy of expansion in the East, were a variety of factors and developments. Primary to
this was their guiding principles of “Gold, God and Glory”. Portugal and other parts of the Iberian
Peninsula had been for centuries under successive Muslim including under the Moors of North
Africa, from the 8th till the 15th century when they were fully driven out of the region. Therefore,
there was a sense of hostility towards Muslims among the Portuguese and by pursuing a policy of
expansion at the expense of the Muslim Powers, it was seen as a continuation of their national
crusade against Islam. Moreover, Malacca, apart from being the main center of trade in Southeast
Asia was under Muslim rule and a center of Islam in the region. This factor made the conquest of the
strategic harbor a more significant target for the Portuguese, who were looking to spread
Christianity in the areas they had captured.

The unfavorable conditions in Portugal was another factor which drove its people to venture out
into the world. Geographically located in the western most corner of continental Europe, Portugal
had limited resources and manpower to sustain a large population let alone an empire. However, it
was this reason which made the Portuguese resilient, ambitious and innovative. Moreover, the fall
of Constantinople in 1453 to the Turks and their subsequent monopoly on trade with the East, drove
the Europeans including the Portuguese to discover new sea routes.

Capable leadership was another factor which gave them an advantage over other European powers
and eventually against the Sultan of Malacca. The Monarchy in Portugal also had a role in the rise of
the country as a colonial power, as it had patronized and encouraged explorations. Prince Henry the
Navigator, who had sponsored voyages and promoted the development of navigation and
shipbuilding, played a significant role in this regard. By the start of the 16th century, Portugal had
mastered the art of sea navigation with centuries of experience and through the development of
faster ships like the caravel ship, which had the capacity to sail windward making sea travel faster.
The main factor, however, which brought the Portuguese to Southeast Asia was the famed spiced
trade of Malacca from the writings of travelers like Tome Pires, Marco Polo, Pires and others. The
strategic port was the main outlet for spices to the West and the main inlet for Indian textiles to the
Far East, which made it the center of trade in Southeast Asia. Therefore, in 1508, the Portuguese
Monarch King Emanuel I (Emanuel the Magnificent) sent out an expedition under Admiral de
Siqueira to Malacca. Arriving at the port in 1509, the Portuguese were allowed access into the
Harbor by the Sultan of Malacca, Mahmud Shah. However, convinced by Gujarati Muslims and Arab
traders who had experienced the Portuguese in India that the Portuguese had malevolent
intentions, the Sultan ordered an ambush on the foreign ships. This led to the capture of twenty
men under Rui de Araujo, while Siqueira managed to flee to India.

As a result, these developments led to the Portuguese under Albuquerque to invade Malacca in July
1511, ending with the capture of the port on 24th August which marked the beginning of Portuguese
presence in Southeast Asia. For 130 years, Malacca was under the control of Portugal until 1641
when the Dutch in alliance with the Sultan of Johore captured the port. Nonetheless, the
Portuguese’s expeditions and subsequent capture of Malacca was significant and had an undeniable
consequence on the history of Southeast Asia.