Makassar

The trade entrepot of Makassar played an important role in intra-Asian trade in the 17th century and as such proved a formidable competitor for Batavia as a trading centre in the early 17th century. The trade centred on cloves, nutmeg and mace imported from the Molucca Islands, Ambon and Banda. From 1607 the VOC had a trading base in Makassar, where it focused initially on trade in cloves. From 1615 onwards, Makassar and the VOC increasingly got into conflict as the VOC tried to impose a spice monopoly in the Moluccas. The state of Gowa-Tallo, of which Makassar was the capital, supported wars and rebellions in the Moluccas that stood up to the VOC's monopolistic ambitions with regard to the spices produced there. Makassar itself became an important trading city in these same spices, selling to both European and Asian traders, thus thwarting Dutch monopolistic ambitions. In a series of conflicts, the VOC was increasingly able to keep the traders operating from Makassar from accessing the spices. After a surprise attack in 1660, it was able to force the rulers to evict the large Portuguese community. In 1667-1669, in cooperation with its local ally, Arung Palakka, it definitively managed to break the power of Gowa-Tallo, and install their ally Arung Palakka as the most powerful ruler of the region. This ended Makasar involvement in the spice trade. The VOC kept the Makasar fortification Ujung Pandang for itself, turning it into Fort Rotterdam, and a Dutch quarter arose in its vicinity. From this situation, Makassar would gradually attain the character of a VOC colony, and would become a 'gouvernement' in the 18th century.