Sultan Mahmud, the ruler of Johor at the end of the C17th, was a savage and vindictive sadist. He was assassinated in 1699 by a group of nobles, with the killing blow struck by a certain Mergat Seri Rama, whose pregnant wife had been disembowelled at court as a result of Mahmud's orders. Despite the wickedness of the victim, this was nevertheless a clear case of derhaka - treason - perhaps the blackest crime in the Malay world. Subsequent generations were to look back on the late ruler as their last legitimate leader, because one of the conspirators, unrelated to the Sultan, claimed the throne for himself. Mahmud's line was ended. It has long been claimed that he was the last genuine ancestor of Iskandar Zulkarnain, Alexander the Great himself, who was thought to have sired Malay kings among many others.
In Johor, Riau and the other island realms, a sense of anarchy permeated the subsequent decades. The people were restive and previous loyalties cast aside as new groups of people were awarded privileges and prizes. Among these were the Bugis, people in search of a homeland. Migration of peoples was a common phenomenon in the Malay world, as changing political and economic considerations inspired peoples to move and try their luck elsewhere. The Bugis originated from the south of Sulawesi and, moving away from persecution, settled in some of the under-used space on the Malayan peninsula. The Bugis achieved a fearsome reputation for the abilities as navigators, traders and warriors. Their first appearance in recorded history is as mercenaries for the Dutch and they are said to have worn chainmail armour that gave them a significant advantage in personal warfare. Throughout the C18th, Bugis people and leaders came to assume ever-increasing levels of influence and power, particularly in Johor-Riau. This was achieved by open warfare, by superiority in trading which brought them into favour with many harbourmasters and through careful planning. The Bugis remained proud of their homeland and their ethnicity and the changes they wrought in society are still felt today. The Orang Laut they supplanted are now remembered, if at all, in terms of later descriptions of them by others as filthy, poor and scarcely human.
Adding to the sense of disconnection in the Malay world during these years was the growth of the Raja Andan. These people were wandering princes. Owing to the practice of polygamy, large numbers of princes found themselves with positions of status and privilege but with no formal position or income. Such people had previously been permitted to enter into international trade but increasingly they set themselves up as commerce raiders and open pirates. The seas were dangerous places to travel.
In Johor, Riau and the other island realms, a sense of anarchy permeated the subsequent decades. The people were restive and previous loyalties cast aside as new groups of people were awarded privileges and prizes. Among these were the Bugis, people in search of a homeland. Migration of peoples was a common phenomenon in the Malay world, as changing political and economic considerations inspired peoples to move and try their luck elsewhere. The Bugis originated from the south of Sulawesi and, moving away from persecution, settled in some of the under-used space on the Malayan peninsula. The Bugis achieved a fearsome reputation for the abilities as navigators, traders and warriors. Their first appearance in recorded history is as mercenaries for the Dutch and they are said to have worn chainmail armour that gave them a significant advantage in personal warfare. Throughout the C18th, Bugis people and leaders came to assume ever-increasing levels of influence and power, particularly in Johor-Riau. This was achieved by open warfare, by superiority in trading which brought them into favour with many harbourmasters and through careful planning. The Bugis remained proud of their homeland and their ethnicity and the changes they wrought in society are still felt today. The Orang Laut they supplanted are now remembered, if at all, in terms of later descriptions of them by others as filthy, poor and scarcely human.
Adding to the sense of disconnection in the Malay world during these years was the growth of the Raja Andan. These people were wandering princes. Owing to the practice of polygamy, large numbers of princes found themselves with positions of status and privilege but with no formal position or income. Such people had previously been permitted to enter into international trade but increasingly they set themselves up as commerce raiders and open pirates. The seas were dangerous places to travel.
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