Portuguese and Spanish Competition in the Spice Trade over the Moluccas 1529–1664
- Asep Abdurahman
- Jan 25, 2025
- 10 min read
Updated: Jan 30, 2025
Introduction
The Moluccas is one of the world’s top spice-producing regions. The demand for these commodities gained momentum in the early 16th century, along with the commercial period in Southeast Asia (Reid, 2015:4–5). At that time, spices were not only used as seasonings, but also for medicinal purposes and religious rituals (Herlisswanny, 2016:88). At the same time, Europeans were expanding their trade network through sea routes in the hope of being able to obtain commodities from the Far East independently.
Various attempts at ocean exploration failed and were only able to reach the Caribbean Islands in America or the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. An explorer from the Kingdom of Portugal named Vasco da Gama arrived in the Indian Subcontinent in 1497. This event marked the first European landing in Asia by sea which then continued eastward. One year after the fall of Malacca, a group of Antonio de Abreu and Francisco Serrao made it to the Moluccas, landing in Banda and Ambon respectively in 1512 (Amal, 2006:96).
The arrival of the Portuguese to Moluccas caused tension between Sultan Bayan of Ternate and Sultan Al-mansur of Tidore who both wanted a strong alliance to compete for hegemony over the “Land of a Thousand Kings”. Thanks to Salahakan Samarau’s invitation, Serrao accepted the offer of partnership with Ternate. Serrao forwarded information regarding the existence of the spice islands to Fernando de Magelhaens, who had reached the Philippines by then (Amal, 2006:42). Not long after, Magelhaens switched sides from Portugal to Spain, causing information to leak to the opposing side. The situation was further complicated when Spain under Sebastian del Cano established a friendship treaty with Tidore in 1521.
Tensions began to build when the Spanish fleet under the command of Martin Ignatius Karkafe reached Tidore in 1526. The Portuguese governor of Ternate, Jorge de Menezes, sent Manuel Fancon to meet with Karkafe in Tidore. During the discussion, Karkafe defended himself and claimed that his presence in Tidore was legal because he was following a westward trade route, different from the route taken by Portuguese explorers (Amal, 2006:99).
Portugal and Spain had agreed in the name of the Pope to control different parts of the world outside Europe. The Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 authorized Portugal to control most of the eastern hemisphere, while Spain became the ruler of the western hemisphere. Unfortunately, there was no clear delineation between the two territories, especially when they met in the Moluccas. Each side claimed the Moluccas as its territory. The Treaty of Zaragoza was concluded by Portugal and Spain in 1529 to decide the eastern boundary between the two empires. In reality, the anti-meridian was not enough to drive Spain out of the Moluccas. The two continued to fight over the spice monopoly until the formation of the Iberian Union in 1580.
Portuguese and Spanish Rivalry over the Moluccas Islands
The Zaragoza Treaty, which was expected to resolve the demarcation issue between Portugal and Spain, did not work. Spain sent another expedition to the Moluccas Islands 13 years after the signing of the Zaragoza Treaty. The fleet was led by Ruy Lopez de Villalobos, a Spanish captain based in Mindanao. His visit to Morotai and Tidore symbolized resistance to the claims of Dom Jorge de Castro, a Portuguese official who called the Moluccas and surrounding islands (including Mindanao) within Portugal’s demarcation line. On the other hand, Villalobos believed that the Moluccas to the Pacific Islands were Spanish territory when referring to the Treaties of Tordesillas and Zaragoza.
In order to consolidate his control over the region, Villalobos corresponded with Castro to prove Spain’s claim to the Moluccas. Castro, as a Portuguese, of course rejected the claim and reminded Villalobos to abide by the terms of the Zaragoza Treaty, which clearly mandated Spain to return to Manila and leave Tidore. In fact, Castro was of the view that Mindanao was Portugal’s territory when referring to the same treaty. Thus, the conflict between Portugal and Spain around the Moluccas Islands can be said to be rooted in the different interpretations of the treaties agreed between the two, both Tordesillas and Zaragoza (Andrews, 2024:1).
The situation was different in Ternate, which was then under the command of Portuguese Governor, Jordao de Freitas. He allowed the Spaniards to harvest and sell cloves from Tidore for trade in the Philippines. Freitas' policy made Villalobos temporarily abandon his ambitions. In fact, on November 4, 1545 Villalobos declared that he had no intention of ruling the Moluccas and intended to focus on trade between the Moluccas and the Philippines (Andrews, 2024:4).
Freitas himself had just dealt with Sultan Tabariji who he considered problematic and potentially disruptive to his spice monopoly interests. At the time, Portugal already held concessions on cloves and nutmeg, the most valuable trade commodities from Eastern Nusantara, in addition to sandalwood, which was also gaining traction. In order to suppress Ternate’s power, Freitas was forced to allow the Spanish to return to Tidore. This situation did not last long because Sultan Hairun of Ternate managed to please the Portuguese officials. Then Sultan Hairun asked Portuguese troops to help him attack Tidore in order to establish absolute power over "Moloku Kie Raha".
Spain, which had just allied itself with Tidore, was forced by Portugal to fight on Ternate’s side (Andrews, 2024:6). Spain’s inconsistent behavior caused its position to become increasingly uncertain. Financial and logistical difficulties plagued the Villalobos fleet that had been connecting Tidore and Manila. On the other hand, Portuguese officials managed to influence local rulers to stop the supply of food and spices to the Philippines. Beside that, the additional fleet dispatched from New Spain did not fully support this mission, leading to the bankruptcy of Villalobos’ fleet. Meanwhile, Villalobos himself died in 1546 in Ambon (Andrews, 2024:17) and marked the failure of the Spanish expedition in the Moluccas for the umpteenth time.
Iberian Union Period
The situation began to turn when Portugal experienced a leadership crisis due to the death of a young king. King Philip II of Spain gained the support of some Portuguese nobles to become king there. Claiming lineage, King Philip II then united the crowns of Portugal and Spain under the name of the Iberian Union (Boxer, 1946:150). Despite his absolute power over the entire Iberian Peninsula, King Philip II kept the administration between Spain and Portugal separate. The territories occupied by Portugal before 1580 were under the control of the Council of Portugal, with the exception of the North Moluccas, which were handed over to the Council of the Indies. The transfer of the North Moluccas to the Council of the Indies symbolized Spain’s ambition to bring the Moluccas under its control. Spain let Portugal monopolize nutmeg in Banda and sandalwood in Timor. Meanwhile, Spain began to enjoy a monopoly on cloves in North Moluccas. In addition, Spain also made it easier for Portugal to establish relations with Tidore. Fort Dos Reis Mogos was established in a limited area to accommodate the interests of Portuguese officials in North Moluccas (Amal, 2006:99–100) after the massive expulsion from Ternate on the orders of Sultan Baabullah in 1575.
The Moluccas Islands after the expulsion became less friendly to the Iberians. In fact, after the years of expulsion most Ternate Traders refused to sell cloves to Portuguese officials now based in Tidore. Nevertheless, they continued to obtain these spices through Javanese traders. Through a complex mechanism, the Moluccans sold cloves, nutmeg and mace to Java and then traded them back in Malacca (Amal, 2006:144).
Besides the issue of the spice monopoly, the behavior of the Governor of the Iberian Union in supporting Christianization became an issue that fueled resistance and hatred towards Portugal and Spain. Five years after the expulsion of Portuguese officials from Ternate, the Christianization mission was commanded absolutely by the “King of All Hispania”. The missions of the Jesuit and Dominican orders continued with resounding success in the Philippines and the southern Moluccas. Meanwhile, the areas under the influence of Ternate and Tidore were able to maintain Islam as the majority religion there, except for certain parts of Tobelo and Jailolo which had been Christianized since the beginning of the arrival of Portugal and Spain to the Moluccas Islands (Amal, 2006:19).
By the turn of the century, the influence of the Iberian Union began to decline. Hispania’s dominance over the Moluccas was soon severely challenged by the Dutch, who had landed in Ambon towards the end of the 16th century. To strengthen its position, the Iberian Union sent seven expeditions to Ternate during the period 1580–1606. The fleet from Manila was the main support for the expedition to retake Fort Gamlamo (Amal, 2006:54–55). The Spanish governor in Manila, Don Pedro da Cunha, had repeatedly warned Sultan Saidi to reject any form of cooperation with the Dutch. The failure of the sixth expedition, which took place between 1602–1603, increased the confidence of Sultan Saidi, who also felt that he benefited from the presence of the Dutch.
Sultan Saidi’s confidence was soon shattered as the Spanish prepared a large-scale attack to subdue Ternate. The lunar eclipse of 1606 was disastrous for Ternate when 36 ships containing the combined forces of the Iberian Union prepared to attack Ternate. Strong support also came from Bacan, Jailolo and Tidore in an effort to weaken Ternate’s dominance over Moloku Kie Raha. Behind it all, the local rulers were intent on reclaiming the territory that was previously subjugated to Sultan Baabullah. Coalition forces of the Iberian Union and local kingdoms successfully occupied Fort Gamlamo and forced Sultan Saidi to sign a series of treaties that tarnished Ternate’s greatness. On behalf of the King of All Hispania, da Cunha established Ternate as part of the Iberian Union on April 10, 1606. Meanwhile, Sultan Saidi was exiled to Manila and continued to reside there until his death in 1627 (Amal, 2006: 61–62).
The Decline of the Iberians over the Moluccas
Exactly a year after the Spanish occupation of Ternate, hopes for the restoration of power began to emerge in the first quarter of 1607. The rescued were Ternate's Bobato, Jogugu Hidayat and Kaicil Ali requested the help of the Dutch to repel the Spanish. The Ternate-Dutch coalition forces first attacked Spanish outposts outside Ternate such as Bacan, Makian and Tidore. The inauguration of Sultan Mudzaffar marked the restoration of Ternate’s power, which was inseparable from Dutch assistance. Dutch support for Ternate was based on Ternate’s awareness to give concessions on cloves to the Dutch in the future (Amal, 2006:64–65). The joint Portugal-Spain forces continued to counterattack in order to maintain their control over the spice trade there.
The defensive measures of the Iberian Union fleet paid off. Neither Ternate nor the Dutch ever made a major attack on Fort Gamlamo. In the end, power on Ternate Island was divided into two governments. The Ternate-Dutch coalition forces controlled the north and east. Meanwhile, the Iberian Union was able to secure the west and south, including Fort Gamlamo (Amal, 2006:81). At this point, the bobato realized that it was difficult to restore the status quo in Ternate. It is therefore not surprising that Iberian officials continued to rule Ternate for the next five decades.
The restoration of the Portuguese throne in 1640 was the culmination of turmoil within the Iberian Union. Portugal’s desire to re-establish a monarchy came from the Braganza Dynasty (Boxer, 1946:163), then led by King John IV. The separation of the crowns of Spain and Portugal also affected the situation in Ternate. The governor who had previously ruled on behalf of the Iberian Union now became the King of Spain. On the other hand, Portugal, which was still at war with Spain in the Iberian Peninsula, was forced to leave the Moluccas for good. The expulsion of 1575 also became a momentum that weakened their power over the Moluccas (Reid, 2015:17–18). The remaining power base was then focused on building Lifau and Dili to secure the sandalwood trade in Timor and its surroundings (Pradjoko, 2014:271–272).
Fears of Chinese pirate incursions into the Philippines prompted Spain to pay more attention to Manila. From 1662, Spain began to tighten security over Manila and its surroundings. For this reason, troops that previously stood guard in Siau, Ternate, and Zamboanga were withdrawn to Manila. The last Spanish governor, Fransisco de Atienza Ibanez left Ternate in 1663 (Amal, 2006:81) and effectively one year later Ternate began occupying Fort Gamlamo. This event marked the end of the Iberian presence that had been active in the Spice Islands for more than 150 years.
Conclusion
The competition between Portugal and Spain to secure concessions for the spice monopoly had its ups and downs. In the beginning, the two were at odds due to overlapping territorial claims around the Moluccas Islands. The Treaty of Zaragoza was unable to resolve the conflict between the two nations inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula. Correspondence between Castro and Villalobos is evidence of the failure of the negotiating table to resolve this issue. The formation of the Iberian Union in 1580 forced the two to unite to defend the Moluccas from interference from other powers, including Ternate and the Dutch. The expulsion of the Portuguese from Ternate in 1575 and the withdrawal of the last Spanish Governor in 1663 signaled the end of Iberian domination of the Moluccas. The Dutch emerged as the new rulers of the Moluccas who went further by continuing to interfere in the affairs of local kingdoms until the independence of the Republic of Indonesia in 1945.
References
Comments