Pepercultuur

The Pepercultuur — pepper cultivation — was the principal economic basis of the Sultanate of Atjèh from the early sixteenth century to the late nineteenth century, and the historical foundation of Atjèh’s wealth. The pepper vine (Piper nigrum), cultivated on the slopes of the Nilgirl chain in British Indië, was, according to the 1923 brochure of the Atjeh-Instituut, brought to Samoedra in north Sumatra between 1350 and 1400 A.D. by the first dispersers of Islam in those regions; transferred to Pidië between 1435 and 1500; and rose, with the Sultanate of Atjèh founded by Sultan Ali Moeghajat Sjah after 1521, to be the principal export crop of the sultanate and the monopoly of the Sultan.

The Origins (1350-1400 A.D.)

The pepper cultivation indigenous to the slopes of the Nilgirl chain in British Indië must, according to the Atjeh-Instituut brochure, have been transplanted to Samoedra in north Sumatra between 1350 and 1400 A.D. by the first dispersers of Islam in those regions. Ibn Batoetah — the famous Mohammedan discoverer-traveller, who visited north Sumatra before 1350 — knows nothing yet of Samoedra pepper; whereas Ma Hoean, a Mohammedan Chinese who accompanied the eunuch Coe alias Sam-Po on his ambassadorial journey of 1412–1415, reported it in 1416, as did Fei Hsin in 1436 in his then-appeared travel book “Chêng-Ho” — the fruit of some four foreign journeys with that same ambassador Chêng-Ho.

The Transfer to Pidië (1435-1500)

Between 1435 and 1500 the pepper cultivation must presumably have been transferred from Samoedra to Pidië, since Fei Hsin speaks of Samoedra pepper but not of that of Pidië, whereas at the first coming of the Portuguese Pidië was already a great pepper harbour, as was Pasé. In September 1509 the Portuguese were first in the “Selat” — the Strait — when Sequeira on his discovery voyages to Malakka at the end of 1509 touched the pepper harbours of Pidië and Pasé, where the reception was initially favourable and trade relations were established. Of Atjèh nothing was yet said.

The Rise of Atjeh (1521)

When the captain of Malakka, Ruy de Brito, on 6 January 6 January 1514 drew up a report to his king, he named among the Mohammedan coastal states of Sumatra also Pidië, while Atjèh was passed over. If the reception given to the Portuguese in the north of Sumatra was initially good, very soon those favourable contacts were spoiled by the Portuguese themselves, by their practising privateering on ships visiting the harbours of north and east Sumatra. Through the export trade — principally in pepper — the relatively newly founded Mohammedan coastal states attained great bloom and prosperity, such that greed was excited by rumours of great treasures, and in May 1521 Yorge de Brito made an attack on the newly developed realm of Atjèh with a Portuguese fleet.

That fleet was totally defeated, in which Yorge de Brito with 70 Portuguese was killed. The captured Portuguese artillery with ammunition served thereafter to strengthen and extend the authority of the Atjèhse prince. From that time dated the greatness and power of the Atjèhse Realm. The ambition of the energetic Sultan Ali Moeghajat Sjah was so excited by this conquest that he seized every opportunity to extend his territory, in which he was faithfully supported by his brother Radja Ibrahim. First Pidië was conquered and made tributary; then came Pasé-Samoedra in 1524, while the Portuguese garrison lying there was driven out.

The Apogee under Sultan Iskandar Moeda (1607-1636)

The successors continued the work of the energetic Sultan Ali Moeghajat Sjah, until the Atjèhse Realm reached the highest power and regard under the reign of Sultan Iskandar Moeda — the Atjèhse “Roi Soleil” (1607–1636). Driven by an untempered ambition, he cast his eyes far beyond the borders of his realm. From 1612 to 1625 we see him almost continuously at war. No wonder that in the course of the long reign of that “Roi Soleil” treasures could be piled up that excited the admiration of foreign visitors.

But, as Dr. Snouck Hurgronje wrote, “beziet men dien luister op den keper, dan neemt men wel uitbreiding naar buiten waar, vermeerdering van heerschappij over havens (de zetels van relatieve beschaving en rijkdom in alle Maleische landen) en daardoor vermeerdering van rijkdom, die tot een glansrijke organisatie van het Hof aanleiding geven, maar geen ernstig streven naar den opbouw van solide inzettingen, die dynastieke omwentelingen overleven.” (If one examines that splendour closely, one perceives indeed extension outward, increase of dominion over harbours (the seats of relative civilisation and wealth in all Malay lands) and thereby increase of wealth, which give occasion to a glorious organisation of the Court, but no serious striving for the building of solid institutions that survive dynastic revolutions.)

The Decline and the Tin of Perak

It is also known how the Atjèhse Sultanate — bearer of that wealth — gradually declined in significance, as the popular chiefs developed ever greater power and various dependencies tore themselves loose. But first the Sultan had to miss important trade advantages, since the tin trade of Perak came in 1645 principally into the hands of the Dutch. By means of gold exploitation in Atjèh itself, one thought to be able to replace the important source of income obtained through the tin trade. Drawn by the gold in the upper regions of Pidië and Meulaboh, therefore, mainly Pidiërs moved thither in the middle of the 17th century and founded there the famous federation of the Kawaj XII.

The State at the Outbreak of War (1873)

When the war with us broke out in 1873, the powerlessness of the Sultan and the state of deep decline of the once so mighty Realm were noticeable, but we could then by no means speak of an impoverishment of the population; on the contrary, almost every Atjèher was in possession of precious golden ornaments, weapons, and garments heavily embroidered with gold, while large sums were spent to come by firearms. Compared with the other peoples of the Archipelago, the Atjèhse population could then be called particularly well-to-do, and this came principally from the profitable pepper trade.

The Post-War Decline (post-1873)

The war is now fought out. A new prospect opens itself for the industrious Atjèhse people, and it speaks for itself that hope was again first directed, in the first place, to the long-beloved pepper cultivation. But what does one now see happening? The pepper seems to have had his time. He no longer wishes to thrive in various places. The pepper planters withdraw to their villages and devote more attention to their rice fields. The pepper trade diminishes annually in size and significance. Under the influence of the administration a new article has indeed been added — the copra — and the betel-nut cultivation has been extended, while on the West Coast the cultivation of nilam leaves (patchouli) and kapok has been acquired; but to bring the land to prosperity a new great-trade article is needed that takes the place of pepper. This article is the rice.

Significance

The pepercultuur is the historical economic basis of the [[Sultanate of Aceh|Sultanate of Atjèh] and the foundation of Atjèh’s wealth from the early sixteenth century to the late nineteenth century. The introduction of pepper to Samoedra between 1350 and 1400, its transfer to Pidië between 1435 and 1500, the rise of Atjèh under Sultan Ali Moeghajat Sjah after 1521, the apogee under Sultan Iskandar Moeda (1607–1636), the decline after 1645 with the loss of the Perak tin trade, and the prosperity of the Atjèhse population at the outbreak of the war in 1873 — all are phases of the history of the pepercultuur as the basis of Atjèh’s wealth. The post-war decline of the pepercultuur — the pepper no longer wishing to thrive in various places — is the immediate occasion of the Atjeh-Instituut’s prescription of rijstbouw as the new basis of Atjèh’s wealth.

Source

De Rijkdom van Atjeh, uitgegeven door het Atjeh-Instituut, Amsterdam, 1923. OCR-filename: 20260718_105749_DLP-110-De_rijkdom_van_Atjeh_Nemotron-OCR-v2_OCR.txt, pp. 5–10.

tags	concept, acehnese, dutch, colonial, economic, agricultural, sultanate, aceh, 19th-century, 20th-century, pepercultuur, pepper
aliases	Pepercultuur, Pepercultuur Atjeh, Pepper cultivation Atjeh, Atjeh pepper cultivation, Peper-cultuur Atjeh, Atjehsche pepercultuur

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