Vrouwenregeering (“female rule”) was the period of female Sultans in Atjèh, beginning with Tadjoel-Alam Safijatoeddin in 1641 and lasting until 1699. Kreemer identifies the beginning of the vrouwenregeering as “the first step of Atjèh’s decline” from its zenith under Iskandar Moeda.
The end of havenkoningen
With the beginning of female rule in 1641, “het régime der havenkoningen had toen voor goed afgedaan” — “the régime of the harbour-kings had then for good ended.” The Sultan no longer possessed the alleenhandel (trade monopoly) but “had to content himself with the proceeds of import/export duties.”
Since wealth determined the Sultan’s internal influence, the position of the female rulers could no longer equal that of their glorious predecessors. The havenkoningen (harbour-kings) — the coastal chieftains of Atjèh’s former vassal statelets who controlled maritime trade — also lost their former role.
The female Sultans
The vrouwenregeering comprised a succession of female Sultans, of whom Kreemer specifically names:
- Tadjoel-Alam Safijatoeddin (reigned 1641–1675) — the first queen, whose ninefold seal (tjab sikoereuëng) is reproduced on the cover of Kreemer’s work
- Sultan Kamalat Sjah (reigned 1688–1699) — deureuham gold coins from her reign exist
The vrouwenregeering ended in 1699, after which male rule was restored — though the sultanate never recovered its former power.
Numismatic evidence
Deureuham gold coins from the reigns of Sultan Ala addin Moeghajat Sjah (1636–1641), Sultan Inajat Sjah (1678–1688), and Sultan Kamalat Sjah (1688–1699) provide numismatic evidence for the vrouwenregeering period and its immediate predecessors.
See Also
Source
Atjèh. Algemeen samenvattend overzicht van land en volk van Atjèh en onderhoorigheden, door J. Kreemer, Archivaris van het Atjèh Instituut. Tweede Deel. Leiden: N.V. Boekhandel en Drukkerij voorheen E.J. Brill, 1923.
Identifier: Delpher MMKB02B:000001798; PPN 395084288. Koninklijke Bibliotheek.