The Atjehsche vloot — the Atjehnese fleet, the Atjehnese sultanate’s principal instrument of sea-power — was the naval force by which, in 1539, the sultan of Atjeh projected his power across the Strait of Malacca and brought the kingdom of Aroe to its fall. The fleet that descended on Aroe in October 1539 is the only Atjehnese fleet of the early sixteenth century whose size, commander, and operational purpose are recorded by a European eyewitness — Mendez Pinto — and it is thus the foundational naval organisation of the Atjehnese sultanate in Western record.
The fleet of 1539
Pinto, an eyewitness in the bay of Aroe, records the strength of the fleet as “about 130 vessels” (wel 130 vaartuigen), commanded by Alleredin Mahomet, “beau frère du mesme Roy, marié avec une sienne coeur”, who also held the office of “Gouverneur du Royaume de Baarros” — i.e. governor of Barus on the Sumatran west coast. The fleet arrived in the river of Panetican three days after Pinto’s own arrival in Aroe; the day after Pinto’s arrival, word had reached the radja that the Atjehnese fleet would arrive in eight days.
Operational purpose
The strategic purpose of the fleet of 1539 was, as Pinto succinctly records, to take Aroe: “to the possession of Aroe Atjeh was much attached; it was the station by which Atjeh was able to command the Strait of Malacca and to deny Portuguese ships and other traders the passage to Sunda, the Moluccas and China, and to enjoy for itself all the advantages of that trade”. The fleet was thus the instrument by which the Atjehnese sultanate sought to close the Strait to Portuguese shipping and to take for itself the commerce that had previously run through Malacca.
Outcome
After Pinto’s departure the fleet forced the fall of Aroe: treason by an Atjeh-bribed Cacis opened the gates, the radja was killed, and the kingdom was absorbed into the Atjehnese sphere. The queen’s subsequent flight to Malacca, Bentan, and Johor brought a Johorese counter-attack that briefly retook Aroe — but Aroe was finally lost for good, and with it the last independent check on Atjehnese command of the Strait.
Significance
For AcehWiki, the Atjehsche vloot of 1539 is the foundational naval organisation of the Atjehnese sultanate in Western record — the named fleet, with a named commander (Alleredin Mahomet) and a named operational purpose (command of the Strait of Malacca), against which all later Atjehnese naval actions, down to the Atjeh-oorlog of the nineteenth century, may be measured. Its size (130 vessels) and the breadth of its commander’s portfolio (royal kinship, fleet command, and the governorship of Barus) together mark the Atjehnese sultanate as a sea-power of the first rank in the early sixteenth century.
See Also
- Atjeh-Aroe War (1539)
- Alleredin Mahomet
- Sultan of Atjeh (16th century)
- Mendez Pinto
- Aroe
- Aroe-baai
- Poelo Kampi
- Straits of Malacca
- Barus
- Aceh Sultanate
- Historische Curiositeiten uit Malajoe en Java
Source
Historische Curiositeiten uit Malajoe en Java, by P. de Roo de la Faille (Den Haag: Maart 1954), chapter “Mendez Pinto op Sumatra”, pp. 9-10.
The Atjehsche vloot — the Atjehnese fleet, the Atjehnese sultanate’s principal instrument of sea-power — was the naval force by which, in 1539, the sultan of Atjeh projected his power across the Strait of Malacca and brought the kingdom of Aroe to its fall. The fleet that descended on Aroe in October 1539 is the only Atjehnese fleet of the early sixteenth century whose size, commander, and operational purpose are recorded by a European eyewitness — Mendez Pinto — and it is thus the foundational naval organisation of the Atjehnese sultanate in Western record.
The fleet of 1539
Pinto, an eyewitness in the bay of Aroe, records the strength of the fleet as “about 130 vessels” (wel 130 vaartuigen), commanded by Alleredin Mahomet, “beau frère du mesme Roy, marié avec une sienne coeur”, who also held the office of “Gouverneur du Royaume de Baarros” — i.e. governor of Barus on the Sumatran west coast. The fleet arrived in the river of Panetican three days after Pinto’s own arrival in Aroe; the day after Pinto’s arrival, word had reached the radja that the Atjehnese fleet would arrive in eight days.
Operational purpose
The strategic purpose of the fleet of 1539 was, as Pinto succinctly records, to take Aroe: “to the possession of Aroe Atjeh was much attached; it was the station by which Atjeh was able to command the Strait of Malacca and to deny Portuguese ships and other traders the passage to Sunda, the Moluccas and China, and to enjoy for itself all the advantages of that trade”. The fleet was thus the instrument by which the Atjehnese sultanate sought to close the Strait to Portuguese shipping and to take for itself the commerce that had previously run through Malacca.
Outcome
After Pinto’s departure the fleet forced the fall of Aroe: treason by an Atjeh-bribed Cacis opened the gates, the radja was killed, and the kingdom was absorbed into the Atjehnese sphere. The queen’s subsequent flight to Malacca, Bentan, and Johor brought a Johorese counter-attack that briefly retook Aroe — but Aroe was finally lost for good, and with it the last independent check on Atjehnese command of the Strait.
Significance
For AcehWiki, the Atjehsche vloot of 1539 is the foundational naval organisation of the Atjehnese sultanate in Western record — the named fleet, with a named commander (Alleredin Mahomet) and a named operational purpose (command of the Strait of Malacca), against which all later Atjehnese naval actions, down to the Atjeh-oorlog of the nineteenth century, may be measured. Its size (130 vessels) and the breadth of its commander’s portfolio (royal kinship, fleet command, and the governorship of Barus) together mark the Atjehnese sultanate as a sea-power of the first rank in the early sixteenth century.
See Also
- Atjeh-Aroe War (1539)
- Alleredin Mahomet
- Sultan of Atjeh (16th century)
- Mendez Pinto
- Aroe
- Aroe-baai
- Poelo Kampi
- Straits of Malacca
- Barus
- Aceh Sultanate
- Historische Curiositeiten uit Malajoe en Java
Source
Historische Curiositeiten uit Malajoe en Java, by P. de Roo de la Faille (Den Haag: Maart 1954), chapter “Mendez Pinto op Sumatra”, pp. 9-10.