Shahbandar of Deli

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tagsperson, malay
aliasesShahbandar of Delli

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The Shahbandar of Deli (also written Shahbandar of Delli) was the harbour master of the east-coast Sumatran state of Deli in the late 1820s. He is known to history from a single but vivid letter, written in early 1828 to the Governor of Penang, in which he begged the British to “deliver the land from the robber Said Akil” — the Penang-born adventurer who had installed himself as Raja Mooda (deputy ruler) of Deli and was plundering the country.

Background: Said Akil’s adventure in Deli

Said Akil, third son of the Penang trader Said Hussein and younger brother of the Achehnese pretender Syf, had married a daughter of the Sultan of Deli around 1824 and been adopted by the Sultan as his son. On his father-in-law’s death, the Sultanate passed to a 14- to 16-year-old boy; Said Akil, as brother-in-law, took the opportunity to install himself as Raja Mooda (deputy ruler) and “made himself master of the government”, reducing Deli to disorder. The Sultan of Deli’s letter to Governor Phillips of 27 August 1824 had formally announced the adoption, but the consequences unfolded over the following four years.

The Shahbandar’s letter to Penang (early 1828)

By the beginning of 1828 the situation in Deli had become intolerable for the traders. The Shahbandar, as the port-official responsible for the commerce of the state, wrote directly to the Governor of Penang begging him to deliver the land from the robber Akil. His letter, preserved in the Roosegaarde Bisschop collection and printed in translation by Van der Kemp, reads in part:

“The Sultan being dead, his son became Raja; but being young and inexperienced, Syed Akil son of Syed Hussain became Raja Mooda, and assumed the Government of all affairs in Deli. All your servant’s property was plundered by Syed Akil, besides all the goods of the traders at Deli. Such is Syed Akil’s conduct at Deli towards us all. Your servant therefore respectfully makes this known to your Honor, for Syed Akil lives under your Honor’s flag. We have all been ruined by Syed Akil, and so have traders residing at Deli. All the traders therefore from Batoe Bhara, who have been plundered by Syed Akil, have requested the assistance of the chiefs at Batoe Bara, and if satisfaction is not obtained from thence they will perhaps submit their complaint to you and request justice.”

The letter is a remarkable document: it shows the commercial community of Deli, through its shahbandar, appealing over the head of their nominal sultan to the British government at Penang for redress against a British subject. It also shows how the Penang government’s refusal to control Said Akil was forcing neighbouring Malay states into the arms of British protection — a process that would become central to East-Coast politics in the next decades.

Aftermath

The Shahbandar’s appeal had its effect. Governor Fullerton again directed Anderson to write to Said Akil on 7 February 1828 requiring him to abstain from interference in the affairs of Deli and to return to Penang. The young Sultan (presumably writing under Akil’s dictation) replied that it was all lies and slander; Akil himself wrote that he was doing nobody harm. Fullerton’s final letter of 27 August 1828 to the Sultan put an end to the affair by warning Akil that, having proceeded to Deli contrary to the injunctions of the Penang government, he was placed outside British protection in the event of his infringing the laws of the country. The Bengal government approved this conduct by dispatch of 24 October 1828, and the Deli adventure came to an end.

See Also

Source

Raffles’ Atjeh-overeenkomst van 1819, by P. H. van der Kemp, in Bijdragen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië, 6e Volgr., Deel VII (1900), pp. 159-239. Universiteitsbibliotheek Vrije Universiteit, LS.08781.

The Shahbandar of Deli (also written Shahbandar of Delli) was the harbour master of the east-coast Sumatran state of Deli in the late 1820s. He is known to history from a single but vivid letter, written in early 1828 to the Governor of Penang, in which he begged the British to “deliver the land from the robber Said Akil” — the Penang-born adventurer who had installed himself as Raja Mooda (deputy ruler) of Deli and was plundering the country.

Background: Said Akil’s adventure in Deli

Said Akil, third son of the Penang trader Said Hussein and younger brother of the Achehnese pretender Syf, had married a daughter of the Sultan of Deli around 1824 and been adopted by the Sultan as his son. On his father-in-law’s death, the Sultanate passed to a 14- to 16-year-old boy; Said Akil, as brother-in-law, took the opportunity to install himself as Raja Mooda (deputy ruler) and “made himself master of the government”, reducing Deli to disorder. The Sultan of Deli’s letter to Governor Phillips of 27 August 1824 had formally announced the adoption, but the consequences unfolded over the following four years.

The Shahbandar’s letter to Penang (early 1828)

By the beginning of 1828 the situation in Deli had become intolerable for the traders. The Shahbandar, as the port-official responsible for the commerce of the state, wrote directly to the Governor of Penang begging him to deliver the land from the robber Akil. His letter, preserved in the Roosegaarde Bisschop collection and printed in translation by Van der Kemp, reads in part:

“The Sultan being dead, his son became Raja; but being young and inexperienced, Syed Akil son of Syed Hussain became Raja Mooda, and assumed the Government of all affairs in Deli. All your servant’s property was plundered by Syed Akil, besides all the goods of the traders at Deli. Such is Syed Akil’s conduct at Deli towards us all. Your servant therefore respectfully makes this known to your Honor, for Syed Akil lives under your Honor’s flag. We have all been ruined by Syed Akil, and so have traders residing at Deli. All the traders therefore from Batoe Bhara, who have been plundered by Syed Akil, have requested the assistance of the chiefs at Batoe Bara, and if satisfaction is not obtained from thence they will perhaps submit their complaint to you and request justice.”

The letter is a remarkable document: it shows the commercial community of Deli, through its shahbandar, appealing over the head of their nominal sultan to the British government at Penang for redress against a British subject. It also shows how the Penang government’s refusal to control Said Akil was forcing neighbouring Malay states into the arms of British protection — a process that would become central to East-Coast politics in the next decades.

Aftermath

The Shahbandar’s appeal had its effect. Governor Fullerton again directed Anderson to write to Said Akil on 7 February 1828 requiring him to abstain from interference in the affairs of Deli and to return to Penang. The young Sultan (presumably writing under Akil’s dictation) replied that it was all lies and slander; Akil himself wrote that he was doing nobody harm. Fullerton’s final letter of 27 August 1828 to the Sultan put an end to the affair by warning Akil that, having proceeded to Deli contrary to the injunctions of the Penang government, he was placed outside British protection in the event of his infringing the laws of the country. The Bengal government approved this conduct by dispatch of 24 October 1828, and the Deli adventure came to an end.

See Also

Source

Raffles’ Atjeh-overeenkomst van 1819, by P. H. van der Kemp, in Bijdragen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië, 6e Volgr., Deel VII (1900), pp. 159-239. Universiteitsbibliotheek Vrije Universiteit, LS.08781.

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