ofthe SAME TREE

In the streets are a large number of shops belonging to merchants dressed in
the Turkish style who come from the great lands of Negapatnam, Gujarat,
Cape Comorin, Calicut, the island of Ceylon, Siam, Bengal, and various other
places. They live in this place for some six months in order to sell their merchandise
that consists of very fine cotton cloth from Gujarat, sturdy silk bolts
and other textiles of cotton thread, various types of porcelain, a large number
of drugs, spices, and precious stones. 59
As bearers of highly desired goods from the west and as representatives of
prestigious Islamic centers, these traders were welcomed by rulers in Southeast
Asia. The presence of foreign Muslim communities in the port cities
became commonplace, and it was not unusual to find Muslim officials occupying
influential positions in the courts. 60
Because of Aceh’s location at the northern tip of Sumatra, it was the
logical first port of call for traders coming from the west. Aceh’s reputation
as an Islamic kingdom and its ability to provide desired local commodities
and the facilities to promote effective and profitable exchange quickly made
it a favored entrepot with Muslim traders. Asian shipping avoided Melaka
after its fall to the Portuguese in 1511, sailing instead to Aceh and to Banten
in west Java. Powerful Acehnese rulers such as Sultan Alauddin Riayat Syah
al-Mukamil and Sultan Iskandar Muda encouraged foreign traders by assuring
the availability of pepper, tin, and elephants for exchange in the port.
Under these two rulers, Aceh conquered pepper-producing areas on the east
and west coasts of Sumatra, as well as in the tin-rich mining states of Perak
and Kedah on the Malay Peninsula. Other tin areas on the east and west coasts
of the peninsula came under Aceh’s control when Iskandar Muda extended
his conquests to Johor and Pahang. 61 Elephants were so highly prized that an
Ottoman chronicler devoted more attention to this subject than to any other
aspect of Aceh. 62
Among the most prominent of the Indian traders were the Muslim
Gujarati from northwest India. After 1511 they transferred their trade to
Aceh, where they could obtain such prized commodities as pepper, nutmeg,
cloves, mace, tin, gold, ivory, and elephants. Other Muslim communities,
including the Malabari Mapillah and merchants representing the powerful
Mughal dynasty, also patronized Aceh. The Mughal princes Aurangzeb and
Dara Shukoh participated in Aceh’s trade, and Aurangzeb even exchanged
presents with Aceh’s sultan in 1641. For two decades after the Dutch conquest
of Portuguese Melaka in 1641, the VOC tried to attract trade to Melaka by
restricting Muslim trade to Aceh. Angered by this action, the Mughal emperor
threatened retaliation in Gujarat for any losses due to Dutch intervention.
He issued a farman, or royal decree, “instructing the Dutch to issue passes
From Malayu to Aceh 121