Asian Transformations in Action - Api-fellowships.org

BLURRED BORDERS AND SOCIAL INTEGRATIONS97Indeed, the defining feature of Sangihe and Talaudis their location: isolated and left behind. Thisdescription, terisolasi dan tertinggal in Indonesian, isa buzzword among both local public servants and thegeneral populace. Yet, this was not always the case.The islands were once an important “relay ground” forworld trade during the “Age of Commerce” (Hayase2007, 81). Indeed, the history of Sangihe and Talaudin early modern times is intertwined with that of thesultanates of Ternate, Maguindanao and Sulu, as wellas Chinese traders and European explorers, missionariesand colonizers.Local society was made up of scattered autonomouschiefdoms (kedatuan) and petty kingdoms (kerajaan)without any over-arching power structure. Chinesetraders first became active in the region in the 15 thcentury. The first Europeans to reach the shores ofSangihe in 1521 belonged to the Spanish expeditionoriginally commanded by Ferdinand Magellan.Having lost their captain in the Battle of Mactan, thefleet set sail to the Spice Islands, making a pit stop atSangihe. The Portuguese soon got into the picture aswell, developing a trade route from Ternate to Borneovia Sulu and the Sangihe islands by 1526. Due to itslocation, Sangihe gained in strategic importance, beinga “natural guidepost” (Ulaen 2003, 37) for seafarersengaged in the profitable spice trade.Catholic missionary work in the area also commenced,as the Spanish established their base in Manila and builtrelations with a handful of Sangirese rajas. On the otherhand, a number of rajas chose to align themselves withTernate. The kingdom of Kandahe on the main islandof Sangihe, by contrast, was Islamized by Sulu andmaintained close relations with the Buayan sultanate ofMindanao. The kingdom even established outposts onthe islands of Balut and Sarangani (Hayase 2007, 87).However, co-existence among the various kingdomsof different creeds was far from peaceful, as alliancesshifted and tensions often flared.For centuries, many Sangirese lived on the south coastof Mindanao and the Davao Gulf region or shuttledbetween islands. There were no clear boundariesthen between Sangihe and Mindanao (Ulaen 2003,48; Hayase 2007, 93). However, as Maguindanaoconsolidated its power under the leadership of SultanKudarat in the first half of the 17 th century, the Sangiresewere forced to subordinate themselves to his rule. Withthe decline of Maguindanao in the 19 th century, Sulugained political and economic preeminence not just as atrading post for forest and marine products for Chinesemarkets, but also as a center for the slave trade. Piratesfrom Sulu regularly raided parts of Sangihe and Talaudto capture slaves (Ulaen 2003, 37; Hayase 2007, 93).Meanwhile, with the ascendancy of the Dutch EastIndia Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie orVOC) in the region and the subsequent withdrawal ofthe Spanish and Portuguese, Sangihe and Talaud wereincreasingly drawn into the Dutch ambit. By 1677,the Noordereilanden were included in the VOC map,as the Dutch entered into agreements with the rajasand datus of Sangihe. Catholicism was banned, and anumber of faithful migrated to Manila (Hayase 2007,89). By 1825, Sangihe and Talaud were placed underthe provincial administration of Manado, renderingtraditional leadership obsolete. The colonial period,thus, sealed the fate of Sangihe and Talaud, makingit a unitary administrative entity at the fringes of theDutch domain. This presented a significant break fromits past, where the islands had represented a complexconstellation of kingdoms with linkages across the busytraffic zone of the Sulawesi-Sulu Sea. This effectivelytransformed Sangihe and Talaud from a trade zoneIsland LifeBoating on Tinakareng IslandAsian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows