Latenritatta Towappatunru Daeng Serang Datu Mario Riwawo Arung Palakka Malampee Gemmekna Petta Torisompae Matinroe ri Bontoala 1 (born in 1634, died in 1696), more simply known as Arung Palakka , was a prince ( arung ) of the bugis kingdom of Bone in the south of the Indonesian island of Celebes .

In 1660, with an army of some 10,000 Bugis, he took part in a rebellion against the Makassar kingdom of Gowa , suzerain of Bone, who was then under the reign of Sultan Hasanuddin(reigned 1653-69). The Makassars crush the Bugis. Arung Palakka and a small group of followers take refuge in the neighboring island of Buton . In 1663, the Dutch of the VOC ( Dutch East India Company ) acceded to his request to settle in their headquarters in Batavia on the island of Java . The Dutch were indeed impressed by the warlike qualities of the Bugis, which become an essential element of their strategy against Gowa.

After the final defeat of Hasanuddin in 1669, Arung Palakka became the most powerful prince of the south of Celebes. He took the title of Arumpone , that is to say “sovereign of Bone”, in 1672. He decided to ignore the traditional system of government of Bugis, based on a council that elected the sovereign, debated and took the political decisions. He relied totally on the military capabilities of the group of refugees who had followed him into exile.

Arung Palakka appoints lone men to vassal states, including Gowa. He, in turn, undertakes a series of campaigns against the principalities who refuse to submit to his sovereignty. He even leads an army in Java to help the VOC fight against Prince Trunajaya of Madura . During his reign, many Bugis and Makassar flee south of Celebes and serve various princes in the archipelago, intervening, besides Java, Lombok , Sumbawa , Borneo , Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula , see Siam (the current Thailand ). Until the xviii th century, the mercenaries of Celebes will be considered as a plague by the other inhabitants of the Indonesian archipelago.

Notes

  1. ↑ The title Bugis were accumulative, starting with the lowest. For example “Datu Mario Riwawo”, “lord of Mario Riwawo”, refers to the birthplace of Palakka.

Bibliography

  • Ricklefs, MC, A History of Modern Indonesia since c. 1300