The Age of Aceh and the Evolution of Kingship 1599-1641

One can say that the history of the Sultanate Aceh Dar-as Salam was profoundly embedded in the history of the Straits region. Portuguese conquest of Malacca merely revolutionized the region's history. Aceh was Portuguese Malaccäs nemesis.The antagonism between them is usually viewed by historians as rising from greed for trade and territory,almost denying that differences in ideology and faith were important indicators for the struggle. The first Dutch expedition to Aceh in 1599 breaking into Portuguese trade monopoly, was another watershed in the history of the region which significantly altered the geo-political scene. The Dutch closed a military alliance with Aceh against the Portuguese in which trade contracts were the conditions for assistance.Their relationship was fragile but did not lead to war.The balance of power notion may have caused inaction. The VOC took Malacca from the Portuguese in 1641 without Aceh's assistance.

The author (1947) received her PhD in History at Leiden University (2011). She developed and conducted a course in International Relations at the Andalas University of West Sumatra. She was a tutor at the Faculty of Media Studies, University of Zimbabwe and a guest lecturer History at the USM in Malaysia. She published in several journals.