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Traditional Perahu of the Spice Islands

Type Object Region Southeast Asia Time 1590–1600

The perahu was a wooden sailing vessel common in the Maluku and neighboring islands in the late 16th century, with twin lateen sails and a shallow-dr…

Timeline

  1. 1590–1595Banda Islands · Banda IslandsLocal shipwrights built shallow-draft perahus with hardwood frames and woven rigging, able to navigate coral reef channels and handle short-haul distribution of island produce such as nutmeg.
  2. 1592–1600Port of Ambon · MalukuIn the 1590s perahus ran fixed monsoon routes between Ternate, Tidore, and Ambon, carrying cloves to Portuguese buying stations for transshipment to ocean-going merchant ships.
  3. 1598–1600Maluku Islands · MalukuAs European rivalries intensified in the late 16th century, local sultans and shipowners armed perahus with firearms and oarsmen, making them serve as both merchant vessels and armed fast craft in inter-island spice transport.

Sources