Makassar Spice Trade Port

Type Object Region Sulawesi Time 1561–1570

Makassar, capital of the Gowa Kingdom, was Sulawesi's most important spice and maritime center in the mid-16th century, controlling Makassar Strait s…

Timeline

1561–1563Port of Makassar · South SulawesiGowa ruler Tunipalangru expanded docks and warehouses in Makassar, implementing a low-tax free port policy that attracted Chinese and Malay merchants unwilling to submit to Portuguese Malacca's controls; port throughput grew rapidly.
1564–1567Makassar Strait · Makassar StraitCloves and nutmeg from the Moluccas were shipped by local merchant vessels to Makassar for distribution, then transshipped aboard large junks north to Malacca or directly to Java, making Makassar a transshipment hub for the eastern Indonesian spice trade.
1565–1570Waters off Makassar · Makassar BayThe Gowa Kingdom formed oared escort fleets to patrol the Makassar Strait, protecting merchant ships from pirates and rivals, safeguarding free port trade order by force, and consolidating control over eastern Indonesian sea lanes.

Sources

Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce, 1450-1680, Volume 1: The Lands Below the Winds — Anthony Reid (1988)