The Fall of Srivijaya
During the last days of Srivijaya empire, the center of power shifted to
Malayu in Muaro
Jambi, Jambi,
and later moved upstream to Dharmasraya. After the collapse of Srivijaya, there was
no major political power to control the town, however some Malay nobility
families remain in town. At this time, the last Srivijaya prince, Parameswara,
emerged. He tried to revive the city as an independent center of commerce once
again and breaking from Majapahit overlordship. Majapahit took this action as
rebellion and sent massive punitive naval expedition to Palembang. Parameswara fled to Tumasik with Sang Nila Utama. There he killed the governor of the Tumasik Thai nationals, and when the Thai army attacked Tumasik, Parameswara and his followers moved to Malacca in the Malay Peninsula, and established the Kingdom of Malacca. Parameswara converted to Islam in order to marry the daughter of Pasai, and changed his name to Sultan Iskandar Shah. Malacca flourished in the 15th century, and Parameswara became the sole ruler of the Malacca Strait and waters around it.
After the fall of Palembang to Majapahit invasion, there was no major political power to control the town. The town was left in chaos and desolation. At that time in Palembang and the surrounding villages local militias forces began emerging, such as the Great Commander in the lower Yellow River Musi, The Sigentar Alam group in the hills, the Tuan Bosai on river upstream, Commander Gumay groups along the Bukit Barisan, and so on. In addition, some merchants from China made this city as their trade base, also inviting pirates from China. Orang laut also made Palembang as their home, and these rough sailors without government and authority has transformed Palembang as a pirate haven for many years to come. Chinese pirates are known to investing the area around Malaccan straits, until Cheng Ho naval expedition on behalf of Ming dynasty defeated these pirates.
Sultanate of Palembang
Colonial period
The walled city of Palembang with its three
fortresses in 1682.
In 1619 the VOC opened a trading post in Palembang. Although
it was closed a few years later by Jan Pieterszoon Coen, some contact was
maintained with the town. The VOC's Resident in Jambi ordered pepper from
the traders of Palembang, who sailed to Batavia
themselves to sell the pepper. Because of the low profit yield for the Company,
Batavia asked the sultan for permission to reopen the trading post in the town.
The contract with the sultan gave the VOC Resident authority over all foreign
ships calling at the harbor of Palembang. This enabled the Company to guard
against illicit trading. Despite these privileges, the Company was still dependent
on the sultan, who decided whether the Resident's demands were acceptable or
not.In the 18th century Palembang supplied around 50,000 pounds of white pepper annually.
After the fall of the Sultanate of Palembang Darussalam, Palembang became a subordinate kingdom within the Dutch East Indies. The main victory of Dutch forces under de Kock occurred in 1821. Some of the sultans of surrendered states succeeding Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II tried to rebel against the Dutch. All attempts failed and resulted in the burning of imperial buildings.
After that Palembang was divided into two major prefectures, and settlementsin Palembang were divided into regions and Ulu Ilir.
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