Portuguese Timor () was a Portuguese colony on the territory of present-day Timor-Leste from 1702 until 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia).
The first Europeans to arrive in the region were the Portuguese in 1515.West, p. 198. Dominican friars established a presence on the island in 1556, and the territory was declared a Portuguese colony in 1702. Following the beginning of the Carnation Revolution (a Lisbon-instigated decolonisation process) in 1975, a civil war broke out and then East Timor was invaded by Indonesia. However, the invasion was not recognised as legal by the United Nations (UN), which continued to regard Portugal as the legal Administering Power of East Timor. The independence of East Timor was finally achieved in 2002 following a UN-administered transition period.C. R. Boxer, "Portuguese Timor: A Rough Island Story, 1515-1960." History Today (May 1960) 19#5) pp 349-355.
History
Early Europeans
Prior to the arrival of European colonial powers, the island of Timor was part of the trading networks that stretched between India and China and incorporating Maritime Southeast Asia. The island's large stands of fragrant sandalwood were its main commodity.Schwartz (1994), p. 198 It was sandalwood that attracted European explorers to the island in the early sixteenth century, and early European presence was limited to trade. The first European powers to arrive in the area were the Portuguese in the early sixteenth century followed by the Dutch in the late sixteenth century. Both came in search of the fabled Spice Islands of Maluku. In 1515, the Portuguese first landed near modern Pante Macassar. Dutch and Portuguese sources relate that the island was divided into two collections of kingdoms. Around sixteen kingdoms were grouped into in the west, while in the east around fifty kingdoms were part of Belos.
In 1556 a group of Dominican friars established the village of Lifau. Trade was controlled by Portuguese settlements on other Lesser Sunda Islands. The first Portuguese settlement in the area was set up on the nearby island of Solor in the 1560s. Due to the lack of direct Portuguese control in the area, with limited support from both Malacca and Goa, the sandalwood trade fell under the control of the Dominican missionaries. These exports were crucial for the prosperity of Macau. Despite the early presence of Dominican missionaries, the missionaries struggled to convert the native inhabitants. Even after the local rulers declared themselves as Christians, adoption of Christianity by the masses was not widespread, and conversions were mostly superficial. As late as 1941, Christians were still few in number.
In 1613, the Dutch took control of the western part of the island. Over the following three centuries, the Dutch would come to dominate the Indonesian archipelago with the exception of the eastern half of Timor, which would become Portuguese Timor. In 1605 Ambon and Tidore passed to Dutch control, and the following year Ternate was ceded to Spain (before later coming under Dutch control in 1663). Solor was also lost in 1613, leading the Portuguese capital to move to Flores. In 1621 the Banda Islands fell to the Dutch, before Malacca fell in 1641, and Solor shortly afterwards in 1646. The fall of Solor led the Portuguese capital to be moved to Kupang on Timor's west, before that was lost again to the Dutch in 1652. Only then did the Portuguese move to Lifau in what is now East Timor's Oecusse exclave. The Portuguese had engaged with Lifau recently, having sent forces in 1641 to aid the Queen of Lifau/Ambeno.
The Portuguese introduced maize as a food crop and coffee as an export crop. Timorese systems of tax and labour control were preserved, through which taxes were paid through their labour and a portion of the coffee and sandalwood crop. The Portuguese introduced mercenaries into Timorese communities and Timorese chiefs hired Portuguese soldiers for wars against neighbouring tribes. With the use of the Portuguese musket, Timorese men became deer hunters and suppliers of deer horn and hide for export.Taylor (2003), p. 379.
The Portuguese introduced Catholicism to Portuguese Timor, as well as the Latin writing system, the printing press, and formal schooling. Two groups of people were introduced to East Timor: Portuguese men, and Topasses (Larantuqueiros). The Portuguese language was introduced into church and state business, and Portuguese Asians used Malay in addition to Portuguese. Under colonial policy, Portuguese citizenship was available to men who assimilated the Portuguese language, literacy, and religion; by 1970, 1,200 East Timorese, largely drawn from the aristocracy, Dili residents, or larger towns, had obtained Portuguese citizenship. By the end of the colonial administration in 1974, 30 percent of Timorese were practising Catholics while the majority continued to worship spirits of the land and sky.
Establishment of Portuguese Timor
In 1702, António Coelho Guerreiro was appointed Governor and Captain General of the islands of Timor and Solor and other regions in the South by Caetano de Melo e Castro, the Viceroy of Goa, ending the autonomy of the Dominican missions. He was sent to Lifau, which became the capital of all Portuguese dependencies in the Lesser Sunda Islands. (The former capitals were Solor and Larantuka.) Portuguese control over the territory was tenuous, particularly in the mountainous interior. Dominican friars, the occasional Dutch raid, and the Timorese themselves, competed with Portuguese merchants. Other disruptions came from the local Topasses, restive vassal kingdoms, and the south Sulawesi-based Gowa and Talloq sultanates. The control of colonial administrators was largely restricted to the Dili area, and they had to rely on traditional tribal chieftains for control and influence. Direct European presence was limited to a handful of individuals, and only one or two ships made the trip between Lifau and Macau each year. This weakness allowed the Dutch East India Company (VOC) to establish influence in the area despite Portugal's claims.
In 1716 the Viceroy of Macau, César de meneses, banned the sale of Timorese sandalwood to non-Portuguese areas, creating tension with the Topasses. In 1718 governor was excommunicated by bishop , leading the governor to flee, the bishop to take over. This buildup of tension following more direct rule led to the leaders of some local kingdoms meeting in the kingdom of Camenassa on the southern coast, coming to an agreement to throw off Portuguese authority. A renewal of this rebellion in 1725 led to a campaign by Portuguese forces and allies from the north coast. The rebellion included 15 kingdoms, including Oecusse and Ermera. This culminated in the October 1726 Battle of Cailaco, in which the Portuguese laid siege to a Timorese stronghold for six weeks. The Portuguese destroyed the fort, although they did not entirely suppress the revolt until 1728.
In 1732 the Kingdom of Maubara asked the VOC for protection, although it is unclear if an agreement was reached, and the kingdom continued to pay tribute to Portugal. In 1755 the Dutch began a concerted effort to increase their influence in Solor and Timor, and in June 1756 nobles from 77 polities signed contracts with the VOC representative in Kupang, including Maubara. A permanent fort, Fort Maubara, established with VOC support, created friction with the Portuguese. Portuguese allies in the east of the island attacked Maubara at Portuguese behest in 1760, but were repulsed with aid from the VOC.
A power struggle in Lifau at this time involving Portuguese officials and Topasse leaders also saw attempted interference by the VOC representative in Kupang, who travelled to Lifau but was killed there. The new VOC Governor shifted focus back to the western parts of Timor.
Establishment of Dili as capital of Portuguese Timor
Continuing struggles led to the killing of Portuguese Governor in Lifau in 1766. Shortly after, Portuguese administration shifted East, when Governor António José Teles de Meneses moved to the Kingdom of Motael due to the Topasse threat. This 1769 founding of the city of Dili was the first effective European occupation in the east of the island. This shift was accompanied by renewed relations between Portugal and more Eastern kingdoms, and control in Maubara became again contested.
The sandalwood trade proved highly profitable, although Portugal was unable to establish a desired monopoly. Instead, the harvesting and trade of sandalwood was uncontrolled. The lack of Portuguese authority outside of Dili left harvesting under the control of local rulers, and no cooperation was sought by Portugal from these local rulers. There was also little cooperation from the local population, many of whom believed sandalwood trees were home to spirits. Nonetheless, the wood became so important to the colony that it could be used to pay taxes. The lack of control meant that sandalwood forests were not maintained, and as they disappeared throughout the 18th century the sandalwood trade declined. Imports at Macau become mixed in with sandalwood from other export markets, such as Hawaii, Fiji, and the Marquesas Islands. , Governor from 1807 to 1810, blamed a failure to harvest on local conflicts and the seizure of trading ships by the English.
The Napoleonic Wars in the early 1800s saw Dutch and Portuguese influence weaken again, as Portugal saw its shipping interrupted and Dutch territories in the area were occupied by the British forces. However, local authorities for both continued to contest control on Timor. This period saw Dutch claims to Maubara win out. When the Dutch regained control of their territories in 1816, cash crops such as coffee and tea were spread, including to Maubara, where coffee grew well. Direct control however remained limited to non-existent.
A fire in Dili destroyed the existing records of the colony in 1799. New instructions were issued by the Viceroy in Goa on 5 April 1811, to deal with the "decadent and abandoned state of the island of Timor". In 1815, a new Governor, , began to promote the cultivation of coffee, and to a lesser extent sugar cane and cotton.
Detachment of Portuguese Timor from Portuguese India In 1844 Timor, along with Macau, become administratively separated from Goa. In 1866 Timor was placed under the control of Macau, and officially divided into 11 districts. Effective control however remained with local rulers throughout this period, and development remained limited to Dili. Coffee production continued to expand, becoming especially prominent in the north coast near Dili, such as in Liquiçá, Motael, and Hatulia.