Dutch Malacca


Dutch Malacca was the longest period that Malacca was under foreign control. The Dutch ruled for almost 183 years with intermittent British occupation during the Napoleonic Wars. This era saw relative peace with little serious interruption from the Malay kingdoms due to the understanding earlier on forged between the Dutch and the Sultanate of Johor in 1606. This time also marked the decline of the importance of Malacca. The Dutch preferred Batavia as their economic and administrative centre in the region and their hold in Malacca was to prevent the loss of the city to other European powers and subsequently the competition that would naturally come with it. Thus in the 17th century, with Malacca ceased to be an important port, the Johor Sultanate became the dominant local power in the region, due to the opening of its ports and the alliance with the Dutch.

Dutch conquest of Portuguese Malacca

In the early 17th century, the Dutch East India Company began the campaign to destroy Portuguese power in the East. At that time, the Portuguese had transformed Malacca into an impregnable fortress, controlling access to the sea lanes of the Straits of Malacca and the spice trade there. The Dutch started by launching small incursions and skirmishes against the Portuguese. The first serious attempt was the siege of Malacca in 1606 by the third VOC fleet from the Dutch Republic with eleven ships, under Admiral Cornelis Matelief de Jonge that led to the naval battle of Cape Rachado. Although the Dutch were routed, the Portuguese fleet of Martim Afonso de Castro, the Viceroy of Goa, suffered heavier casualties and the battle rallied the forces of the Sultanate of Johor in an alliance with the Dutch and later on with the Acehnese.
The Dutch with their local allies assaulted and wrested Malacca from the Portuguese in January 1641. This combined Dutch-Johor effort effectively destroyed the last bastion of Portuguese power, removing their influence in the Malay archipelago. As per the agreement with Johor in 1606, the Dutch took control of Malacca and agreed not to seek territories or wage war with the Malay kingdoms.

Administration of Malacca

Malacca was controlled as a colony of the VOC. All the chief administrators of Malacca were Dutch governors except for the brief period that the city was under British Residents during the Napoleonic Wars. The governors and residents list is as follows:

Governors of Malacca

GovernorsFromUntil
16411642
16421645
Arnout de Vlamingh van Oudtshoorn16451646
Jan Thyszoon Payart16461662
Jan Anthonisz van Riebeeck16621665
16651679
Jacob Joriszoon Pits16791680
Cornelis van Quaelberg16801684
Nikolaas Schaghen16841685
François Tack16851686
Dirk Komans 16861686
Thomas Slicher16861691
Dirk Komans 16911692
Gelmer Vosberg16921697
Goevert van Hoorn16971700
Bernhard Phoonsen17001704
Johan Grotenhuys 17041704
Karel Bolner17041707
Pieter Rooselaar17071709
Willem Six17091711
Willem Moerman17111717
17171726
Johan Frederik Gobius17261730
Pieter Rochus Pasques de Chavonnes17301735
Roger de Laver17351741
Willem Bernard Albinus17411748
Pieter van Heemskerk17481753
Willem Dekker17531758
David Boelen17581764
Thomas Schippers17641771
Jan Crans17711775
Pieter Gerardus de Bruijn17751788
17881795

ResidentsFromUntil
Archibald Brown17951795
Thomas Parr17951796
Richard Tolson17961797
David Campbell17971798
Aldwell Taylor17981803
Willem Jacob Cranssen 1802
William Farquhar18031818

GovernorsFromUntil
Jan Samuel Timmermann Thijssen18181822
Adriaan Koek 18221824
Hendrik Stephanus van Son18241825

The Town and Fortress of Malacca

The Dutch improved and expanded the Portuguese fortress and built walls to protect the harbour and expanded city. During their rule the famous city hall or Stadthuys was also constructed, which still stands today.