Oceania · The Islamic sultanates
Sultanate of Gowa
to 1669
Gowa was a Makassarese kingdom in South Sulawesi that, together with its ally Tallo, formed the twin kingdom of Makassar — the greatest maritime and commercial power of eastern Indonesia in the 17th century. It became a Muslim sultanate in the early 1600s and championed free trade against the Dutch spice monopoly, welcoming Portuguese, English, and other European merchants.
- Existed
- to 1669
- Shown on the map
- 1512–1669
- Peak area
- 3k km²
- Region
- Oceania
Overview
Gowa was a Makassarese kingdom in South Sulawesi that, together with its ally Tallo, formed the twin kingdom of Makassar — the greatest maritime and commercial power of eastern Indonesia in the 17th century. It became a Muslim sultanate in the early 1600s and championed free trade against the Dutch spice monopoly, welcoming Portuguese, English, and other European merchants. Its most celebrated ruler was Sultan Hasanuddin (I Mallombasi Daeng Mattawang, 16th Sultan, r. 1653–1669), dubbed by the Dutch the "Rooster of the East."
Decline and legacy
Conflict over the VOC's spice monopoly in Ambon escalated (blockade of 1654–1655; treaties of 1656 and 1659 that failed to hold) into the Makassar War (24 November 1666 – 24 June 1669). The VOC under Admiral Cornelis Speelman, allied with Arung Palakka's Bugis of Bone and Soppeng, defeated Gowa. Speelman's expedition of 24 November 1666 comprised 21 vessels and some 1,860 men (818 Dutch sailors, 578 Dutch soldiers, 395 Ambonese/Bugis troops). Hasanuddin was forced to sign the Treaty of Bongaya (18 November 1667), which banned non-Dutch Europeans from Makassar, ceded the fortress that became Fort Rotterdam, reduced Gowa to a vassal, and transferred its dependencies to the VOC. Hasanuddin abdicated on 29 June 1669 and died on 12 June 1670; he was proclaimed an Indonesian National Hero on 6 November 1973. Gowa's fall dispersed Makassarese warriors (such as Karaeng Galesong) across the archipelago and made Bone the dominant polity in South Sulawesi.
Common questions
- What was the Sultanate of Gowa?
- Gowa was a Makassarese kingdom in South Sulawesi that, together with its ally Tallo, formed the twin kingdom of Makassar — the greatest maritime and commercial power of eastern Indonesia in the 17th century. It became a Muslim sultanate in the early 1600s and championed free trade against the Dutch spice monopoly, welcoming Portuguese, English, and other European merchants.
- When did the Sultanate of Gowa exist?
- The Sultanate of Gowa existed to 1669. On this map it is drawn 1512–1669.
- How large was the Sultanate of Gowa?
- At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Sultanate of Gowa covered about 3,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
- How did the Sultanate of Gowa end?
- Conflict over the VOC's spice monopoly in Ambon escalated (blockade of 1654–1655; treaties of 1656 and 1659 that failed to hold) into the Makassar War (24 November 1666 – 24 June 1669). The VOC under Admiral Cornelis Speelman, allied with Arung Palakka's Bugis of Bone and Soppeng, defeated Gowa.
Sources
This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory. Its bibliography names the English Wikipedia article for each polity and its key rulers as the basis of these profiles, supplemented by Encyclopaedia Britannica, the World History Encyclopedia, museum and UN sources, Pacific news organisations, and the scholarship of Ricklefs, Andaya, Coedès, Carey, Sri Margana and Smith & Smith. The article this entry is anchored on:
- Wikipedia — Sultanate of Gowa en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultanate_of_Gowa
This entry was last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
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