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| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Maluku, Flores, Jakarta, Surabaya, Aceh | |
| Languages | |
| Indonesian, Portuguese, Tetum | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholic, Protestantism, Calvinism, Sunni Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Betawi, Indo people, Luso-Asians & Luso-Indians |
Portuguese Indonesians are native Indonesians with Portuguese ancestry or have had adopted Portuguese customs and some practices such as religion.
As a political entity in the eastern part of Insular Southeast Asia, the Torpasses (also called Black Portuguese or Bidau) [1] [2] arose with the Portuguese settlement on the small Island of Solor (from the 1560s), using Solor as a stepping-stone to the trade in sandalwood on Timor.
Briefly before 1600, Portuguese traders left Solor and settled in Larantuka. The traders were in conflict with the Dominicans in Solor, because they were more interested in trade than in Christianization. In 1613, the Dutch occupied Solor and the Dominicans moved to Larantuka, too. When the Dutch East India Company conquered Solor in 1613,also the Portuguese community moved to Larantuka on Flores. [3] [4]
In the beginning Larantuka was an interstation for the trade of sandalwood from Timor and became the Portuguese trading center of South East Indonesia. It became even a place of refuge for deserters of the Dutch East India Company (VOC).
In spite of continuous hostilities with the Dutch, the Topasses managed to obtain a steady foothold on Timor after 1641, and part of the population of Larantuka moved over to West Timor in the late 1650s, as a response to the establishment of the VOC in Kupang in 1653. They were able to defeat Dutch military expeditions on Timor with the help of Timorese allies, in 1653, 1655, 1656 and 1657.
The peace treaty between Portugal and the Netherlands in 1663 removed the acute threat from the latter. By this time, the Topasses consisted of an ethnic mix of Portuguese, Florenese, Timorese, Indians, Dutch deserters, etc. Through their military skills they were able to dominate large parts of Timor, with their center in Lifau in the present-day Oecussi-Ambeno enclave.
Two waves of immigration brought additionally boost. As the Dutch conquered Malacca in 1641, they brought many Portuguese speaking people from Malacca to Batavia including Portuguese descent as slave, in 1661 they were released after given an option to abandon Catholicism for Protestantism, those who accepted were allowed to settle in Kampung Tugu and therefore recognized as Mardijker, while those who refused were banished to Flores. It is presumed that those who were banished would find themselves settling in Larantuka and the population grew healthily. Two villages, Wureh and Konga, also accommodated the new people.
The Larantuqueiros turned out a loose, but mighty power in the region, which influence reached far beyond the settlement. The core cell was the federation of Larantuka, Wureh and Konga. Theoretically they were subordinated to Portugal. But in practice they were free. They had no Portuguese administration and they did not pay taxes. Letters of the Lisbon government were ignored. For long years there was a bloody struggle for power between the families da Costa and de Hornay. At the end they shared the power.
The Larantuqueiros made "alliances" with the indigenous people of Flores and Timor. They followed a certain strategy; the most notable raja was converted to Catholicism by military pressure. He had to take an oath of allegiance to the king of Portugal and thereon the title Dom was granted to him. The raja was allowed to rule his folk autonomous, but in war he had to supply auxiliary forces.
Portuguese influence was reduced to the areas of Solor, Flores [5] and Timor, now in East Nusa Tenggara, following the defeat in 1575 at the hands of residents of Ternate. Decisive were also the Dutch conquest of Ambon, North Maluku and Banda, and a general failure to sustain control of trade in this region. [6]
Compared with the initial ambition of dominating Asian trade, their influence on the culture of Indonesia is relatively small:
With the arrival of the Dutch and their conquest of Malacca, the Portuguese had their trading network disrupted. The Dutch also caused much of the conflict in the area which lasted for generations. The Portuguese, however continued the spread of early Christianity in Indonesia. Until now, the Christian population mostly found in eastern Indonesia. [12]
In Kampung Tugu (Koja, North Jakarta) several Mardijker people were settled. Some of these people are descendants of the Portuguese or of the Goese, [13] while some are descendants of slaves who are able to speak "Portuguese", and were brought to Batavia (now Jakarta) as prisoners of war after the Dutch VOC conquered Malacca in 1641; many have since converted to Protestantism. [14]
In Lamno, Aceh, a community of people often noted for their blue eyes and fairer skin complexion are purportedly Muslim descendants of Portuguese. [15] According to Indonesian media, they, or at least most of them, were wiped out by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. [16] [17] [18] [ better source needed ]
Despite the little legacy, relations between the two countries are recently improving, especially after the declaration of independence of Timor-Leste [19] [20]
| Name | Birth and Death | Occupation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| José Abílio Osório Soares | 1947–2007 | Last Timor Timur Governor | Portuguese descent |
| Andre Juan Michiels | 1971 | Keroncong figures Toegoe and Chairman of the Family of Kampung Toegoe | Portuguese descent |
| Don Andre Martinhus Diaz Vieira de Godinho | Larantuka leader, Flores Island | Portuguese descent | |
| Gaspar da Costa | 1749-? | The leader or lieutenant general of the Portuguese-speaking Topasses | Portuguese descent |
| Manuel Godinho de Erédia | 1563-1623 | 17th century Portuguese Malaccan writer and cartographer. | Bugis-Portuguese descent |
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. Including Komodo and Rinca islands off its west coast, the land area is 14,731.67 km2, and the population was 1,878,875 in the 2020 Census ; the official estimate as of mid-2023 was 1,962,405. The largest towns are Maumere and Ende. The name Flores is of Portuguese origin, meaning "Flowers".
West Timor is an area covering the western part of the island of Timor, except for the district of Oecussi-Ambeno. Administratively, West Timor is part of East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. The capital as well as its main port is Kupang. During the colonial period, the area was named Dutch Timor and was a centre of Dutch loyalists during the Indonesian National Revolution (1945–1949). From 1949 to 1975 it was named Indonesian Timor.
Portuguese Timor was a colonial possession of Portugal that existed between 1702 and 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies.
Portuguese creoles are creole languages which have Portuguese as their substantial lexifier. The most widely-spoken creoles influenced by Portuguese are Cape Verdean Creole, Guinea-Bissau Creole and Papiamento.
Adonara is an island in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, located east of the larger island of Flores in the Solor Archipelago. To the east lies Lembata, formerly known as Lomblen. Adonara is the highest of the islands of the archipelago, reaching an altitude of 1,659 metres, and it has an area of 529.75 km2. It is situated administratively in the East Flores Regency of East Nusa Tenggara province.
Kupang, formerly known as Koepang or Coupang, is the capital of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. At the 2020 Census, it had a population of 442,758; the official estimate as of mid-2023 was 466,632. It is the largest city and port on the island of Timor, and is a part of the Timor Leste–Indonesia–Australia Growth Triangle free trade zone. Geographically, Kupang is the southernmost city in Indonesia.
Solor is a volcanic island located off the eastern tip of Flores island in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, in the Solor Archipelago. The island supports a small population that has been whaling for hundreds of years. They speak the languages of Adonara and Lamaholot. There are at least five volcanoes on this island which measures only 40 kilometres by 6 kilometres. The island's area is 226.34 square kilometres, and it had a population of 34,029 at the 2020 Census. The official estimate as at mid 2022 was 35,891.
The Mardijker people refer to an ethnic community in the Dutch East Indies made up of descendants of freed slaves. They could be found at all major trading posts in the East Indies. They were mostly Christian, of various ethnicities from conquered Portuguese and Spanish territories, and some with European ancestry. They spoke Mardijker Creole, a Portuguese-based creole, which has influenced the modern Indonesian language.
Mardijker is an extinct Portuguese-based creole of Jakarta. It was the native tongue of the Mardijker people. The language was introduced with the establishment of the Dutch settlement of Batavia ; the Dutch brought in slaves from the colonies they had recently acquired from the Portuguese, and the slaves' Portuguese creole became the lingua franca of the new city. The name is Dutch for "freeman", as the slaves were freed soon after their settlement. The language was replaced by Betawi creole Malay in Batavia by the end of the 18th century, as the Mardijker intermarried and lost their distinct identity. However, around 1670 a group of 150 were moved to what is now the village and suburb of Tugu, where they retained their language, there known as Papiá, until the 1940s.
Koja is a district of North Jakarta, Indonesia. It is known as the location of Kampung Tugu, a historic Portuguese-influenced neighborhood in North Jakarta.
Larantuka is a kecamatan (district) and the seat of East Flores Regency, on the eastern end of Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Like much of the region, Larantuka has a strong colonial Portuguese influence. The town had 37,348 inhabitants at the 2010 census and 40,828 at the 2020 census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 41,500. This overwhelmingly (95.4%) Roman Catholic area enjoys some international renown for its Holy Week celebrations.
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to establish a colonial presence in the Indonesian Archipelago. Their quest to dominate the source of the spices that sustained the lucrative spice trade in the early 16th century, along with missionary efforts by Roman Catholic orders, saw the establishment of trading posts and forts, and left behind a Portuguese cultural element that remains in modern-day Indonesia.
Topasses were a group of people led by the two powerful families – Da Costa and Hornay – that resided in Oecussi and Flores. The Da Costa families were descendants of Portuguese Jewish merchants and Hornay were Dutch.
Amanatun was an Atoni princedom situated in what is today Indonesian West Timor, which existed up to 1962. It was also known as the princedom of Onam. The area once included one of the best ports where the commercially important sandalwood was loaded on Dutch and Portuguese ships.
Indo people are a Eurasian people of mixed Asian and European descent. Through the 16th-18th centuries, they were known by the name Mestiço. To this day, they form one of the largest Eurasian communities in the world. The early beginning of this community started with the arrival of Portuguese traders in South East Asia in the 16th century. The second large wave started with the arrival of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) employees in the 17th century and throughout the 18th century. Even though the VOC is often considered a state within a state, formal colonisation by the Dutch only commenced in the 19th century.
Larantuka Malay is a contact variety of Malay spoken in and around the city of Larantuka on the island of Flores in Indonesia, and in two enclaves: the village of Wure on the island of Adonara and four villages on Konga Bay, about 40 kilometers south of Larantuka on Flores, and serves more generally as a lingua franca on the eastern tip of Flores and nearby islands. There are approximately 23,000 native speakers of Larantuka Malay. Second language speakers of Larantuka Malay are primarily found in and around the city of Larantuka and through the eastern part of Flores island, as well as the nearby islands of Adonara, Solor and Lembata (Lomblen), and natively speak Lamaholot or other languages closely related to Lamaholot, which, until recently, were believed to be dialects of Lamaholot.
Indonesia and Portugal established diplomatic relations in 1950. Portuguese explorer and trader first reached Indonesian archipelago during the Age of Exploration in the 16th century in order to search for spices in the Indies.
The Kingdom of Larantuka was a historical monarchy in present-day East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. It was one of the few, if not the only, indigenous Catholic polities in the territory of modern Indonesia. Acting as a tributary state of the Portuguese Crown, the Raja (King) of Larantuka controlled holdings on the islands of Flores, Solor, Adonara and Lembata. It was later purchased by Dutch East Indies from the Portuguese, prior to its annexation in 1904.
Kampung Tugu is a historical neighborhood located in the northwestern Jakarta in the island of Java. Kampung Tugu grew from the land granted by the government of the Dutch East Indies to the converted Mardijker people in the 17th century. From this land, a Christian settlement grew and developed its own culture. Kampung Tugu is one of the oldest Christian neighborhoods in the western part of Indonesia. Today, the Christian neighborhood of Kampung Tugu is part of the Administrative Village of Tugu in Koja Subdistrict of North Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Battle of Penfui took place on 9 November 1749 in the hillside of Penfui, near modern Kupang. A large Topass army was defeated by a numerically inferior Dutch East India Company force following the withdrawal of the former's Timorese allies from the battlefield, resulting in the death of the Topass leader Gaspar da Costa. Following the battle, both Topass and Portuguese influence on Timor declined, eventually leading to the formation of a boundary between Dutch and Portuguese Timor which precipitated into the modern border between West Timor and East Timor.
Portuguese diaspora | ||
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| Africa (Luso-Africans) |  | |
| Americas | ||
| Asia (Luso-Asians) | ||
| Middle East | ||
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| Oceania | ||
