Lands of Red and Gold #99: Making Black of White
“And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.”
- Revelation 6:4, King James Version
* * *
“So small a thing, to bring the ruination of a kingdom.”
- Reputed words of Sultan Pangeran Ratu (also known as Abdul Kadir Kenari), after tasting the first sweet pepper sold by Dutch traders,
circa 1625. He was the ruler of Bantem, a sultanate in western Java and eastern Sumatra which depended on exporting (true) peppers for much of its wealth.
* * *
“The most vivid memory of Witte Stad [the White City] is in the approach, sailing with a fine breeze amidst clear skies, beneath the strength and light of the South-Land sun. First one sees the calm waters of the triple harbour, the grand expanse of the outer waters and then the sunlight glinting from the waters of the inner haven. As the ship draws nearer, one glimpses the two mountains that make up the heart of Witte Stad, colossal buildings gleaming white under the still-burning sun. Draw close to the docks, and one sees the giant statues and great-boughed trees that flank the wide boulevard, and one knows that one has come to a place of marvels...
Witte Stad is a pearl among cities, a place of grandeur and magnificence, despite being built by heathen hands. The streets are broad and clean, washed and fragrant, accompanied everywhere by the sound of rushing water [1]. The gardens, the buildings are erected on a grand scale, and impress with their majesty even when they distress with their pagan rituals. Everything appears to be as if newly-built, or at least well-repaired, and workmen are always on hand to keep the great city functioning [2]...
No other place in the world can compare to Witte Stad in the image it creates. For all of their pagan beliefs, the Atjuntja are masters of craftsmanship. Only Rome comes close as a city of marvels, and Rome is far dirtier and more crowded by far...”
- From
Au sud des Indes [
South of the Indies] by Jacques-Théodore Albert (often nicknamed the Marco Polo of Aururia).
Au sud des Indes, first published in 1683, was a widely-circulated account of his travels in the Third World, in service with the
Compagnie d’Orient [French East India Company], then with the
Svenska Ostindiska Companiet [Swedish East India Company], and then as a Nuttana trading-stockholder.
* * *
Renewal Season [3], 25th Year of King of Kings Walliac Tjaanuc [September 1692]
Milgawee (White City)
Tiayal (the Middle Country)
Walliac Tjaanuc, King of Kings, Voice of Divinity, waited alone in the Hall of Lorikeets, apart from his usual collection of bodyguards. Such had become his customary practice when meeting with Nedlandj representatives. Most of the men in the Middle Country who mattered already knew of the extreme influence that the Nedlandj wielded, but no reason to make that fact too blatant.
Banribeek [Abraham van Riebeeck] entered the Hall. Councillor of the Indies, so he had been dubbed, in the Nedlandj style. King of Fort Nassau [Fremantle], so he had been acclaimed, in the proper way, to make him a member of the blessed, and able to speak freely to the King of Kings [4].
For fifteen years, Banribeek and his predecessors had been aiding the Middle Country with soldiers and in maintaining stability, which was good. For fifteen years, he and his predecessors had sought to give commands phrased as advice, which was much less good. They sought to interfere with everything, with the collection of tribute, with the management of crop production, with the assignment of labour, with the distribution of slaves, with the mining of gold. Most of all, they tried to interfere with the worship of the Lord.
Polite greetings took up some time, with Banribeek offering best wishes for the King of Kings’ health, of his surviving wives and sons, compliments on his just rule, and so forth. All appropriate and well-phrased, though Walliac wondered how much sincerity there was behind it. This Councillor was more polished than his predecessors, but even the most diplomatic of Raw Men struggled to conceal that they viewed all proper Atjuntja as their inferiors.
In time, Banribeek got around to his usual final compliment. “The Middle Country fares well under Your Exalted Majesty’s rule, and is beginning its recovery from the great-sleep.”
Walliac shook his head in acknowledgement. The great-sleep [influenza] had taken its usual toll in lives, but this latest plague had seen little of the unrest and discontent that followed the previous plagues. Perhaps the people had become inured to the endless misery, perhaps most of the would-be rebels had died in previous epidemics... or perhaps the Lord was finally heeding the Appeasers.
“I would offer advice on how best to foster that recovery,” Banribeek said. A slight rewording of his usual declaration where he would move to giving his instructions and interference.
“Would this be your usual advice to disregard the ancient tribute systems to the favour of your
Company, or your usual advice to abandon the work of the Appeasers?”
Banribeek paused for a long moment, doubtless surprised by such unexpected bluntness. The King of Kings had always needed to choose his words carefully, before, but the latest events had given him more confidence.
In time, the Councillor said, “The Appeasers cause much distress, it is true. But–”
“The Appeasers have proven valuable, in finally turning the Lord’s attention away, and ameliorating the great-sleep [5].” Walliac did not know how true that was, but he knew that he could proclaim it loudly across the Middle Country. That should weaken the influence of any would-be rebels or the unfortunately many people who had turned from the worship of the Lord and Lady and hearkened to foreign cults. It should also weaken his reliance on the Nedlandj, their ever-interfering Councillors, and their ever-growing appetite for sun’s blood [gold].
“Did your rituals prevent great-sleep altogether? Or bloat-throat [diphtheria], or death-cough [pertussis/whooping cough] or all of the plagues before that?”
“Suffering is a part of life. It will never be removed entirely. Appeasing the Lord merely minimises the suffering,” the King of Kings said. Perhaps the Lord had truly been satiated by better sacrifices, or better volunteers, where before He had been disappointed. Perhaps even He had simply had enough of suffering. It mattered not. What did matter was the opportunity to restore more of his control over the Middle Country.
Banribeek showed more wit than his predecessors, recognising when he would not gain by pursuing one topic. “Then let us consider other matters where I can advise–”
“Yes, you can advise. Your Company is my firm ally, which I respect. I will consider any advice you offer. But you are not my sovereign.
I rule the Middle Country. That is what you must remember.”
“What do you mean, Your Exalted Majesty?”
Walliac smiled. “Your Company always makes requests. Today it might be a request to limit the Appeasers. Tomorrow it may be a request to intervene in trade because an Atjuntja merchant has insisted on terms which do not favour your Company. The day after it may be a request for more sun’s blood for providing the same number of soldiers. Always requests, always meant as demands.”
“We do not demand, we–”
“You make requests while gripping a musket,” the King of Kings said. “This must end. I will consider all requests you make. I will consider all advice. But the decision belongs with me, not with you.”
“I have heard Your Exalted Majesty’s words,” Banribeek said, speaking slowly, as if considering his own words, not just those of the King of Kings. “I remind Your Exalted Majesty that for our aid in the time of the death-cough, you agree to place the Middle Country under the protection of the Lords Seventeen.”
“You protect, but you shall not control,” Walliac said. “And do not press me too far. I welcome all that your Company has done to aid my throne, but you do not occupy my throne. I remind you, and your Lords Seventeen, that you are not the only Raw Men traders. The Drendj [French] and Inglidj [English] would welcome contact with us.”
“You have approached them?” Banribeek asked, with his voice containing a hint of iron for the first time.
“I have not. Not yet. But do not anger me.”
Banribeek bowed his head. “I must consider your words further, and discuss them with Batabya [Batavia / Jakarta]. May I have your permission to depart?’’
The King of Kings waved a hand in acknowledgement, and watched the Nedlandj Councillor walk away with his head bowed.
* * *
“We protected this heathen Emperor. Now let him see if his savage god can protect him from us.”
- Reputed words of Antonie Gerritsz Tasman, Governor-General of the (Dutch) East Indies, 1692, after hearing of the King of Kings’ bid to restore part of his sovereignty
* * *
May 1693
Fort Zeelandia [Geraldton, Western Australia]
“The great-sleep has been harsh in these lands, has it not?” said Cornelis Janssen, who rejoiced in the official rank of
onderkoopman [Underbuyer] for the Company, but whose practical role was much more flexible.
Yutamay inclined his head slowly in clear agreement. That proved two things. Firstly, he had enough experience dealing with Dutch traders to know to reverse his usual gestures. Second, that Yutamay remembered that he was wearing his overly large headdress, and so needed to move carefully. Probably moving quickly while wearing such a bloated decoration was the kind of lesson which a man only needed to learn once.
“Workers are ever fewer.” Yutamay spoke the Atjuntja language fluently, which was fortunate; Janssen would never trouble himself to learn the local dialect.
“And tribute demands do not decline in proportion, if I understand matters correctly,” Janssen said.
“The King of Kings has his needs, and will meet them as he sees fit,” Yutamay said. His tone was neutral, and his words could be taken two ways, of course. A clever man, this one, and cautious besides. He dressed like an over-stuffed peacock, but then that was the common practice of aristocracy here.
Yutamay was a noble of the subject people called the Binyin, who lived in this part of Teegal. One of the two or three greatest magnates among the Binyin, though it was hard to judge exact wealth when every aristocrat here sought to outdo every other in terms of ostentation and conspicuous celebration. Yutamay earned his wealth trading in white ginger and indigo rather than the more usual sweet peppers, but that had not stopped him being an astute trader.
“His Majesty’s needs grow ever greater, yes.” Janssen looked the noble directly in the eyes. “But that is not what the Company would ask of you.”
“So you say,” Yutamay said. Again cautious, but that fitted with his reputation.
“So I do. The Company would buy from you, but not command you. We have no need to demand labourers to work in the White City. The profit we would make from selling dyes and spices is all that we ask for.”
Yutamay leaned forward. “Tell me more.”
* * *
First Harvest Season, 27th Year of King of Kings Walliac Tjaanuc [15 October 1694]
Milgawee (White City)
Tiayal (the Middle Country)
Ships crowded the inner harbour of Witte Stad. Dutch ships, only; a dozen ships of the line and many smaller vessels converted for war. The smaller Atjuntja boats, such as they were, had been captured and burned, or fled out to sea. The few Nangu ships, and one wayward storm-ravaged French vessel, had wisely retreated to the northern harbour, out of immediate danger.
Abraham van Riebeeck [Banribeek] stood at the end of the dock, a dozen musket-carrying soldiers surrounding him, and a boat behind him, tied to the dock. An Atjuntja herald stood in front of him, also with a dozen musket-wielding soldiers around him. Van Riebeeck had not bothered to ask the herald’s name, but he wondered idly whether the Atjuntja soldiers had any powder left for the muskets. They could not have much, if any.
Pushing such thoughts to one side, van Riebeeck adopted his most formal tone. “My demand, on behalf of the Lords Seventeen, is that the King of Kings must restore all privileges of the Company, as they were at the start of the twenty-fourth year of his reign, and then abdicate his throne. If he refuses in any particular, he and all of this city will feel our thunder.”
If the herald was cowed at all, he did an excellent job of concealing it. “The King of Kings is confirmed by the thirteen kings and appointed by the Lady. He will not yield to mortal weapons or the demands of distant rebels. On his behalf, I order you to recognise his sovereignty, or quit the Middle Country for all time.”
“I have heard your words. Our response will come... shortly.” Van Riebeeck climbed back down into the boat, and his soldiers followed. The Atjuntja made no effort to stop them, and they began to row back out to the Dutch flagship, the
Ridderschap van Holland.
Soon enough, the boat reached the flagship. Van Riebeeck gave brief orders, and then signal flags ran up on the mast of the flagship. Soon after that, the dozen ships of the line were surrounded by rising smoke as the first broadside of cannon balls landed on the White City.
* * *
From: “The World Historical Dictionary”
Black City
A widespread although unofficial nickname given to Witte Stad under Dutch East India Company (VOC) rule. The name developed as a reference to the notorious sack of the city in 1694 by a VOC fleet under the command of Philips van Almonde.
Popular reports at the time by Nangu and French observers led to an enduring historical myth that Witte Stad had been struck by a massive naval bombardment that ruined the palace, statues, boulevards and temples which had been celebrated in travellers’ accounts for decades. In truth, the naval bombardment was largely symbolic. Only shore-facing statues and other nearby targets were seriously damaged by the bombardment, since the cannon of the era lacked the range or firepower to damage most of the city. Most of the destruction was performed by VOC soldiers using shore-based cannon, deliberate demolition using explosives, or other land-based action.
The obliteration of large parts of pre-colonial Witte Stad led to widespread condemnation across Europe and Aururia. VOC directors were rebuked privately by the Stadtholder for excessive and wanton destruction. The notoriety of the action led to Witte Stad being long popularly referred to as Zwarte Stad [Black City] or equivalent names in other European languages.
* * *
“Thank the Neverborn that Kirunmara is not built by the sea.”
- Regent Djirbal Yadji, 1695, after hearing of the sack of the White City
* * *
Sugar, Spice and All Things Rice: The Story of the East India Companies
By CW Penner (1996). Cumberland [Geelong, VIC], Durigal: Chelsea Todd.
While initially appearing in the Orient as traders, before long the Companies starting establishing permanent control of small regions, and in time became fully-fledged colonial powers.
The VOC was initially the most assertive of the Companies, actively seeking to create tributary states and protectorates, and in some cases assume direct rule. To this end, it intervened in local disputes, and often provoked them, to further its own influence. In Java, the VOC slowly expanded its direct-ruled territory, and extended protectorates over those regions outside of its formal control, such as taking advantage of a succession crisis in Banten in 1668-72 to take over some territory and make the rump sultanate a protectorate.
In Teegal, the VOC first invoked formal protection over the region in 1676 and then forcibly deposed the Emperor in 1694 when he tried to re-assert some independence. While one of the Emperor’s sons was placed on the throne as nominal Emperor, the protectorate continued, and in truth all power resided with the VOC. Actions such as these marked the transition from a multinational trading corporation to a territorial administrator and colonial ruler.
* * *
Kookaburra Day, Cycle of Clay, 5th Year of His Majesty Guwariyan the Second (2 December 1694)
Jugara [Victor Harbor, SA]
Kingdom of Tjibarr
Roemer Huygens, one of many Nedlandj who rejoiced in the title Councillor of the Indies, looked displeased. “Why have you called me here so urgently? What do our actions in restoring our protection in Witte Stad matter to you?”
Lopitja son of Wemba, called Lopitja the White by those who did not know him well, kept his expression neutral. It was an art at which he had much practice. Not for the first time, he concluded that these Nedlandj had no subtlety. Why open a conversation with such pointless aggression? Anger had its uses, in the right time and place, but there was never a place for letting anger control you.
“I called you to deliver, in friendship, some insights into the problems which your Company has caused itself with its deeds,” Lopitja said.
“We have fixed a problem, not created one,” the Councillor said.
Yes, lacking in subtlety indeed. Lopitja occasionally thought that the Drendj had some insight. At least they tried to understand the local people they dealt with, even if only to better manipulate them or convert them. Other Raw Men mostly lacked insight. “You have solved a problem in a way which breeds a dozen more.”
“The Atjuntja Emperor sought to break the agreements he had sworn with us. We reacted to preserve our agreements. I do not see how any of this matters to Tjibarr.”
“It matters greatly,” Lopitja said. He allowed a slight tone of anger to enter his voice. “We have agreements with your Company, too. How can we trust you now, after you sack cities for no good cause? What worth is your protection, if you will turn on the people you claim to protect?”
“Those barbarians sacrifice people to their god,” Huygens said.
“You knew about their beliefs when you offered your protection,” Lopitja said calmly. In truth, he found the Atjuntja human sacrifice as detestable as the Nedlandj did, but admitting that would only distract the Councillor from the important message. “You call them barbarians, but who other than barbarians would destroy such a grand city? Battles will be fought, but they should be fought between armies, not by bombarding cities.”
“You say we should have done nothing?” Huygens sounded pained. “Their Emperor had threatened to seek protection from England or France.”
Lopitja started to nod, then, remembering who he was dealing with, shook his head instead. “That was a negotiating tactic, not a genuine threat. Surely your Governor-General was astute enough in matters political to recognise it for what it was. Your Company’s hooks are dug deep into the Middle Country; they could never abandon you for another. All you needed to do was tug on one of those hooks, not drive a spear through their heart.”
“We did what we needed to regain control.”
“You used a cannon to kill a rat,” Lopitja said. “The rat is dead, but you ruined the house to kill it.”
“I still don’t see why–”
“How can you not see? All of the Great South Land will hear of this, as we have, and they will know it for the abomination that it is. Their trust will be hard to regain.”
Many of the peoples in Aururia would not have heard of the sack of the White City yet, particularly the backward peoples of the Sunrise Lands [east coast]. But they
would hear. Lopitja and the Whites would make sure that the tale of the sack was told everywhere, through suitably exaggerated rumour. The more mistrust there was of the Nedlandj, the better.
Huygens said, “Are you suggesting that you, too, want to revoke agreements?”
“I suggest nothing,” Lopitja said. “I simply wanted to advise you of the blunder which was made, in the hope that you do not weaken your Company any further.” And with any luck, to spread some confusion and dissension within the Nedlandj Company’s ranks.
Lopitja shrugged, then continued, “But if you ask about trade, I can only speak for the Whites, of course. We do not plan to change any of our trade agreements with you. We value our bargains.” Including the bargains which the Whites had made with the Drendj and Inglidj, though they sold by far the greatest part of their goods to the Nedlandj. For the moment.
Huygens was silent for a long moment, considering. Even if lacking in subtlety, the Councillor appeared to possess the wisdom to recognise good sense when he heard it. Just so long as he did not have the insight to look deeper; there was more than one game being played here.
“Thank you for the advice, then. What made it so urgent, though?”
“Only that you might have had plans for other actions which would blacken your Company’s name even further,” Lopitja said. And so that the Nedlandj Company’s officers noticed the mistrust that would soon be spreading across Aururia, once rumours of the sack were given life. Let them see their influence weakening elsewhere, and with any good fortune, the Inglidj or the Drendj replacing Nedlandj influence amongst one or two of the Sunrise Landers. Let the Nedlandj believe ever more that they
needed Tjibarri goodwill, to maintain their position in Aururia.
With the Nedlandj now in firm control of the Middle Country, they were one step closer to becoming the dominant Raw Men power across all Aururia. That could not be permitted. What the Whites needed, what Tjibarr needed, was the Raw Men to continue competing amongst themselves in Aururia, but with none of them ever winning a decisive victory in that struggle.
We do not need Jugara to be turned into another Black City.
* * *
“Never will I make a peace of trade [commercial pact] with the Nedlandj.”
- Dimbhula, King of the Skin [King of Hunter Valley], 1695
* * *
[1] The White City, along with many other Aururian cities, is a clean place by European standards. This is because sanitation is something which most European cities of this era did very poorly, despite being an ancient technology; the Minoans and Harappans had better sanitation in 2000 BC than most European cities had in AD 1650.
[2] Even with the much-reduced population from the endless plagues, labour draftees and slaves kept the core parts of the White City well-maintained during this era. The outlying regions – where Albert did not venture much – were less adequately looked after.
[3] The Atjuntja divide the calendar into six unequal seasons. First Harvest (mid-September to late October) is when they harvest early-flowering wattles. Second Harvest (late October to mid-December) is when they harvest late-flowering wattles. Summer runs from mid-December to the end of February. Third Harvest (March to late May) is when they harvest root crops such as yams. War Season (last few days of May until first week of August), or roughly southern hemisphere winter, is the down-time for crops and when most wars are conducted, together with labour drafts. Renewal (second week of August to mid-September) is when plants begin to regrow and replacement crops are planted if required (often not needed, for perennial crops).
[4] To the Atjuntja, the King of Kings is divine, and even to hear him speak is to commune with the divine. Only those who are “blessed” are permitted to hear the King of Kings’ voice. This status applies to most of the nobility as a matter of course, and to palace servants and bodyguards for whom it is impossible to prevent them occasionally hearing the King of Kings speak, but otherwise it is a rare honour.
[5] Great-sleep (influenza) is the last major virgin-field epidemic to strike the agricultural areas of Aururia during the Time of the Great Dying, appearing during the late 1680s and early 1690s. (Smallpox and typhoid both appeared earlier in the 1680s [6]). Influenza had struck more northerly regions earlier, but the rapid progress of symptoms, plus already lowered population from previous epidemics, meant that it did not spread south before this time. While the death rates are still high from this plague, the presence of a related disease (blue-sleep) means that the death toll has not been quite as severe as the toll that influenza caused in virgin-field epidemics elsewhere in the world. From here on, the Aururian population will still decline until approximately the 1740s, due to recurrent epidemics, wars and other consequences of European contact, but the population decline will be more gradual.
[6] While both smallpox and typhoid caused considerable death, neither were devastating epidemics on the scale of some previous diseases such as measles. For smallpox, this is because the first continent-wide epidemic was the less deadly Variola minor, while for typhoid, it caused epidemics in some regions but was less universal. The appearance of smallpox, typhoid and influenza means that all the major Old World epidemic diseases that are likely to appear in the Third World during this era have already done so. The remaining diseases that are unlikely to appear include bubonic plague, which historically did not appear in Aururia until the steamship era and which will be similarly constrained here, and cholera which historically did not spread out of the Indian subcontinent until the nineteenth century.
* * *
Thoughts?
P.S. And with this, I’m hoping to get the pace of
Lands of Red and Gold moving faster. Act II has taken much longer to write than I had planned, but hopefully things will be quicker from here. Post #100 will be a general overview and bringing things up to date to 1700. From there, events will move on to the great crusades (1710s/1720s) and then the Nine Years’ War: Aururian Front (1740s/1750s) which will conclude Act II.
P.P.S. The Turtledoves are now open, and
Lands of Red and Gold is a contender for the Continuing Ancient Timeline category. The poll is up
here. Vote early, vote often (and even, if you feel like it, vote for LoRaG).
