Journal of Islamic History and Manuscript
Vol. 2 No. 2 (2023): Journal of Islamic History and Manuscript

Spices and Diplomacy of the Banten Sultanate with Foreign Kingdoms in the 16th- 19th Century

Syukron Jauhar Fuad Faizin (Independent Researcher)



Article Info

Publish Date
27 Oct 2023

Abstract

The Banten Sultanate was a pre-Indonesian Islamic kingdom from the 16th to early 19th centuries. Banten developed as a kingdom based on trade, its main commodity being pepper. In the 17th century, pepper became a spice with high value, so Banten used it as a diplomatic tool apart from being a trade commodity. As the destination of many foreign traders, it encouraged Banten to communicate with several kingdoms. Through historical research methods and a literature review, this article attempts to see diplomacy as one of the political activities of pre-Indonesian kingdoms. As a result, it can be seen that the Banten Sultanate carried out its diplomatic activities with several kingdoms, for example, Mecca (Ottoman), the Netherlands, England, Denmark, and France. This activity can be known from Banten's correspondence with the foreign kingdom and is supported by the chronicle narrative as colonial historiography. In this activity, the sultan of Banten often included several gifts, one of which was a large amount of pepper. Therefore, letters and other manuscripts can show Banten's position in diplomacy with other kingdoms, and pepper has an important role.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

jihm

Publisher

Subject

Humanities

Description

Journal of Islamic History and Manuscript publishes scientific articles on historical studies and Islamic manuscripts spanning from the classical, medieval and modern periods with the following focus of research: political history; social history; economic history; oral history; intellectual ...