SULTANS, RAJAS, SANGAJI AND KHIMALAHA : CULTURE AND POWER IN THE MALUKU ISLANDS ACCORDING TO THE EARLY PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH SOURCES早期葡萄牙和西班牙原始資料有關馬魯古群島文化與權力的記載
This article examines how Portuguese and Spanish sources from the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries constructed narratives about the culture and exercise of power in the Maluku Islands, emphasizing the articulation between local political forms (sultans, kingdoms/rajas, communities, and stat...
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| Published in: | Review of Culture |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Articles |
| Published: |
Instituto Cultural de Macau
2013
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40042/2881 |
| _version_ | 1877196270342242304 |
|---|---|
| author | Manuel Lobato |
| author_autocomplete | Manuel Lobato |
| author_browse | Manuel Lobato |
| author_facet | Manuel Lobato Manuel Lobato |
| author_sort | Manuel Lobato |
| container_title | Review of Culture |
| container_title_str | Review of Culture |
| container_volume | 42 |
| container_volume_str | 42 |
| description | This article examines how Portuguese and Spanish sources from the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries constructed narratives about the culture and exercise of power in the Maluku Islands, emphasizing the articulation between local political forms (sultans, kingdoms/rajas, communities, and statuses such as sangaji and khimalaaha) and the categories of governance employed by the Iberian empires. The central argument maintains that the political-cultural “rupture” associated with the European arrival, although frequently cited, must also be read as a product of imperial disputes—particularly the “Moluccas Question”—and of the needs for documentary, diplomatic, and informational legitimation. Methodologically, the study proceeds through a comparative reading of historiographical production and primary narratives, contrasting chroniclers and travel accounts, with special attention to how the Spanish, supported by extensive administrative reports, produced multiple “accounts” of expeditions (including the Magalhães–Delcano route), while part of the Portuguese writing emerged from itinerant circuits and learned mediations. The conclusions show that the Iberians not only described Maluku but reshaped its hierarchies, converting local cultural systems into a political language suited to asserting sovereignty and strategic knowledge of the spice routes. |
| first_indexed | 2026-09-11T02:56:57Z |
| format | Articles |
| genre | Articles |
| genre_facet | Articles |
| hierarchy_browse | Review of Culture{{{_ID_}}}zotero-coll-76L3BRGH |
| hierarchy_parent_id | zotero-coll-76L3BRGH |
| hierarchy_parent_title | Review of Culture |
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| issn | 1682-1106 |
| last_indexed | 2026-09-11T02:56:57Z |
| latest_content_date | 2026-09-11T02:56:57Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publishDateRange | 2013 |
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| publishPlace | Macau |
| publisher | Instituto Cultural de Macau |
| publisherStr | Instituto Cultural de Macau |
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| spelling | SULTANS, RAJAS, SANGAJI AND KHIMALAHA : CULTURE AND POWER IN THE MALUKU ISLANDS ACCORDING TO THE EARLY PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH SOURCES早期葡萄牙和西班牙原始資料有關馬魯古群島文化與權力的記載 This article examines how Portuguese and Spanish sources from the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries constructed narratives about the culture and exercise of power in the Maluku Islands, emphasizing the articulation between local political forms (sultans, kingdoms/rajas, communities, and statuses such as sangaji and khimalaaha) and the categories of governance employed by the Iberian empires. The central argument maintains that the political-cultural “rupture” associated with the European arrival, although frequently cited, must also be read as a product of imperial disputes—particularly the “Moluccas Question”—and of the needs for documentary, diplomatic, and informational legitimation. Methodologically, the study proceeds through a comparative reading of historiographical production and primary narratives, contrasting chroniclers and travel accounts, with special attention to how the Spanish, supported by extensive administrative reports, produced multiple “accounts” of expeditions (including the Magalhães–Delcano route), while part of the Portuguese writing emerged from itinerant circuits and learned mediations. The conclusions show that the Iberians not only described Maluku but reshaped its hierarchies, converting local cultural systems into a political language suited to asserting sovereignty and strategic knowledge of the spice routes. Instituto Cultural de Macau Macau Review of Culture Articles 2013 Manuel Lobato |
| spellingShingle | SULTANS, RAJAS, SANGAJI AND KHIMALAHA : CULTURE AND POWER IN THE MALUKU ISLANDS ACCORDING TO THE EARLY PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH SOURCES早期葡萄牙和西班牙原始資料有關馬魯古群島文化與權力的記載 Manuel Lobato |
| title | SULTANS, RAJAS, SANGAJI AND KHIMALAHA : CULTURE AND POWER IN THE MALUKU ISLANDS ACCORDING TO THE EARLY PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH SOURCES早期葡萄牙和西班牙原始資料有關馬魯古群島文化與權力的記載 |
| title_autocomplete | SULTANS, RAJAS, SANGAJI AND KHIMALAHA : CULTURE AND POWER IN THE MALUKU ISLANDS ACCORDING TO THE EARLY PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH SOURCES早期葡萄牙和西班牙原始資料有關馬魯古群島文化與權力的記載 |
| title_full | SULTANS, RAJAS, SANGAJI AND KHIMALAHA : CULTURE AND POWER IN THE MALUKU ISLANDS ACCORDING TO THE EARLY PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH SOURCES早期葡萄牙和西班牙原始資料有關馬魯古群島文化與權力的記載 |
| title_fullStr | SULTANS, RAJAS, SANGAJI AND KHIMALAHA : CULTURE AND POWER IN THE MALUKU ISLANDS ACCORDING TO THE EARLY PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH SOURCES早期葡萄牙和西班牙原始資料有關馬魯古群島文化與權力的記載 |
| title_full_unstemmed | SULTANS, RAJAS, SANGAJI AND KHIMALAHA : CULTURE AND POWER IN THE MALUKU ISLANDS ACCORDING TO THE EARLY PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH SOURCES早期葡萄牙和西班牙原始資料有關馬魯古群島文化與權力的記載 |
| title_short | SULTANS, RAJAS, SANGAJI AND KHIMALAHA : CULTURE AND POWER IN THE MALUKU ISLANDS ACCORDING TO THE EARLY PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH SOURCES早期葡萄牙和西班牙原始資料有關馬魯古群島文化與權力的記載 |
| title_sort | sultans, rajas, sangaji and khimalaha : culture and power in the maluku islands according to the early portuguese and spanish sources早期葡萄牙和西班牙原始資料有關馬魯古群島文化與權力的記載 |
| url | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40042/2881 |
| zotero_collection_key | 76L3BRGH |