Penguasaan maritim dan aktiviti perdagangan antarabangsa kerajaan-kerajaan Melayu

Maritime control and international trade activities of Malay kingdoms

Abstract

Kapal dan pelaut Melayu merupakan antara yang terbaik dalam kegiatan maritim tradisional dunia. Ia telah wujud lebih lama daripada mereka yang lebih dipopularkan dalam bidang ini – Phoenicians, Greek, Rom, Arab dan juga Vikings. Ketika masyarakat benua sibuk mencipta pelbagai kenderaan di darat dengan penciptaan roda, masyarakat Melayu sudah boleh menyeberang laut dengan perahu-perahu mereka. Sejak air laut meningkat kesan daripada pencairan ais di kutub dan glesiar di benua, sekitar 10,000-6,000 tahun yang lampau, orang Melayu telah mula memikirkan alat pengangkutan mereka lantaran mereka telah terkepung di pulau-pulau akibat kenaikan paras laut dan tenggelamnya Benua Sunda. Justeru terciptalah pelbagai jenis perahu dan alat pengangkutan air yang dapat membantu pergerakan mereka. Sejak zaman itu, orang Melayu telah mampu menguasai laut sekitarnya. Ketika orang-orang Phoenician dan Mesir baru pandai berbahtera di pesisir laut tertutup Mediterranean dan Sungai Nil, orang Melayu telah melayari samudra luas; Teluk Benggala, Lautan Hindi dan Lautan Pasifik. Sekitar abad ke-2SM perahu-perahu Melayu yang besar-besar telah berlabuh di pantai timur India dan tenggara China, sementara masyarakat bertamadun tinggi lain baru sahaja pandai mencipta perahu-perahu sungai dan pesisir. Pada mulanya perahu-perahu Melayu hanya digunakan untuk memberi perkhidmatan pengangkutan hinggalah masuk abad ke-4 apabila komoditi tempatan Nusantara mula mendapat permintaan di peringkat perdagangan antarabangsa. Pelbagai jenis rempah ratus, hasil hutan dan logam diangkut oleh perahu-perahu itu untuk menyertai perdagangan dunia yang sedang berkembang. Perkapalan dan perdagangan ini membawa kekayaan dan kemakmuran kepada pemerintah tempatan kerana sebahagian besar daripada perusahaan itu dimonopoli oleh mereka. Namun apabila pihak penjajah Barat mula bertapak di kawasan ini, perindustrian ini mula merosot dan hapus terus setelah bahagian kedua abad ke-19. Bermulalah era orang Melayu dan rajanya tersorot ke daratan menjadi petani-petani yang mengharapkan belas kasihan penjajah.

Malay’s ships and sailors are among the best in the world of traditional maritime activities. It has existed longer than those most popular in this field - Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs and even Vikings. As the world was busy creating land vehicles with the invention of the wheel, Malays was able to explore the sea with their ships. Since sea level increases due to the melting ice at the poles and glacier on the continent, around 10,000 to 6,000 years ago, Malays have begun to create their maritime transportation due to the rising sea levels and sinking of the Sunda continent. Thus, various types of ships and maritime transportations were created to assist with their mobility. Since then, Malays had dominated the surrounding seas. Before Phoenician and Egyptian managed to sail in the enclosed sea in the Mediterranean coast and the Nile, Malays already managed to sail in world oceans; Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. During the 2nd century, Malay’s ships managed to reach the east coast of India and southeast China, meanwhile other civilizations just learned to create ships and comprehend the knowledge of maritime. Initially, Malay’s boats and ships were used only as transportation, but in the beginning of the 4th century when Malay Civilization began to receive demand for its commodity, maritime transportations have been used for international trade. Various types of spices, forest products and metals were transported by the ships in the growing world trade. These shipping and trade brought wealth and prosperity to the local government as most of the enterprises were dominated by them. However, when the Western colonialists began to establish a foothold in this continent, this industry began to decline and disappear immediately after the second part of the 19th century. This is the beginning of the farming era which Malays and their Kings were turned into farmers who expect the mercy of the Western invaders.