Alauddin Ibrahim Mansur Syah
Sultan Alauddin Ibrahim Mansur Syah, also known as Ali Alauddin Mansur Syah (died 1870) was the thirty-third
The way to power
Originally called Tuanku Ibrahim, he was the son of Sultan Alauddin Jauhar ul-Alam Syah (1795-1823) and the full brother of Sultan Alauddin Muhammad Da'ud Syah I (1823-1838). When his brother gained the throne, Tuanku Ibrahim was made Raja Muda (junior raja) and was one of the main assistants to the relatively weak sultan. The latter was succeeded by a minor son, Alauddin Sulaiman Ali Iskandar Syah, in 1838. However, Tuanku Ibrahim immediately took power as the acting sultan; as such he was called Alauddin Ibrahim Mansur Syah. He tried to tighten the family ties to his nephew by giving him his daughter Sribanun to marry. At length that did not help.
Overshadowing his nephew
Alauddin Ibrahim Mansur Syah is considered the most enterprising and forceful sultan to have ruled Aceh since the great days of the seventeenth century. The regional headmen (panglimas) and chiefs had considerable autonomy within the sultanate. A number of small "pepper rajas" ruled enclaves along the coast, boosted by the flourishing international pepper trade. The new acting sultan strove to bring a degree of cohesion and obedience among the components of the Sultanate. This cohesion was briefly threatened in the 1850s. The nominal sultan, his nephew Alauddin Sulaiman Ali Iskandar Syah, came to age by 1854 and demanded the prerogatives due to him. Alauddin Ibrahim Mansur Syah was unwilling to cede his powers and a bitter civil strife followed. The various panglimas and uleëbalangs chose sides in the conflict. However, Alauddin Ibrahim Mansur Syah was able to maintain the capital Kutaraja. When his nephew died in 1857, he was left the sole ruler and was secure on the throne until his demise in 1870.[1] The economy expanded in his time. New pepper plantations were opened in the northeast, between Lhokseumawe and Tamiang, by 1850. Many labour migrants arrived from other parts of Aceh and several uleëbalangs benefited from the new commercial opportunities. The sultan provided lands and trading rights to uleëbalangs who supported him.[2]
Dutch advances
When Alauddin Ibrahim Mansur Syah came to power in 1838, the Dutch had just concluded the
Diplomatic measures
In view of the Dutch threat Alauddin Ibrahim Mansur Syah searched for allies among the great powers. He entrusted a wealthy pepper trader, Muhammad Ghauth who was going to
Dispute over Sumatra's east coast
The treaty of 1857 contained little importance, and there were unsolved issues about the border between Aceh and the
References
Literature
- Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch-Indië (1917), Vol. 1. 's Gravenhage & Leiden: M. Nijhoff & Brill.
- Klerck, E.S. de (1975) History of the Netherlands East Indies. Amsterdam: B.M. Israël NV.
- Langen, K.F.H. van (1888), De inrichting van het Atjehsche staatsbestuur onder het sultanaat. 's Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff.
- Lee Kam Hing (2006) 'Aceh at the Time of the 1824 Treaty', in Anthony Reid (ed.), Veranda of Violence: The Background to the Aceh Problem. Singapore: NUS Press, pp. 72-95.
- Reid, Anthony (2010) 'Aceh and the Turkish Connection', in Arndt Graf et al. (eds), Aceh: History, Politics and Culture. Singapore: ISEAS, pp. 26-38.
- Veth, P.J. (1873) Atchin en zijne betrekkingen tot Nederland. Leiden: G. Kolff.
- Zainuddin, H.M. (1961) Tarich Atjeh dan Nusantara, Jilid I. Medan: Pustaka Iskandar Muda.