"Makassar, colonial his ..." a Makassar Travel Page by global_explorer

Makassar, or Ujung Pandang as it also is called, is big, noisy and most of it are not charming. You will find most places of interest close to the sea where the original settlement was set up. Even this part is no longer an “old town”, tough. The attractions are more like oasis in the dessert of concrete. Makassar once was the capital of Gowa, one of the bugiskingdoms. In those days it was one of the most important tradingports in the whole region. Pottery, metalware, textile, fooditems and spices all passed trough Makassar. The city was quite cosmopolitan. Here malays, chinese, indians, bugis and other tribal people worked and lived side by side in harmony. There was also many european traders, both the portugese and the english had great success here. The dutch in the other hand acted too arrogant to do it well. When Melaka fell to the dutch, Makassar became a boomtown housing hundreds of traders driven away from Melaka. The portugese had a good time here as they enjoyed good facilities and the support from the sultan. The dutch regarded Makassar as a threath to them ann launced an attack together with other bugiskingdoms who envyed Makassars wealty possition. The dutch assigned 31 ships and 2600 men to the task, and in 1669, after a one year long siege, Makassar was taken. Now the city became totaly different over night. The european traders was driven away, but thanks to support from the sultan, the portugese managed to stay for several years.