584 
THE PIRACY AND SLAVE TRADE OF 
had a commercial resident in Sulu for some time, about the period 
of the first settling of Balambangan. Civil commotions had been 
frequent subsequently, and the breaking down of the government 
had covered the Sulu seas with fleets of formidable pirates. The 
great island of Mindanau, he remarks, is the original source of 
the Lanuns, the most formidable of all the eastern pirates, and who 
have in every age been greatly addicted to piratical practices. The 
Sultan is of the Islamite persuasion but the great mass of his sub¬ 
jects are pagans, in almost every respect similar to the aboriginal 
inhabitants of Borneo. The Bugis are well known at the present 
day as the most active traffickers in slaves in the Archipelago. Raf¬ 
fles ascribes their devotion to this branch of trade to the interfer¬ 
ence of the Dutch who fomented civil wars amongst them and excited 
rebellions and commotions in the different, states, so as to weaken 
and undermine and in many cases altogether to overthrow the 
power of the native governments, whose subjects were thus exempt¬ 
ed from control and left in a great measure to follow lawless courses. 
The rigid monopoly maintained by the Dutch of the spice trade 
and other branches of commerce, formerly principally carried on 
by the Macassar and Bugis tribes, also tended to demoralize these 
nations, who were forced to expend the energy aud love of enter- 
prize which has at all times so peculiarly distinguished them above 
all the other natives of the Archipelago, in less commendable pur¬ 
suits, amongst which piracy and slave dealing held a principal place. 
Raffles also noticed the evil influence of the Arabs, through whom 
in former as in latter times such a large proportion of the trade of 
the Archipelago was transacted, and whom he justly characterises 
as very frequently concerned in acts of piracy, and great promoters 
of the slave trade. The words of Raffles in reference to piracy 
and the slave trade in the Indian Archipelago are as applicable 
in the year 1849 as they were in 1811. “The practice of piracy 
however, is now an evil too extensive and formidable to be cured 
by reasoning, and must, at all events, he put down by a strong 
hand j though precautions against its recurrence may be taken in 
the system which shall be adopted with regard to the Malay states, 
by rendering every chieftain answerable for his own territory, and 
punishing in an exemplary manner refractory chiefs.” 
The kingdom of Johore was distinguished for the piratical habits 
of its inhabitants. From the Sultan downwards all were more 
or less engaged in piracy. The peculiar nature of this kingdom 
gave great facilities for the pursuit, its innumerable islands and 
creeks covered with thick screens of mangrove gave effectual 
concealment, and enabled them to lie in wait for the merchant ves¬ 
sel or prahu passing through the narrow straits. A deadly enmity 
is said to have prevailed between the Johore pirates and the La- 
nuns, so that when they met at sea, either would leave a vessel 
which they might be attacking in order to engage their enemy. 
The Johore empire maintained the reputation of being highly pira- 
