Gaspar Da Costa - The Battle of Penfui

The Battle of Penfui

Gaspar da Costa's relations with the Dutch colonizers in Kupang in westernmost Timor were generally poor. In 1735 a Topass army seriously threatened Kupang, and in 1746-49 the Topasses intervened on the Island of Roti, a Dutch dependency close to Timor. In 1748 a number of Timorese princedoms in West Timor, who were usually clients to the Portuguese, turned rebellious against Gaspar da Costa. As the Topass forces fought back, lots of Timorese refugees headed for Kupang and the Dutch, who sympathized with the rebels. Especially, the ruler of the prestigious Sonbai princedom joined the Dutch with the bulk of his followers. Gaspar da Costa raised a comprehensive army consisting of Topasses and levies from the various Timorese princedoms still under his control. The Dutch calculated it to be 20,000 men or even more. The professed aim of Gaspar da Costa was to bring the fugitives back and to eliminate the Dutch garrison in Kupang. The Topass-Timorese army camped at Penfui, at present-day El Tari Airport east of Kupang, where they made fortifications of stone and earth. On 9 November 1749 the Dutch sent out a multi-ethnic force consisting of Europeans, Solorese, Sawunese, Rotinese, mardijkers (non-whites in Dutch service), Timorese, etc. In the ensuing Battle of Penfui they attacked the fortifications of Gaspar da Costa with success. The weakness of his large but non-uniform army became apparent as big contingents fled the field in the beginning of the battle. When Gaspar da Costa attempted to leave the battlefield on horseback he was pierced by a Timorese spear, while his followers were slaughtered in the thousands. The Topass defeat meant that the Dutch were able to extend their sphere of influence to most of West Timor during the following decade. In this way the battle laid the ground for the colonial division of Timor in two halves, which was permanented in the nineteenth century, with consequences until today.