Sonbai Besar - Defection From The Portuguese

Defection From The Portuguese

The relation between the Topasses and the Sonbai Besar princedom oscillated between cooperation and hostility, and did not entail a colonial rule in the conventional sense. The lords of the princedom delivered sandalwood to the coast where it was picked up by Portuguese and other vessels, and brought to Batavia or Macao. There were large-scale conflicts with the Topasses in 1711-1713 and 1722. In 1748 the Sonbai ruler Alfonso Salema and the Atoni kings of Amfoan and Amanuban rebelled and then fled to the Dutch in Kupang. Alfonso Salema brought with him a large part of his followers. This was a major catalyst for a full-scale confrontation between the VOC post in Kupang and the Topass leader Gaspar da Costa. In the Battle of Penfui in November 1749 the attacking Topass army was crushed by the VOC-affiliated forces of Kupang, and a large part of West Timor fell under Dutch influence.