Duarte Souto Maior da Costa

Duarte Souto Maior da Costa , or Dom Duarte for short, was Liurai (traditional Timorese ruler) of Manufahi in what was then Portuguese Timor .

During this time Portugal's sovereignty over the colony was only nominal. The real power lay with the Liurais, who ruled the numerous small empires. Manufahi was one of the most powerful empires with a population of 42,000. From the middle of the 19th century, Portugal tried to expand its control and introduced taxes, which led to numerous uprisings . From 1895 to 1900 Dom Duarte fought together with his eldest son Boaventura in the War of Manufahi against the Portuguese colonial rulers.

In 1874 and 1894 Dom Duarte had officially recognized the sovereignty of the Portuguese king and offered the payment of taxes (fintas) , but had actually not fulfilled the obligation since 1860. In 1895 he did not pay again and also refused to assign 20 men for serf labor. Dom Duarte informed Governor José Celestino da Silva that Manufahi was ready to trade with the Portuguese and receive Catholic missionaries, but not to give up his independence. In August the governor therefore sent a campaign against Dom Duarte. Dom Duarte, then united with the rulers from Raimea ( Raemean , Raimean ) and Suai and other areas to resist through a blood pact. Even before Celestino da Silva had mobilized his troops, Dom Duarte succeeded in September 1895 in defeating a column of several hundred soldiers in Portuguese service and stealing their weapons. Portugal then sent a force with 3,000 fighters. The fighting lasted for 50 days without either side being able to win the war. The rainy season ended the fighting for the time being. Again in 1896 Dom Duarte declared his willingness to pay the Fintas and also allowed the establishment of a Portuguese military post on his territory. However, he refused to swear allegiance to the governor in the colonial capital Dili .

In fact, Dom Duarte continued not to pay his taxes until September 1900 and did not allow the Portuguese to have a base on his land. Governor Celestino da Silva therefore assembled a force of 100 officers, 1500 Moradores and 12,300 Timorese warriors. They now moved south in three columns against Manufahi and his allies. Maubisse was taken on October 18 and Letefoho on October 26 . It took four days to defeat Babulo . Dom Duarte holed up on Mount Leolaco . Attacks and counter-attacks dragged on from November 6th to 19th. Smallpox and dysentery broke out among the Portuguese, and Dom Duarte's men were sick with cholera and dehydrated. In view of the impending defeat, Governor Celestino da Silva declared on November 21 that he would grant mercy and returned to Dili. In return, Dom Duarte abdicated as Liurai in favor of his eldest son Boaventura. For Celestino da Silva, given the tenacity of the Timorese resistance, this compromise was acceptable. Boaventura rose again unsuccessfully against the Portuguese in 1907 and 1911 and led with the Manufahi rebellion one of the largest uprisings in Portuguese colonial history .

See also

• History of East Timor

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Frédéric B. Durand: History of Timor-Leste, p. 70, ISBN 978-616-215-124-8 .
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Geoffrey C. Gunn: History of Timor , pp. 88–95 ( Memento of the original from March 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Technical University of Lisbon (PDF file; 805 kB) 
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Frédéric B. Durand: Three centuries of violence and struggle in East Timor (1726–2008), p. 6. (PDF; 243 kB), Online Encyclopedia of Mass Violence, (online), June 7, 2011, Accessed May 28, 2012, ISSN  1961-9898 .
4. ^ The case of Alferes Francisco Duarte “O Arbiru” (1862-1899). (PDF; 386 kB), accessed on March 25, 2013.
5. ↑ "Part 3: The History of the Conflict" (PDF; 1.4 MB) from the "Chega!" Report of the CAVR (English)