Aleixo Corte-Real

Aleixo Corte-Real (* 1886 in Soro , Ainaro , Portuguese Timor ; † May 5, 1943 in Hato-Udo , Ainaro, Portuguese Timor), better known under the name Dom Aleixo, was a Timorese ruler who after his death by was transfigured into a hero by the Portuguese colonial power . His birth name was Nai-Sesu (Nai-Seço) . But he converted to the Catholic faith in 1931 and was baptized.

Career

The ruins of the residence of Dom Aleixo in Ainaro

Dom Aleixo was the nephew of Nai-Cau , the traitor-liurai who sided with Portugal during the Manufahi rebellion . Here Aleixo fought between 1911 and 1912 on the side of the Portuguese against Boaventura , the Liurai of Manufahi . Dom Aleixo was already Liurai of Ainaro at this point.

In 1934 Dom Aleixo represented Portuguese Timor at the Great Colonial Exhibition in Porto .

During the Second World War , the Japanese landed on the island of Timor in 1942 . Australia organized the resistance against the Japanese, building on the support of the local population. However, there were also the Colunas Negras (the black pillars), Timorese militiamen on the side of the Japanese, who terrorized the civilian population until the end of the Japanese occupation. The Ainaro region remained unoccupied by the Japanese until October 1942. In contrast to other Liurais, Aleixo Corte-Real refused to work with the Japanese. On August 11, 1942, there was an uprising in Maubisse , in which Colunas Negras took action against Portuguese and pro-Portuguese Timorese. Dom Aleixo sent his son with 350 men to take action against the Colunas Negras . From March 1943, the Japanese began air raids against Ainaro and 7,000 to 8,000 Colunas Negras invaded to fight anti-Japanese forces.

In May, Dom Aleixo and his people had to flee Soro and retreat to Hato-Udo , where they met Quei-Bere, the boss of Foho-Ai-Lico . Quei-Bere had already switched to the Japanese side. He offered Dom Aleixo protection and took him to Hato-Udo , where they arrived on May 5, 1943. 500 Colunas Negras and regular Japanese troops reached the village on the same day and surrounded Dom Aleixo. The warriors from Ainaro ran out of ammunition and had to surrender. Dom Aleixo, his family, Nai-Chico (head of Hato-Udo) and other men were arrested. Legend has it that he refused to recognize Japanese authority and refused to surrender the Portuguese flag he was hiding.

Dom Aleixo saw no chance to escape. According to Japanese reports, he said goodbye to his children, told them to protect their mother and face his death. Then he tried to kill the Japanese guard at the entrance. After a brief struggle, Dom Aleixo was stabbed in the chest with a sword. Nai-Chico was shot dead by another Japanese man. The children of Dom Aleixos also intervened in the kamof and perished in the process. In the end, 80 men from Ainaro were dead, only three remained alive. The women were put in charge of Quei-Bere. A Timorese named Siri-Buti cut off Dom Aleixo and Nai-Chico's heads according to the Timorese war tradition ( Funu ) and brought them to Betano . Portuguese sources state that Dom Aleixo and his family were executed.

Honors

A memorial to Corte-Real was built in Ainaro , and it is still well preserved today. The administration office Dom Aleixo of the municipality of Dili was named after him.

In 1946, Corte-Real was posthumously awarded the Portuguese Order of Tower and Sword with the rank of commander .

literature

Humberto Leitão : O Régulo Timorense D. Aleixo Corte-Real , Edição do Corpo de Estudos da História da Marinha, Lisbon 1970.

Web links

Commons : Memorial to Dom Aleixo - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e AICL Colóquios da Lusofonia: D. ALEIXO CORTE REAL, UM EXEMPLO DE FIDELIDADE E PATRIOTISMO , 23 September 2011 , accessed on 7 May 2018.
↑ ^a ^b ^c Kisho Tsuchiya: Indigenization of the Pacific War in Timor Island: A Multi-language Study of its Contexts and Impact , pp. 17-18, Journal War & Society, Vol. 38, No. February 1, 2018.
↑ CIDADÃOS NACIONAIS AGRACIADOS COM ORDENS PORTUGUESAS , accessed on May 7, 2018.

personal data
SURNAME	Corte-Real, Aleixo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Dom Aleixo; Nai-Sesu (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	East Timorese resistance fighter in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH	1886
PLACE OF BIRTH	Soro , Ainaro , Portuguese Timor
DATE OF DEATH	May 5, 1943
Place of death	Hato-Udo , Ainaro, Portuguese Timor

[AICL-1] AICL Colóquios da Lusofonia: D. ALEIXO CORTE REAL, UM EXEMPLO DE FIDELIDADE E PATRIOTISMO , 23 September 2011 , accessed on 7 May 2018.

[Tsuchiya17-18-2] Kisho Tsuchiya: Indigenization of the Pacific War in Timor Island: A Multi-language Study of its Contexts and Impact , pp. 17-18, Journal War & Society, Vol. 38, No. February 1, 2018.

[3] CIDADÃOS NACIONAIS AGRACIADOS COM ORDENS PORTUGUESAS , accessed on May 7, 2018.