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Despite close supervision by the VOC in the implementation of its monopoly, there
were still a number of traders entering the Moluccas and buying mainstay commodities,
namely spices. Such trading activities by sailors and is branded as “illegal trade” (wilde
the handle). Commodities were obtained due to the close relationship that had been built
along with the commodity-producing farmers. The commodities were taken to the Sulu
Maritime Trade Zone area (southern Philippines) and could be traded with the Spaniards
in Manila, or the Portuguese in Macao, and the British in Bengkulu (Sumatra) and Malacca
Peninsula. But when the British successfully re- established the Free Port (Penang) in
Malaya, it attracted traders from South Sulawesi (popularly called The Bugis Traders) to
focus their activities on that commercial port city.
When the Chinese products, especially tea, got a vast market in Europe, VOC began to
establish and strengthen trade relations with the tea-producing countries. To clear the way
for the trade, the holders of VOC political control made a policy to open its port city to the
merchant ships of China (commonly known as wangkang or junk) in 1731, although there
were only a few ports, among others: Batavia, Semarang, Surabaya, Banjarmasin, and
Makasar. It was not considered to hamper policy on spice monopoly, because the Chinese
sailors and traders prefer sea products, among others: sea cucumber, jelly, pearl shell,
hawksbill turtles, shark fins, and Iola. The products needed by Chinese merchant were not
needed in Europe. However, it was not realized that other European traders also strived to
acquire marine products to establish trade relations with China in order to acquire tea to
be marketed to Europe. Tea was in its development of becoming the featured product in
European market.
This was what drove Thomas Stamford Raffles to resign from his post as Lieutenant-
General of the Dutch East Indies (1811-1816) so that he could seek a safe harbor to secure
the relationship with China. He finally succeeded in establishing Singapore with its as status
a free port in 1819 and invited the Bugis traders to settle in Singapore, in KampungGelam,
near the seat of Raffles. The cooperation between the British businessmen and Bugis traders
managed to make the port city into the center of marketing for marine products, Chinese
products, and British industrial products (Poelinggomang, 2002: 62-63). The meeting
between the three groups with their own mainstay commodities shows us how crowded
and busy the trading activities in Singapore were and even in its development stage, made
it the trade center for the products from Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, and America.
The need for marine products had also encouraged people to seek the waters abundant
with commodities that could be marketed at port cities visited by the Chinese merchants.

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