[SUGAR TRADE FROM JAVA / OTTOMAN - INDONESIAN RELATIONS / DUTCH INDIES / JEWISH TRADERS] An official legal manuscript, signed by a Turkish prosecutor, containing allegations of corruption involving the Jewish trader Recanati regarding the shipment...

Manuscript, Dersaadet – Istanbul, AH [1]336 = 1920.

COMPLETE TITLE: [SUGAR TRADE FROM JAVA / OTTOMAN - INDONESIAN RELATIONS / DUTCH INDIES / JEWISH TRADERS] An official legal manuscript, signed by a Turkish prosecutor, containing allegations of corruption involving the Jewish trader Recanati regarding the shipment of ten tons of sugar by sea from Java to Istanbul, dated 1920.

Original manuscript. Folio. (34,5 x 21,5 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). 1 p. 14 lines in black ink. A seal on the page and four Ottoman stamps. Sealed also by the prosecutor Hüsameddin Haydar.

A rare manuscript document detailing Turkish port officers' allegations of corruption involving the Jewish trader Recanati regarding the shipment of 10 tons of sugar by sea from Java to Istanbul in 1920. Signed by the prosecutor, this legal document offers valuable insight into the sugar trade between Islamic states and Turkish-Indonesian relations in the early 20th century.

The document states that, according to the contract made with Recanati Efendi, a merchant at Ridvan Han in Istanbul, ten tons of crystallized sugar, supposedly shipped from Java, was not found on the specified vessel. When this discrepancy was discovered, Recanati Efendi allegedly made certain offers to the officers. The document also notes other suspicious circumstances that subsequently arose.

The transcription of the first paragraph:

Dersaadet Kâtib-i Adliligi Cenâb-i Valâsina,

Marûz-i acîzânemden,

Istanbul'da Ridvan Hani’nda mukîm tüccardan Rekanati [i.e., Recanati] Efendi'nin Yakacik Nahiyesi’nde bize furuht etmis oldugu kristalize on ton beyaz Java sekerinin "??" vapuruna tahsil edildigi ihbâr edilerek mallar tayîn ve tahsîs edilmis oldugu halde bu def’a baska bir vapurla gelen ve mukavelemizde mübeyyin olan cins ve nevi’ haricinde bulunan baska mallari gidip almamiz için bize bazi tekâlîfâtta bulunmaktadir. Bu tekâlîfâttan baska bize bu babda bir de protesto kesîde etmis ise de bize fürûht edilmis olan mallarin (??) vapurunda bulunmasi mesrût, ve cinsi ve nev’i de malûm ve mübeyyin bulundusu ve halbûki mezkûr vapurun limanimiza gelmemis olmayi ve baska vapurla baska bir limana geldigini kabûl etmek bile mukâvele haricinde bulunan baska cins ve nev’i mallarin bize aid olmayacagi tabiî bulundugu cihetle bize yabanci olan mezkûr mallari almaga hiç bir mecbûriyet ve ihtiyacimiz yoktur…”.

[.]

Fî 26 Kânûn-i Evvel sene [AH 1]336 [= 1920].

ON THE TURKISH - INDONESIAN RELATIONS:

The first encounters with the Turks and people of the Indonesian Archipelago can be traced back to the early sixteenth century when the Portuguese dominated maritime trade across the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese naval power threatened not only the spice trade between the Sultanate of Aceh (located in modern-day Sumatra) and the rest of the world, but also the safety of the pilgrimage routes of Acehnese Muslims on their way to Mecca. In 1538, the Sultan of Aceh, Alauddin Riayat, approached the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, who also held the title of caliph, asking for help against the Portuguese threat. He received not only weapons and ammunition from the caliph, but also military instructors, housing and construction specialists, and other experts. It was the beginning of a long period of military cooperation between the Ottoman Empire and the Sultanate. Closer diplomatic relations soon followed, culminating in the first exchange of ambassadors in 1547.

After the sixteenth century, relations between the Ottoman Empire and Aceh entered a period of stagnation, mainly due to the fact that the Ottoman Empire was weakening, and naval expeditions were less justifiable. With the loss of Ottoman influence in Yemen in the mid-seventeenth century and the consequent closure of ports, the sultan’s armada left the waters of the Indian Ocean for good. However, Turkish influence in Sumatra and to some extent the other islands of the archipelago remained intact. The Sultanate of Aceh became a regional power thanks to the military it built on the Turkish model.

The nineteenth century in Southeast Asia was marked by the colonialist ventures of Western powers, led by Britain and the Netherlands. Several sultanates such as Aceh and Riau saw Ottoman protection as a better alternative to dominion by a Christian power.

The first Ottoman diplomatic mission in Southeast Asia was in 1864 in Singapore, and another Ottoman consulate opened in Batavia (modern-day Jakarta) in 1883. These missions were part of Ottoman efforts to promote an Islamic union. While the Dutch administration did not initially object to the opening of the Batavia office, they became increasingly concerned about its activities and took measures to limit Ottoman influence on the Muslim population. To a great extent, they succeeded. When the Ottoman sultan proclaimed a “holy war” at the onset of the First World War and called on Muslims to join the fight, the Dutch ambassador in Istanbul protested by claiming that the Netherlands remained neutral and therefore the holy war must not require the mobilization of Indonesian Muslims. The government of the Ottoman Empire responded by revising the text of the holy war proclamation to exclude Indonesian Muslims.

The war resulted in the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the partitioning of its territory. The Turkish resistance led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk managed to rid Anatolia of the occupying forces, and the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923. Indonesians were among the first to celebrate the defeat of the imperialist forces and the birth of a new nation in West Asia. Indonesian leader Mohammad Hatta wrote, “In their struggle for independence the Indonesian people found new inspiration and a source of strength in the victories won by the Turkish people under the leadership of Kamal Ataturk. Ankara was regarded as the Mecca of modern nationalism. The victories of the Turkish Army at Sakarya and Afyonkarahisar will remain in the memory of the Indonesians as momentous events that determined the course of history: the dawn of Asian freedom was beginning to break.”. (Source: The Middle East Institute online).