DULU vs SEKARANG | ISTANA RAJA AMARASI KUPANG

All documentation of our trip to Timor Island [Kupang City in particular] can be found in this playlist link:    • Tampilan Perbatasan Indonesia - Timor Lest...   DISCLAMER: The term "Portuguese" here refers to the Dutch people in the video taken around 1938 at the Amarasi King's Palace. _______________________ Timor is a land of kings. Several kingdoms flourished on Timor, one of which was the Amarasi Kingdom. The legacy of the Amarasi Kingdom that still exists today is the King's Palace. The Amarasi King's Palace is not much different from what it was in 1938. Want to know the difference? Here's the video. [wikipedia] Amarasi was a traditional kingdom in West Timor, now part of Indonesia. This kingdom played an important role in Timor's political history during the 19th century. During the 17th and 18th centuries, it became a client state of colonial Portugal, and later became part of the Dutch East Indies. History The origins of Amarasi are told in various legends. The oldest version holds that this royal dynasty originated in Wehali. One family member, Nafi Rasi, accidentally broke a precious bowl and was forced to flee due to his brother's anger. With his followers, he traveled to Beboki-Insana in the northern part of Wehali, and then to the southern coast of West Timor. There, he established a kingdom with the help of firearms he had acquired in Beboki-Insana. A group of explorers from Belu arrived and strengthened Nafi Rasi's power. Although originally from Belu, the inhabitants of this area belonged to the Atoni group, speaking the Dawan dialect. European sources confirm that Amarasi was a powerful kingdom in West Timor in the early 17th century. The kingdom was influenced by Catholicism through Dominican missionaries in the 1630s and became an important client state for the Portugal. Consequently, Amarasi fought the Dutch East Indies Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC), which sought to expand its control in Timor, attracted by the commercial value of sandalwood. A large Dutch expedition led by Arnold de Vlaming van Oudshoorn (1656) was defeated by Amarasi and Portugal. For nearly a century after this event, Amarasi remained a vassal of Portugal, fighting VOC client states in Timor, particularly in the Kupang area. These battles were small-scale.[4] Amarasi is actually considered one of the hallmarks of Portuguese power in Timor during this era. Dutch Control King of Amarasi. In 1749, Amarasi's army was forced to participate in a large-scale war led by Portugal against the Dutch in Kupang. In the Battle of Penfui, the Portuguese were repulsed by VOC forces, while Amarasi fled the battlefield and was subsequently surrendered to VOC. For a short time, in 1752, Amarasi attempted to withdraw from the Netherlands and rejoin Portugal. However, the kingdom was defeated by another Dutch client state, the Amarasi king committed suicide, and most of the population was killed or enslaved. The remaining Amarasi population was allowed to settle in their lands after a few years. From then on, the kingdom remained under Dutch rule until the 1940s. Indonesia In the early years after Indonesian independence in 1949, the Amarasi kingdom maintained its autonomous status until 1962, when the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia abolished traditional forms of government in the region. Today, Amarasi is part of Kupang Regency and is divided into the sub-districts of Amarasi, West Amarasi, South Amarasi, and East Amarasi. The royal center is in the village of Baun, where the last residence of the Amarasi king can still be found.