Flor de La Mar

Muzium Negara Gallery C

The ship was built in Lisbon in 1502 and was part of the Portuguese armada that attacked Melaka in 1511.

In 1512 under the command of Alfonso de Albuquerque, it was loaded with treasures from its Melaka conquest and gifts of offerings from the King of Siam to King Manuel I. It set sail for home together with 3 other ships, namely Enxobregas, Trinidade and Jong Jawa.

It was part of a fleet of ships set sail for Portugal after he conquered the Melakan city as part of the Portuguese Empire.

After 6 days at sea, on 20 November 1512, she sank in the Aru Straits, taking down with it the riches of the Melakan Empire. Till today the existence of its treasure remains a mystery.

D'Albuquerque's Children: Performing Tradition in Malaysia's Portuguese Settlement (Paperback)

by Margaret Sarkissian

When the Portuguese seafarer Afonso de Albuquerque conquered the bustling port of Malacca in 1511, he effectively gained control of the entire South China Sea spice trade.

Although their dominance lasted only 130 years, the Portuguese legacy lies at the heart of a burgeoning tourist attraction on the outskirts of the city, in which performers who believe they are the descendants of swashbuckling Portuguese conquerors encapsulate their "history" in a cultural stage show. Using historical and ethnographic data, Margaret Sarkissian reveals that this music and dance draws on an eclectic array of influences that span the Portuguese diaspora (one song conjures up images of Lucille Ball impersonating Carmen Miranda on "I Love Lucy").

Ironically, she shows, what began as a literate tradition in the 1950s has now become an oral one so deeply rooted in Settlement life that the younger generation, like the tourists, now see it as an unbroken heritage stretching back almost 500 years. A fascinating case of "orientalism in reverse," D'Albuquerque's Children illuminates the creative ways in which one community has adapted to life in a postcolonial world.

Review
July 1990 Today the Portuguese Settlement is one of the official sights of Malacca, a must on every tourist's itinerary...

 

Flor De La Mar

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