FERNAO LOPES DE CASTANHEDA : CONQUEST OF MALACCA

Fernão Lopes de Castanheda, a 16th-century Portuguese historian who spent a decade in India and the Malay Archipelago (1528–1538). His monumental work, História do descobrimento e conquista da Índia pelos portugueses, is one of the primary sources for the 1511 Portuguese conquest of Melaka.

While the specific number varies slightly across different Portuguese chronicles, Castanheda’s account highlights the surprisingly advanced military technology of the Melaka Sultanate.

The Military Strength of Melaka (1511)

According to Castanheda and other contemporary chroniclers like João de Barros and Afonso de Albuquerque’s son:

• Total Firearms: It was reported that the Sultan possessed approximately 8,000 pieces of artillery.
• Captured Weapons: After the city fell, the Portuguese captured roughly 3,000 pieces. Of these, 2,000 were made of bronze (brass) and 1,000 were made of iron.
• The Sultan's forces also used roughly 5,000 muskets or matchlocks (referred to as istinggar), of which 3,000 were captured.
• Quality: The Portuguese were notably impressed by the craftsmanship. Albuquerque’s son wrote that the "artillery with its appurtenances was of such workmanship that it could not be excelled, even in Portugal."
• The "Rammer Rifles": These refer to matchlocks and early firearms known in the region as isatinggar (derived from the Portuguese espingarda). While Melaka had heavy cannons, much of the "8,000" figure likely included smaller-caliber swivel guns (lela or rentaka) and handheld firearms.

Historical Context and Debate

There is some modern scholarly debate regarding these numbers:

• Inflation of Numbers: Some historians suggest that Portuguese chroniclers may have inflated the number of enemy weapons to make their victory seem more miraculous or to impress the Portuguese King.
• Terminology: In the 16th century, the word "artillery" (artilharia) was used more broadly than it is today, often including everything from massive siege cannons to small portable guns.
• Indigenous Industry: Even if the numbers were slightly exaggerated, the presence of thousands of firearms confirms that Melaka was a sophisticated "Gunpowder Empire." They were not just importing weapons from the Ottoman Empire or China; they had their own foundries and skilled gunsmiths.

SUMMARY TABLE: PORTUGUESE ESTIMATED

Chronicler	Estimated Pieces	Captured Pieces
Fernão Lopes de Castanheda	8,000	3,000
João de Barros	8,000	3,000
Afonso de Albuquerque	8,000	3,000

The 8,000 firearms mentioned by Castanheda represent a diverse arsenal that ranged from massive siege engines to light, mobile swivel guns. The Malays of the 16th century were master metallurgists, and their weaponry was often more ornate and agile than the heavy, cumbersome European cannons of the time.

Here are the specific types of firearms used during the Sultanate era:

1. The Swivel Guns: Lela and Rentaka1
These were the "workhorses" of the Melaka military. Their most defining feature was the cagak (a Y-shaped swivel mount) that allowed them to be rotated and aimed with a wooden handle called a tiller.

• Rentaka (Lantaka): These were smaller, portable bronze cannons, usually under 1 meter in length. They were often mounted on the rails of Malay galleys (lancharan) or the walls of stockades. Because they were light, a single warrior could carry one into battle.
• Lela: The "older sibling" of the rentaka, the lela was longer and had a larger bore (caliber). It was the Malay equivalent of the European Falconet. Some lela were double-barreled or had miniature cannons cast on top of the main barrel to provide a backup shot if the enemy charged during reloading.

2. The Heavy Artillery: Meriam and Bombards
While the small swivel guns made up the bulk of the "8,000" figure, Melaka also possessed heavy siege weapons.

• Meriam: Large, fixed cannons used for defending the city's main fortifications. One famous example captured by the Portuguese was a massive bronze gun sent to the Sultan by the Zamorin of Calicut.
• Bombards: Known as Peça de Malaca in Portuguese records, these were heavy wrought-iron guns. One preserved in Lisbon today is a 38-pounder that could fire stone or iron balls over great distances.

3. Handheld Firearms: Istinggar and Pemuras

The "rammer rifles" you mentioned likely refer to these early handheld gunpowder weapons:

Weapon	Description
Istinggar	A very long-barreled matchlock musket (up to 2 meters long). It was famous for its accuracy and its ability to penetrate ship hulls, though it was slow to reload.
Pemuras	The Malay Blunderbuss. It featured a flared, "frog-mouth" muzzle designed to fire scattershot (slugs or stones) at close range, making it a favorite for repelling boarding parties.
Terakol	A smaller, handheld version of the musket, similar to a dragoon pistol, often tucked into the waist alongside a keris.

Unlike European cannons, which were purely functional, Malay firearms were works of art.

• Artistry: They were frequently decorated with motifs like awan larat (foliage), pucuk rebung (bamboo shoots), and handles shaped like dolphins or dragons.
• The "Monkey Tail": Many guns featured a curved handle at the back called the ekor lotong (monkey tail), used for fine-tuning the aim.

Reference:

1. Wikipedia: Lantaka
2. Wikipedia : Lela (Cannon)
3. Wikipedia : Capture of Malacca (1511)
4. History Bluff : Malacca's Missing Cannon
5. Utusan TV : Lela & Rentaka

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3 January 2026: 1.11 a.m