Located in central Sumatra, the Kampar River flows east into the Strait of Malacca from the Barisan Mountains in the western part of the island. Despite the swift currents and high winds, the estuary is located on the opposite side of Singapore Island. As a result, the strategic location is a crucial place to provide agricultural output, fresh water supplies, and trade shortcuts.
At the beginning of the 16th century, it was also a battleground between Portugal and the Sultanate of Malacca.
After the fall of Malacca, Sultan Mohammed Shah continued to organize resistance on Bintan Island
As early as 1511, the city of Malacca fell to the Portuguese who had arrived from India. However, the original royal family of the Sultan did not give up, but retreated separately to the surrounding area to build a blockade network. In addition to Pahang, Singapore and Perak in the Malay Peninsula, it also includes the islands of Bintan, Bintan and Lingka in the Strait, as well as a number of enclaves in central Sumatra. Although long-distance trade cannot be stopped, the exchange of daily necessities such as food can be restricted. This weakens the population living in enemy-occupied areas and increases the cost of possession of opponents.
The Kampar estuary happens to be located just across the island from Singapore
However, the effects of prolonged confrontations are not necessarily immediate, but can adversely affect indigenous-controlled areas. The Jinbao River valley in the south, for example, has been plagued by the disappearance of a large number of buyers. The local princes could only disobey the yin and secretly re-import the domestic products into the Malacca market. The Portuguese, on the other hand, wanted to go one step further and draw the other side directly into their vassal system. To this end, they sent their captain Jorge to Sumatra in June 1515 to bring in the local ruler to complete the signing. Due to the fact that it was a peaceful diplomatic activity, he was only allocated 1 small Fusta galleys and 2 local-style Lancang boats, and the total number of soldiers available was no more than 100.
Muhammad's fleet preemptively besieged the middle reaches of the Kampar River
When the formation crossed the Straits of Malacca, it received horrific news at the mouth of the Kampar River. It turned out that Muhammad, the former Sultan of Malacca, had led an army to Xingshi to ask for the guilt. Their force, which consisted of at least 80 large Lancang ships and 6,000 soldiers, arrived earlier from the Linga Islands, where the capital was located, to surround the towns of the indigenous princes. Jorge knew that he was not an opponent, and immediately sent a Lancang ship back to his home port to ask for reinforcements. However, he was very disappointed, due to the lack of military strength in the city and most of the available ships to go out for cruises, he could only send 8 earth-made Lancang ships to deal with it. With the exception of the 80 leading Portuguese, the remaining 500 were indigenous vassals. Together with the crew of the previous 3 ships, a total of 100 European soldiers + 600 Malay Christians of mixed quality.
At high tide, the current of the Kampar River is very turbulent and fierce
Despite the dangers ahead, Jorge still slammed the fleet against the current. This is because there is a large difference in the width of the continuous section of the Kampar River, and the upstream flow is fast but quite narrow, not at all as wide as the downstream. For the side that does not have the advantage in military strength, it is undoubtedly the key to victory that needs to be preempted. And during the high tide phase, the salt water in the Strait of Malacca rushes at a high speed of 40 kilometers per hour until it weakens slightly in a narrow area upstream. Therefore, for the galleys that do not rely on wind power, it is an important bonus that can travel quickly and save the crew's physical strength. During this period, the Portuguese also attacked the enemy's lone supply ships. However, taking advantage of the low tide current, he turned around and sailed until the junction of the upstream and downstream before re-preparing for battle. Muhammad also noticed the presence of hostility in his flank and rear. Fearing that the entire army would be trapped in the river, he had to abandon the halfway siege and follow the low tide to meet him downstream.
Lancang is not a dedicated galley, but a hybrid type that can rely entirely on sails
In fact, the Lancang is not a typical galley, but a relatively primitive hybrid ship type. Although often equipped with large paddlers, it can also be propelled entirely by tilting sails. The disadvantage is that it is somewhat nondescript, requiring a heavy burden of multiple masts and the overall structural weight, which affects the efficiency of human drive. In particular, the huge flagship, which the Sultan himself was riding, carried at least 200 soldiers, a large supply of weapons, and a wooden shield to defend against arrowheads or small ammunition. Therefore, it is extremely cumbersome in the narrow upstream, and it accelerates into the downstream waters almost immediately.
The Fosta is a very standard professional galley
At the same time, the small battleship Fausta on which Jorge rode also took the lead, rushing to the front of the entire formation. Although it is only a small boat for inshore operations, it is similar in basic form to the large Calais that sails the Mediterranean. After hundreds of years of structural optimization, it has become a special type of boat that is completely powered by oars. It can withstand huge impacts in terms of frame strength, but is relatively light on long-term maneuvering avoidance. Even if a gun is installed in the bow, it will not interfere with the overall performance, and it is better to move forward in a countercurrent state. As a result, the Portuguese did not fight back immediately after the encounter, but relied on dexterity to dodge falling arrows from a high altitude. It was only when they went around to the flank of the enemy ship that they suddenly opened fire wildly at the weakest point of the waterline position.
The lack of protection on the flanks of large Lancang boats can easily cause extensive casualties to oarsmen
In an instant, a large number of oarsmen on Sudan's flagship were killed, and many were wounded and unable to maintain their original pace. What's more, because he couldn't stand the visual impact of the corpses all over the field, he simply jumped into the water and swam to the shore to escape for his life. As a result, the unusually heavy Lancang ship lost control and swerved towards the shallows on one side. As a result, it ran aground, blocking most of the channel that had not yet been fully expanded, and seriously disrupting the propulsion lines of the other 79 ships behind it. Jorge immediately ordered all the soldiers to board the ship and take advantage of the general disorder of the other side to occupy it. Muhammad himself had no fighting spirit and could only jump ship to survive like his subordinates.
Muhammad's fleet relied mainly on archers to deliver kills
Then, the other Lancang ships of the two armies began to encounter. Just as the Kampar River re-enters high tide, the violent currents rushing up from the peak of the estuary allow the boats of the Linga Islands to entangle each other. Because of the collision with each other, the archers could not stand still on the deck and shoot. It is also impossible for the soldiers who are located on the ships in the rear to easily run to the front ships for reinforcements. The Portuguese, on the other hand, led the Malay vassals together and launched a continuous hand-to-hand charge against them. When the officers and archers on the upper deck were defeated, the oarsmen on the lower deck had no desire to fight, and they followed the example of the Sultan and jumped into the water. At this point, a large number of intact ships were easily captured by Jorge and others.
Despite his crushing defeat, Muhammad conquered the Kampar River valley a few years later
At the end of the battle, the victors presented many of the ships to the local princes and set the rest on fire. Unfortunately, this victory will not make much difference to the situation in the region. Muhammad absconded back to Bintan Island and was still the co-ruler of the Straits between Malaya and Sumatra. Later, in order to avoid the pursuit of the Portuguese, he once again led the main force up the Jinbao River and occupied the magpie's nest as his temporary capital. It was not until his death in 1528 that the family's control over Sumatra gradually dissipated.