Mahmud Badaruddin II ruled Palembang through one of the most turbulent periods in the sultanate's history, navigating competing pressures from the Dutch VOC's successor administration and, later, the British under Raffles. This pitis was struck as that pressure was mounting — within a decade, Badaruddin II would expel the Dutch garrison in 1811, briefly align with the British, and ultimately be exiled to Ternate by the returning Dutch in 1821 after a prolonged and bitter conflict over control of the pepper trade and the sultanate's tin resources.
Tin was the obvious coinage material here — Palembang's hinterlands were among the most productive tin sources in maritime Southeast Asia, making the metal both abundant and politically significant to every colonial power negotiating with the court.
Mahmud Badaruddin II ruled Palembang through one of the most turbulent periods in the sultanate's history, navigating competing pressures from the Dutch VOC's successor administration and, later, the British under Raffles. This pitis was struck as that pressure was mounting — within a decade, Badaruddin II would expel the Dutch garrison in 1811, briefly align with the British, and ultimately be exiled to Ternate by the returning Dutch in 1821 after a prolonged and bitter conflict over control of the pepper trade and the sultanate's tin resources.
Tin was the obvious coinage material here — Palembang's hinterlands were among the most productive tin sources in maritime Southeast Asia, making the metal both abundant and politically significant to every colonial power negotiating with the court.