ENCYCLOPAEDIA of Rebellions

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Camenace rebellion 1722

Synopsis
The official incorporation of Timor into the Portuguese Empire’s jurisdiction dates back to 1702, when a governor appointed by Goa was finally able to assume office. The political and social landscape of the island was extremely complex, with over 60 small native kingdoms, alongside the influence of powerful mixed-race lineages (the Topasses) and the Dutch VOC. This created a situation of near-ungovernability, with shifting alliances and constant conflict. In this context, a major rebellion stands out, beginning in 1722 when armed native forces attacked Portuguese troops collecting the fintas—the annual tribute that local rulers had agreed to pay as a sign of their vassalage to the Portuguese crown. Soon, more than a dozen kingdoms joined the rebellion, destroying forts, burning churches, and killing two priests. They were led by the liurai (petty king) of Camenace, who, in 1719, had gathered most of the Timorese kings at his residence and promoted the so-called “Pact of Camenace”, where they all swore a ritual blood oath to expel the Portuguese and Topasses from the island. With the support of the Topass leader Francisco Hornay, known as the King of Oecusse, the governor secured a truce in 1725 with several of the insurgent chiefs. However, others continued the fight, which only ended in December 1726 with the assault on the fortress of Cailaco, located in the mountains, in a battle involving several thousand combatants on both sides and resulting in heavy casualties.
Additional info

Starting date: . Ending: . Duration: 4,5 years. Name in sources: Pacto de Camenace, Guerra do Cailaco. Location: Mostly the east-central area of Timor Country (current): Timor-Leste. Monarchy: Portuguese. Main participants: Indigenous, Local elites. Number of participants: >500. Main reasons & motivations: Anti-colonial, Fiscal. Leadership: king of Camenace, king of Cailaco, and others. Relevance: high.

Further reading
CASTRO, Afonso (1867). As Possessões Portuguezas na Oceania. Lisboa: IN. HAGERDAL, Hans (2007). “Rebellions or Factionalism? Timorese Forms of Resistance in an Early Colonial Context, 1650-1769”. Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia and Oceania, 163(1), 1-33. TAVARES, José A. V. B. (2019). A governação de Timor no século XVIII, Lifau 1702-1769. Lisboa: Academia de Marinha.
Cite this entry

Serrão, José Vicente (2024). "Camenace rebellion 1722", in J. V. Serrão and M. S. Cunha (coord), Rebellions in the Early Modern Iberian World. http://atlas.cidehusdigital.uevora.pt/revolt/camenace-rebellion-1722/ (accessed on 09 Setembro 2024).