ENCYCLOPAEDIA of Rebellions

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Francisco Hornay revolt 1765-1769

Synopsis
The rebellion led by Francisco Hornay was an important event in the history of the Portuguese colonisation of Timor. The Hornays were one of the island’s preeminent Topass or Eurasian lineages, alongside their sometimes rivals the Da Costa family. Their origins can be traced back to Jan de Hornay, a deserter from the Dutch East India Company (VOC) who sought sanctuary in Larantuka on Flores Island and married a local Timorese woman in the early 1600s. By the end of the century, their power base moved to Lifau, in what is now the enclave of Oecusse on the northwestern coast of Timor. The rebellion was the result of long-standing frictions between the Topasses and the Portuguese officials sent from Goa to oversee the island. In 1761, Francisco Hornay and other Topass leaders successfully thwarted a Dutch endeavour to capture Lifau. Nonetheless, four years after this event, Hornay was involved in the poisoning of the Portuguese governor. The rebellion swept through the region and Francisco Hornay laid siege to Lifau. In 1768, a new governor, António José Telles de Meneses, was sent from Goa with a few reinforcements. Despite this, the Portuguese were incapable of breaking the blockade. Consequently, in August 1769, the governor ordered the evacuation of Lifau, relocating the colonial capital to Dili, on the eastern side of the island. The Topass lineages would remain the main powerholders in Oecusse, maintaining a tenuous allegiance to the Portuguese colonial authorities in Dili.
Additional info

Starting date: . Ending: . Duration: 4 years. Name in sources: Rebelião de Francisco Hornay. Location: Oecusse Country (current): Timor. Monarchy: Portuguese. Main participants: Indigenous, Local elites, Others. Number of participants: >500. Main reasons & motivations: Anti-colonial, Others, Political. Leadership: Francisco Hornay. Relevance: medium.

Further reading
CASTRO, Afonso de (1867). As possessões portuguezas na Oceania. Lisboa: Imprensa Nacional. HÄGERDAL, Hans (2012). Lords of the Land, Lords of the Sea. Conflict and adaption in early colonial Timor. Leiden: KITLV Press. YODER, Laura (2016). “The formation and remarkable persistence of the Oecusse-Ambeno enclave, Timor”. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 47 (2): 281-303.
Cite this entry

(2023) "Francisco Hornay revolt 1765-1769", in J. V. Serrão and M. S. Cunha (coord), Rebellions in the Early Modern Iberian World. (accessed on ).