Makassar, (Macassar, Mangkasar) is the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, in Indonesia, on the island of Sulawesi. The city was formally named Ujung Pandang, after a precolonial fort in the city, from 1971 to 1999, and the two names are often used interchangeably.

History

Beginning in the sixteenth century, Makassar was the dominant trading center of eastern Indonesia. The Makassarese kings maintained a strict policy of free trade, insisting on the right of any visitor to do business in the city, and rejecting the attempts of the Dutch to establish a monopoly over the city. Further, tolerant religious attitudes meant that even as Islam became the dominant faith in the region, Christians and others were still able to trade in the city. With these attractions, Makassar was a key center for Malays working in the Spice Islands trade, as well as a valuable base for European and Arab traders from much further afield.

The importance of Makassar declined as the Dutch became more powerful in the region, and were better able to enforce the monopoly over the spice trade that they desired. In 1667 the Dutch, allied with the Bugis prince Arung Palakka, invaded and captured Makassar, eliminating its role as an independent trading center.

Trade products

Makassar oil was used by some men in the 19th century for a glossy hairdressing. It was so called because it was said to be obtained from the Makassar district. Cheaper imitations were made with perfumed castor oil mixed with olive oil and the like. At the same time, decorum had relaxed so much that men now lounged in the deeply upholstered furniture, lolling their heads back. Thus the washable antimacassar was invented.

Herman Melville, in Moby-Dick, (1851) digressed upon the oil used at coronations:

"Much might be ruminated here, concerning the essential dignity of this regal process, because in common life we esteem but meanly and contemptibly a fellow who anoints his hair, and palpably smells of that anointing....--what kind of oil is used at coronations? Certainly it cannot be olive oil, nor macassar oil, nor castor oil, nor bear's oil, nor train oil, nor cod-liver oil."

Makassar ebony is a warm black, streaked with deep red, and highly prized for fine cabinetry and veneers.

See also

• Makassar Strait
• Reid, Anthony. 1999. Charting the shape of early modern Southeast Asia. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books. ISBN 974-7551-06-3. pp. 100-154. (early history of Makassar)