Latest / Majapahit: The Empire That Once Ruled Indonesia — Fexingo History / Majapahit's Firearms: The Java Arquebus That Changed Warfare
Transcript
- Lucas: So, we've talked a lot about Majapahit's culture, trade, and politics across 99 episodes. For number 100, I wanted to dive into something a bit more… explosive. Luna: Explosive — I'm guessing we're not talking about the Paregreg civil war? Lucas: Not exactly, though there's a connection. I'm talking about gunpowder. Specifically, early firearms in Majapahit — the cetbang and bedil. These were Javanese arquebuses - or swivel guns — that may have been around as early as the 1300s. Luna: Wait — 1300s? That's before Europeans had guns, isn't it? Lucas: That's the fascinating part — and it's a bit of a historical debate. The first European arquebuses appear in the 15th century, around the 1450s. But we have accounts from the early 1500s, like the Portuguese apothecary Tomé Pires in his Suma Oriental, describing Javanese smiths casting cannon and making arquebuses. He says their firearms were as good as those from Germany — which was high praise from a European. Luna: So by 1500 they were already expert gunmakers. But did the technology go back further? Lucas: That's the key question. The earliest definite evidence we have is from the 14th century — a Chinese text from 1349 mentions a place called Java — that's Majapahit — producing 'fire lances' and 'eruptors'. But there's also a vague reference in the Negarakertagama from 1365, where Mpu Prapanca describes a royal procession with 'weapons that spit fire' — though some scholars argue that's poetic language for torches. Luna: How would gunpowder have reached Java that early? Lucas: Most likely through the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. The Mongols used gunpowder weapons — bombs, rockets — in their campaigns, and they invaded Java in 1293. That was actually the campaign that helped Raden Wijaya found Majapahit. So it's plausible that Javanese warriors saw gunpowder in action, and local metallurgists — who were already expert bronze and iron workers — reverse-engineered it. Java also had saltpetre deposits, which is the key ingredient for gunpowder. Luna: So they had the raw materials and the skill. That makes sense. Lucas: Right. By the 15th century, Majapahit's navy mounted small swivel guns called cetbang on their jong — those massive Javanese ships that could carry 500-1000 men. These guns fired stone or iron projectiles, and they were used to damage enemy ships at close range. The Portuguese were genuinely impressed when they encountered them in the Battle of Malacca in 1511. Actually, one of the most telling episodes is the siege of Demak by the Portuguese in 1527 — wait, that's after Majapahit fell, but Demak was the successor state, and they used Javanese-made cannon to repel the Portuguese. Luna: So the technology didn't disappear with Majapahit. It was passed on. Lucas: Exactly. The Wali Songo — the nine saints credited with spreading Islam in Java — included Sunan Kalijaga, who was also known as a metalworker. Tradition says he taught gun-making to the Demak forces. So there's a cultural continuity: the same foundries that produced keris blades and bronze statues also cast cannon. And the Portuguese accounts confirm that Javanese guns were in demand across the region — they were exported to India, the Philippines, even Africa. Luna: That's incredible. So Javanese firearms were a major export item? Lucas: They were. Tomé Pires mentions that Javanese arquebuses were highly prized. And there's archaeological evidence: bronze swivel guns found in the Philippines and Malaysia that are clearly of Javanese manufacture. Some of them date to the 15th century. So Majapahit's legacy isn't just temples and poems — it's also a technological edge that shaped warfare in the archipelago for centuries. Luna: I love that we're talking about this in episode 100. It feels like a fitting topic — something that shows Majapahit wasn't just a cultural empire, but an innovative one. Lucas: And it's a reminder that history isn't a straight line of progress from Europe to the rest of the world. Southeast Asia had its own gunpowder revolution, independent of the West. It's a story that deserves to be told. Luna: Absolutely. And speaking of stories worth telling — if you've been coming along with us through these conversations about Southeast Asia, you know we don't do ads. That's entirely because of listeners who support the show. Lucas: Yeah, we're able to keep Fexingo History ad-free thanks to contributions from people like you. If you'd like to help us keep going, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, but every bit helps. Luna: And it lets us keep digging into these angles that might not get covered elsewhere. Lucas: Exactly. So, back to those Javanese firearms — one of the most intriguing pieces of evidence is a bronze cannon found near Jakarta, inscribed with a date equivalent to 1460. That's well before the Portuguese arrived. And it's not just a barrel — it's a swivel gun with a breech-loading mechanism, remarkably advanced for its time. Luna: Breech-loading? That means it could be reloaded faster, right? Lucas: Exactly. You'd have pre-loaded chambers that you slot in. That was cutting-edge in 15th-century Europe too. So Javanese gunsmiths were on par with the best in the world. Some historians argue that this technology came from China, but the Javanese clearly adapted and improved it. The local term 'bedil' — which now means gun in Indonesian — actually comes from the Arabic 'banduq', meaning hazelnut, which became a term for round bullets. That linguistic shift shows the influence of Muslim traders and the Wali Songo. Luna: So the word itself tells a story of cultural exchange. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the beauty of this topic — it's not just about weapons. It's about how ideas and materials traveled across the Indian Ocean world. Gunpowder, saltpetre, bronze casting — these connected Java to China, India, the Middle East, and eventually Europe. Majapahit wasn't isolated; it was a node in a global network. Luna: Which makes it all the more tragic that so much of that history is overlooked. Lucas: It is. But that's why we do these episodes — to bring those overlooked stories to light. And with episode 100, I think we've done that.