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EntrEtracEs mémoriEllEs
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dE l’antiquité à nos jours

Presses universitaires Blaise Pascal

Entretraces mémorielles
et marques corporelles
Regards sur l’ennemi
de l’Antiquité à nos jours
 ©

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publiée par le Centre d’Histoire “Espaces et Cultures” (CHEC), Clermont-Ferrand.

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 S o u s l a d i re c t i o n d e
Je a n - C l a u d e C a r o n , L a u re n t L a m o i n e
et Natividad Planas

C o l l e c t i o n H i s t o i r e s c r o i s é e s

Entretraces mémorielles
et marques corporelles
Regards sur l’ennemi
de l’Antiquité à nos jours

2 0 1 4
Presses universitaires Blaise Pascal
 Les Auteurs

BOUCHET Julien, ATER à l’Université Blaise Pascal – Clermont 2

CARON Jean-Claude, Professeur d’histoire contemporaine, Université Blaise Pascal – Clermont 2 ; Membre de l’IUF
CAVAILLÉ Jean-Pierre, École des hautes études en sciences sociales
DORNEL Laurent, Maître de conférences en histoire contemporaine – Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour / ITEM
(EA 3002) ; Centre d’histoire sociale du XXe siècle (UMR 8058)
FIERRO Maribel, Directrice de recherche – Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
GARCÍA RIAZA Enrique, Profesor Titular de Historia Antigua – Universitat de les Illes Balears / Grupo Occidens
GIUDICELLI Christophe, Maître de conférences sur chaire mixte CNRS (CERHIO / équipe CHACAL) – Université Rennes 2
LAMOINE Laurent, Maître de conférences en histoire romaine, Université Blaise Pascal – Clermont 2
MALLART Louise, Fonctionnaire stagiaire en histoire-géographie
MARCELLA Valentina, Doctorante au Département d’Histoire et Civilisation européenne, Institut universitaire européen,
7
Florence (Italie)
MÜLLER Martin, Doctorant au Département d’Histoire et Civilisation européenne, Institut universitaire européen, Florence
(Italie)
NEF Annliese, Maître de conférences en histoire médiévale – Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne ; UMR 8167 « Orient
et Méditerranée » ; IUF
OUALDI M’hamed, Associate Professor, Histoire moderne et contemporaine du Maghreb – Princeton University
PALOMO Federico, Profesor Titular de Historia Moderna – Universidad Complutense de Madrid
PÉREZ TOSTADO Igor, Profesor Contratado Doctor (Permanent Lecturer) – Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Séville (Espagne)
PICHON Blaise, Maître de conférences en histoire et archéologie romaine, Université Blaise Pascal – Clermont 2
PIVOTEAU Sébastien, Doctorant en histoire moderne, Centre d’Histoire « Espaces et Cultures » (EA 1001), Université Blaise
Pascal – Clermont 2
PLANAS Natividad, Maître de conférences en histoire moderne, Université Blaise Pascal – Clermont 2
RENAUT Luc, Maître de conférences en histoire de l’art et Membre du CRHIPA – Université Pierre-Mendès-France (Grenoble)
De chair et d’encre

DEUXIÈME
PARTIE
 14

Embodying Piracy,Textualizing the Piratical

Body: Defining, Combating, and Punishing
Southeast Asian “Piratical Communities” in
British Discourse and Practice, c. 1810-1860*

Martin Müller

Abstract – This article addresses the relationship between the British nineteenth century discourses
that described and defined certain maritime Southeast Asian societies as inveterately piratical and 201
the different strategies that were adopted to punish and in some cases even to eradicate these socie-
ties. It focuses on how a set of historical, politico-legal and anthropological discourses transformed
the term piracy from referring to an individual crime to constitute a cultural essence, epitomizing
an entire community, nation, or race. This piratical character then became embodied in a set of
rhetorical and pictorial stereotypes through which groups were characterized and assessed. Fur-
thermore, the concept of piracy provided an interpretive matrix, according to which the different
types of piracy prevalent in the region could be categorized, condemned, and combated according
to such criteria as race, level of civilization, and aspects of culture.

Résumé – Cet article interroge le discours produit au sein de l’empire britannique au xixe siècle
décrivant certaines sociétés maritimes du sud-est asiatique comme de véritables nids de pirates,
ainsi que les dispositifs mis en place pour réprimer celles-ci voire les éradiquer, dans certains cas.
L’auteur montre que ce discours, se fondant sur des productions de type historique, politico-juri-
dique et anthropologique, fit du terme piraterie, se référant à un crime individuel, une essence
culturelle, désignant une communauté nationale dans son entier ou un groupe ethnique. La
dimension piratique fut dès lors intégrée dans toute une série de stéréotypes picturaux caractéri-
sant les groupes sociaux. Le concept de piraterie finit par constituer une matrice selon laquelle les
différentes modalités de celle-ci, à l’œuvre dans la région, pouvaient être classées, condamnées et
combattues grâce un classement se fondant sur des critères raciaux, tenant compte de prétendus
niveaux de civilisation et d’aspects culturels.

* In the following I have maintained the anthropological and geographical terminology in the original texts and
only tried to standardize the spellings of terms such as they appeared most often then. The first time these terms
occur in the text I have inserted the present terminology in brackets.
 Martin Müller

I
n an article on “The repression of piracy in the Indian Archipelago”1, published
in Colburn’s United Service Magazine in 1849, it was stated as a commonly
accepted fact that: “The buccaneers of the Archipelago are well known to form
distinct communities, some of them inhabiting whole islands, others possessing the
dominion of provinces, others dwelling in small coast districts, or secure retreats
on the banks of rivers. They belong to various distinct tribes, all more or less power-
ful, but among which the Illanuns hold the first place”2. Although the author,
by evoking the term “buccaneers”, alluded to the piracy in seventeenth century
West Indies, it was evident that the focus was more on the differences than on the
resemblances3. The pirates in the Indian Archipelago4 distinguished themselves
from their earlier West Indian counterparts by being composed of whole commu-
nities instead of looser joined groups of individuals. These communities consisted
of what was then seen as distinct tribes, nations, or even races, and these allegedly
incarnated this so-called piratical spirit as an essential part of their culture. The
purpose of this paper is to examine the discursive processes through which piracy
went from being a crime committed by individuals to become an epitomic cultural
trait, characterizing entire ethnicities, and then to delineate some of the political
implications of this discursive process.

202

1. In terms of geographical extension, the Indian Archipelago consisted of the insular part of what is nowadays
known as Southeast Asia. As a spatial concept it constituted the main approach to this area and its inhabitants
in the British discourses throughout the period dealt with here; it has to be remembered, though, that on the
contemporary mental map it occupied a quite different space. Geographical names are never neutral, and the
term ‘Indian Archipelago’ contributed essentially to the ways in which the countries, civilizations, and cultures
inhabiting this region were conceptualised.
2. Colburn’s United Service Magazine, 1849, vol. 3, p. 574.
3. See also e.g. Sir James Brooke’s “Memorandum on the Suppression of Piracy and the Extension of Commerce
in the Eastern Archipelago”, in The Sessional Papers, Printed by Order of the House of Lords, vol. XV, Accounts and
Papers, 1851, p. 32 (hand pagination); and Horace St. John, The Indian Archipelago: Its History and Present State,
London, 1853, 2 vols., vol. 2, p. 116.
4. After having abandoned their occupation of the Dutch East Indies in 1816, the British only maintained small
territorial possessions in this area, with Singapore (1819) as the most important one. Yet they were eager to extend
their commercial interests in both the Dutch administered and native governed parts of this region; it offered an
unexploited market for British export goods, and it provided many products that could be easily sold in China
(e.g. Eric Taglicazzo, “A Necklace of Fins: Marine Goods Trading in Southeast Asia, 1780-1860”, International
Journal of Asian Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, 2004, p. 23-48). It was in this context that the combating of piracy in
the Indian Archipelago became so important to the British authorities; not because European shipping was in
imminent danger, but rather due to the fact that it curbed the native shipping to and from especially Singapore
(John L. Anderson, “Piracy in the Eastern Seas, 1750-1850: Some Economic Perspectives”, in David J. Starkey,
E. S. van Eyck van Helsinga and J. A. de Moor (dirs.), Pirates and Privateers. New Perspectives on the War on
Trade in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, Exeter, 1997, p. 87-105). More general studies can be found in
e.g. Gerald S. Graham, Great Britain in the Indian Ocean. A Study of Maritime Enterprise, 1810-1850, Oxford,
1967, p. 329-401, Nicholas Tarling, Imperial Britain in Southeast Asia, Kuala Lumpur, 1975, and Colin M.
Turnbull, The Straits Settlements, 1826-67. Indian Presidency to Crown Colony, London, 1972.
 Embodying Piracy, Textualizing the Piratical Body: Defining, Combating, and Punishing Southeast Asian “Piratical Communities” […]

Studying Piracy in a Southeast Asian Colonial Context

In his analysis of the British applications of the concept of piracy in the
Southeast Asian setting, Alfred Rubin emphasised that the 19th century uses of
the term abetted expansion by providing “the legal rationalizations for European
imperial adventure in the Malay area”5. It was by claiming to be combating piracy
that the British authorities derived the legitimacy of their so-called punitive actions
against coastal, or riverine, communities in Southeast Asia, even though (1) only
few of the depredations punished by these expeditions occurred on the high seas
in the 19th century British conceptualization of this term; even though (2) the
alleged perpetrators of these depredations could, according to the existing interna-
tional laws of the seas, often claim to possess an authorization to commit such acts
by their local potentates; and even though (3) the punitive expeditions were more
often than not conducted ashore, on territory not subject to British suzerainty.
This implied, according to Rubin, that the “use of the term ‘piracy’ as a justifica-
tion for military action seemed to me inconsistent with its use in [contemporary
British] courts of law”, and as such they appeared to represent an illegitimate and
wilfully instrumentalist (ab)use of a legal concept6.
N. Tarling took a different approach when he stated that the concept of piracy
“carries from its European context certain shades of meaning and overtones which 203
render inexact its application even to ostensibly comparable Asian phenomena”7.
Hence, even though Southeast Asia in the 19th century may have contained
“robbery and violence which the British might have a duty to suppress”8, it none-
theless remained clear that the actual applications of the term ‘piracy’, and the
decisions taken to suppress the practice, were invariably conducted within a poli-
tical context; such actions were only executed when it was “considered politically
desirable, legally possible, morally defensible or physically practicable”9.
Just as other contested and controversial politico-legal terms, like that of the
partisan or the terrorist, the term piracy seems always to have contained a dual
character: it is as well instrumental as epistemic, both serving as a legitimating
cause for political or military actions, and as providing a conceptual grid through
which the world of phenomena can be perceived, categorized, and assessed10. The
entangled meanings and connotations contained in the term piracy went even
5. Alfred P. Rubin, The Law of Piracy, Newport (Rhode Island), 1988, p. xiii-xiv; see also A. P. Rubin, Piracy,
Paramountcy, and Protectorates, Kuala Lumpur, 1974.
6. A. P. Rubin, The Law of Piracy, op. cit., p. xiii.
7. N. Tarling, Piracy and Politics in the Malay World. A Study of British Imperialism in Nineteenth-Century South-
East Asia, Liechtenstein, 1978.
8. Ibid., p. 11.
9. Ibid., p. 13.
10. See also Joseph N .F. M. à Campo, “Discourse without Discussion: Representations of Piracy in Colonial
Indonesia 1816-25”, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, vol. 34, no. 2, 2003, p. 203.
 Martin Müller

further though; to the judicial and political realms, an economic dimension had
to be added. Both in terms of real effect and contemporary perceptions, the acts
associated with the term piracy implied, in the words of John L. Anderson, that:
“Whatever the precise legal status of the predatory activity, it imposed costs upon
the economy in terms of reduced trade and hence reduced specialization, exchange
and productivity, while fear and uncertainty would have restricted capital accu-
mulation. In some cases fear even lead to the abandonment of land and the depo-
pulation of coastal and island areas. These effects must have been a handicap to
economic development in the region”11.
Another central aspect of the British approach to the presence and suppression
of Southeast Asian piracy was that it “focussed not on the opportunistic activities
of individuals or small independent groups, which constituted piracy by any defi-
nition, but on the systematic and large scale predation that was an intrinsic part
of organized indigenous communities, tolerated or supported by their chiefs or
sultans”12. In the eyes of the British it was a region characterized by the omnipre-
sence of what J. L. Anderson terms parasitic and intrinsic piracy13, both of which
seemed so deeply rooted that they constituted an essential part of the cultural
makeup of the region. The burgeoning discipline of ethnology played a pivotal
role in the discursive and epistemic processes of transforming the term piracy from
204
referring to a criminal act committed on the high seas by a group of individuals to,
instead, allude to some essential trait or character inherent in an entire community,
nation, or race.
This discursive process of alienating and criminalizing whole communities
through the ascription of allegedly innate qualities, pertaining to either a given
race or to a particular stage of civilization, formed an integrate part of the common
colonial rhetoric. The criminalization of Southeast Asian riverine and coastal
communities, through the imposition of the stigmatizing label of piracy, thus
resembled the almost contemporary discursive construing of specific thug castes

11. John L. Anderson, “Piracy and World History: An Economic Perspective on Maritime Predation”, p. 93,
in C. R. Pennell (dir.), Bandits at Sea. A Pirates Reader, New York, 2001, p. 82-106. James F. Warren, however,
took a different view and perceived this piratical activity as both the result- and a harbinger of modernity and glo-
balization in this region (see e.g. J. F. Warren, “A Tale of Two Centuries: The Globalization of Maritime Raiding
and Piracy in Southeast Asia at the end of the Eighteenth and Twentieth Centuries”, Singapore, Asia Research
Institute (ARI) Working Paper Series, no. 2, 2003, p. 3).
12. J. L. Anderson, “Piracy and World History […]”, op. cit., p. 92. A similar assessment can be found in J. F.
Warren, “Savagism and Civilization: The Iranun Globalization and the Literature of Joseph Conrad”, Journal of
the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 74, no. 1, 2001, p. 43-69; and in J. F. Warren, “A Tale of
Two Centuries […]”, op. cit., p. 7.
13. J. L. Anderson, “Piracy in the Eastern Seas […]”, op. cit., p. 87-89. Parasitic piracy is defined as “a function
of trade”, whereas intrinsic piracy constitutes an integral part of the functioning of the state. The third type of piracy
in Anderson’s system is episodic piracy—which can be “expressed as an inverse function of trade or more generally
of employment opportunities for labour, capital and enterprise in sea-going activities.” See J. N. F. M. à Campo,
“Discourse without Discussion […]”, op. cit., p. 210-212 for an analytic implementation of these concepts.
 Embodying Piracy, Textualizing the Piratical Body: Defining, Combating, and Punishing Southeast Asian “Piratical Communities” […]

on the Indian subcontinent14. The crucial point in both instances is, however, not
that the bestowed designations were mere constructs of a purely fictional charac-
ter, or that they rested on purely contingent assessments. They did, as Bayly and
Tarling stress, reflect an acute state of unrest and politico-social upheaval, resul-
ting in more or less endemic violence15. Neither were they entailed by any logical
necessity, though. Instead they represented one particular approach among many
possible ones: a specific set of conceptual lenses, applied from an always posited,
interest charged, and biased angle that only allowed a prefigured and selective frag-
ment of the totality to be perceived.
In the following I propose here to take these British representations of piracy
and pirates in the Southeast Asian realm at their face value; from this point of
departure I intend to examine:
- The discursive procedures through which the traditionally individual crime
of piracy was transformed into a collective delinquency associated with particular
ethnic groupings or races.
- How the attributed piratical character was inscribed into both the societal
and the physical bodies of these people, and how the subsequent decoding of the
characteristics thus embodied provided the practical proof of their piratical essence
or nature.
- The ways in which the criminalization of these communities, through the appli- 205
cation of the pirate denomination, sanctioned the use of draconic measures against
these communities and which was inflicted on both their social and physical bodies.

Piracy and Ethnicity:

Construing Piratical Communities, Nations, and Races
In the entry on ‘piracy’ in his A Descriptive Dictionary of the Indian Islands &
Adjacent Countries from 1856, John Crawfurd echoed the general consensus on the
question of piracy in Southeast Asia when he stated that:

There is no name in Malay and Javanese, or indeed in other native lan-

guage, for piracy or robbery on the high seas. There is, in fact, no word
to distinguish the element on which the act of plunder is committed,

14. In discussing the means necessary to quench piracy in the Indian Archipelago, the anonymous author of an
article in The Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia (1847-1863, 13 vols.) entitled “Malay Amoks and
Piracies. What can we do to abolish them?”, pleaded for the arrival of “a naval Sleeman”, referring to leader in
the identification and eradication of the thugs (vol. 3, 1849, p. 465). See also Clare Anderson, Legible Bodies.
Race, Criminality and Colonialism in South Asia, Oxford, 2004, p. 1-14, and John Marriott, The Other Empire.
Metropolis, India and Progress in the Colonial Imagination, Manchester, 2003, p. 148-159.
15. See e.g. C. A. Bayly, Empire & Information. Intelligence Gathering and Social Communication in India, 1780-
1870, Cambridge, 1996, p. 173, and N. Tarling, Piracy and Politics in the Malay World […], op. cit., p. 4.
 Martin Müller

a thing natural enough with a people who live as much on the sea as
the land. […] In a region like the Malay and Philippine Archipelagos,
abounding in narrow seas, rivers, creeks, coves, and mangrove swamps,
and often inhabited by rude and lawless tribes of fishermen, piracy must
have existed as long as there was anything to plunder. It has so existed in
every part of the world similarly circumstanced; as, for example, in the
Grecian Archipelago at various times, and in northern Europe, including
our own islands, and the countries from which our forefathers sprang,
in the middle ages.16

Here Crawfurd presented piracy as a natural, indeed almost inevitable, outcome

of the geographical features specific to this region and the level of civilization of its
inhabitants. As such the present day Malays and the other marauding groups incar-
nated a similar spirit and represented the same level of civilization as the roving
Greeks of the Homeric epoch, or the raiding Norsemen of the dark ages17. To
none of these piracy existed as a concept despite, or more probably because of, the
fact that the practice constituted a ubiquitous aspect of their existence. This was
taken to be so deeply ingrained in these societies that it could be read as a defining
synecdoche; their inveterate piratical character thus functioned as an essentialized
206
marker of their ethnic identity18. Thence it followed that their ascribed characte-
ristics, especially in the shape of observed physical features and material culture,
could be interpreted as clear signs embodying their piratical character.
It has to be emphasized that in this version the term piracy did not necessarily
connote any malicious intent or ill will on the part of the perpetrators of these acts.
On the contrary, they were here perceived as the ineluctable product of the supra-
human forces of geography and the dynamics of civilization, when these were met
with in this specific combination. As such the term piracy was in these discourses
classificatory rather than condemnatory19. Yet what it did imply was the idea that the
piratical propensities pervaded the entire society; thus the so-called piratical deeds
were perceived as exhibiting the collective will of the entire community. Hence such
communities would in principle be liable to receive a ‘severe lesson’ in the shape of
punitive expeditions directed collectively against the whole community.

16. John Crawfurd, A Descriptive Dictionary of the Indian Islands & Adjacent Countries, London, 1856, p. 353;
my italics.
17. See also Louis Alexis Chamerovzow, Borneo Facts Versus Borneo Fallacies. An Inquiry into the Alleged Piracies
of the Dyaks of Sarebas and Sakarran, London, 1851, p. 6, and Henry Keppel, A Visit to the Indian Archipelago,
in H.M. Ship Mæander. With Portions of the Private Journal of Sir James Brooke, K.C.B., London, 1853, 2 vols.,
vol. 1, p. 286-289.
18. See Peter Pels and Oscar Salemink, “Introduction: Five Theses on Ethnography as Colonial Practice”, His-
tory and Anthropology, vol. 8, nos. 1-4, 1994, p. 1-34, especially p. 11-12.
19. J. N. F. M. à Campo, “Discourse without Discussion […]”, op. cit., p. 203.
 Embodying Piracy, Textualizing the Piratical Body: Defining, Combating, and Punishing Southeast Asian “Piratical Communities” […]

Consensus, however, ceased when it came to link this ethnological definition

of piracy with the narrower politico-legal one, and thus to determine in which
cases such punitive expeditions could be launched by the British, with anything
resembling legitimacy, in their self-proclaimed mission of liberal imperialism20.
The politicised debates occasioned by these controversies took place in a discur-
sive field where the competing definitions of what was constituted by the term
piracy were grounded in intricate blend of ethnological, philanthropic, judicial,
and economic arguments.

Ethnologizing the Pirate:

Piracy, Civilization, and National Character
It was through their piratical depredations that the native communities descri-
bed in this paper were primarily characterized and assessed. In this context a set of
rhetorical and pictorial key figures arose and stirred the public imagination. These
rhetorical key figures, or fixed stereotypes21, were saturated with significance—epito-
mizing the uncivilized, piratical and thus illegitimate ‘other’. The most influential
of these were the formidable Illanun (Lanun/Iranun) and Balagnini22 (Balangingi/
Samal), the opportunistic Malay pirates, the Bajaus (Orang Laut), or Sea-Gipsies, 207
merely being small scale robbers at sea, and finally the savage Sea Dyaks (Iban).

The Illanun

On the appearance and behaviour of the Illanun chiefs, James Brooke remarked
in his diary:

The Datus, or chiefs, are incorrigible; for they are pirates by descent, rob-
bers by pride as well as taste, and they look upon the occupation as
the honourable hereditary pursuit. They are indifferent to blood, fond
of plunder, but fondest of slaves: they despise trade, though its profits be
greater; and, as I have said, they look upon this as their ‘calling’, and the
noblest occupation of chiefs and free men. Their swords they shew with
boasts, as having belonged to their ancestors who were pirates, renow-
ned and terrible in their day; and they always speak of their ancestral

20. See Gareth Knapman, “Liberal Dreams: Materialism and Evolutionary Civil Society in the Projection of
Nation in Southeast Asia”, Asian Ethnicity, vol. 7, no. 1, 2006, p. 19-36.
21. J. N. F. M. à Campo, “Discourse without Discussion […]”, op. cit., p. 207-208.
22. These will not be analysed specifically in this article, given that they most often were described in conjunc-
tion with the Illanuns, and hence they possessed little discursive impact, despite their undeniable real power and
influence.
 Martin Müller

heir-loom as decayed from its pristine vigour, but still deem the wielding
of it as the highest of earthly existences.23

This reflected the general view held by both Brooke and his British as well
as Spanish contemporaries on the Illanuns24, the most formidable adversary to
the European enterprise in the region. Inhabiting parts of Mindanao, in southern
Philippines, the Spanish expansion, coming from the northern parts of the Philip-
pines, had here encountered a stout resistance by the Muslim inhabitants, amongst
whom the Illanuns proved to be the most implacable. Extending the familiar
terminology from the reconquista, these people were generally termed moros, or
moors25. These references and their implicit associations to Holy War and a clash
of religions remained ingrained in the rhetoric used to characterize the Illanuns
and their customs. Not only was this “distinct race”26 characterized by its deeply
rooted piratical inclinations; their martial spirit was invariably coupled with a reli-
gious fervour and a chivalrous pride turned into outright fanaticism27. The analo-
gies to the holy warriors of the medieval period were in particular striking in the
representations of the arms and equipment of the Illanun. Describing the Illanun
as he appeared on the fighting deck of their impressive prahus, a generic name
for all seagoing vessels in the region, Sir Edward Belcher emphasized how “they
208
dress themselves in scarlet, and are equipped very much in the style of the armour
furnished for the stage property of our theatres, varying from steel plate to ring
chain or mail shirt. Their personal arms are generally the kris and the spear, but
they also have a huge sword, well known as the ‘Lanoon sword’, which has a handle
sufficiently large to be wielded by two hands”28. A quite remarkable interest was
shown in this kampilan, their two handed broad sword, and its eerie adornments
of tufts of human hair and a ring attached for each slain enemy29; like the scimitar

23. Extract from Brooke’s journal brought in H. Keppel, The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido for the Sup-
pression of Piracy: With Extracts from the Journal of James Brooke, Esq. Of Sarawak, London, 1846, 2 vols., vol. 1,
p. 196-197.
24. See J. F. Warren, “Savagism and Civilization […]”, op. cit., especially p. 54-56.
25. See, for instance, Vicente Barrantes, Guerras piráticas de Filipinas, contra mindanaos y joloanos, Madrid, 1878,
Emilio BernÁldez, Reseña histórica de la guerra al sur de Filipinas, sostenida por las armas españolas contra las piratas
de aquel archipélago, desde las conquista hasta nuestros días, Madrid, 1857, José García del Canto, Historia del
Archipelago y Sultania de Joló, y noticia de la expedicion española que á las ordenes del marques de la Solana, acaba
de destruir a los piratas joloanos, Habana, 1851, and José Montero y Vidal, Historia de la piratería malayo-
mahometana en Mindanao, Joló y Borneo, Madrid, 1888, 2 vols.
26. Edward Belcher, Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Samarang, During the Years 1843-46; Employed Surveying
the Islands of the Eastern Archipelago, London, 1848, 2 vols., vol. 1, p. 263.
27. See e.g. E. BernÁldez, Reseña histórica de la guerra al sur de Filipinas […], op. cit., p. 39.
28. E. Belcher, Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Samarang […], op. cit., vol. 1, p. 265-266.
29. See e.g. H. Keppel, The Expedition to Borneo […], op. cit., vol. 1, p. 198, and A Visit to the Indian Archi-
pelago […], op. cit., vol. 1, p. 62, as well as E. Belcher, Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Samarang […], op. cit.,
vol. 1, p. 199.
 Embodying Piracy, Textualizing the Piratical Body: Defining, Combating, and Punishing Southeast Asian “Piratical Communities” […]

Fig. 1 Weapons. Fig. 2 Warrior.

209

Fig. 3 War Prahu.

 Martin Müller

of yore it seemed imbued with uncanny reminiscences of fanatic times, and it

pointed to a people beyond the reach of rationality.

The Malay Pirates

Unlike the uncompromising Illanuns whose apparent indifference towards mere

pecuniary gain seemed to testify to their relentless hatred towards all infidels30, the
Malays were far more often presented as embarking upon their piratical adventures
for primarily economic reasons—even if their goal ultimately was political as well.
Before the founding of Singapore, according to H. St. John, “the whole political
system of the [immediate] region was founded on piracy”31, and in and other parts
piracy was even systemized into “a science and a system”32. On top of the system
sat the avaricious sultans, personified in the present Sultan of Brunei, the deformed
Sultan Omar Ali. A physical freak, a mental dwarf, and a spineless debauchee, he
became, in the words of P. M. Smith, “the metonym of Brunei’s grotesque [societal]
body, in itself a metonym for Borneo”33. Like the Malay society, Smith goes on,
“Omar Ali is unfinished. He does not measure up to the nineteenth-century colo-
nial order’s codes of form, dignity, and good sense, restraint and rationality”34. As
such he incarnated the degenerated level of the typical Malay chieftain, whether
210
great or small, whether ruling people of his own race or having usurped the power
among more primitive, weaker, and easier manipulative tribes.

The Orang Laut, Bajau, or Sea-Gypsies

In general they were presented as a shabby, itinerant people who hardly ever
set their foot on land, but instead they lingered on as “maritime nomads”35. Due
to this characteristic they were also frequently called ‘orang laut’, or sea people.
Crawfurd affirmed that “they had been stigmatized for their piracy as long ago
as the time of John [João] de Barros, whose work was composed in the sixteenth
century”, and even though he confessed that “of the character they exhibit in their
predatory excursions, I am not competent to judge”, it was still so widely repu-
ted that he deemed it “sufficiently bad”36. Quoting de Barros, Crawfurd affirmed
30. On the receptions of the Illanuns in European discourses, whether Spanish, Dutch, or English, see J. F.
Warren, “Savagism and Civilization […]”, op. cit.
31. H. St. John, The Indian Archipelago […], op. cit., vol. 2, p. 160.
32. Ibid., p. 170.
33. P. M. Smith, “Omar Ali’s Extra Thumb: Brunei (Borneo) in the Historical Text”, Rethinking History, vol. 7,
no. 1, 2003, p. 29.
34. Ibid., p. 31.
35. J. Crawfurd, A Descriptive Dictionary […], op. cit., p. 314-315.
36. J. Crawfurd, Journal of an Embassy from the Governor-General of India to the Courts of Siam and Cochin
China; Exhibiting a View of the Actual State of Those Kingdoms, London, 1828, p. 53.
 Embodying Piracy, Textualizing the Piratical Body: Defining, Combating, and Punishing Southeast Asian “Piratical Communities” […]

that their “habitual occupation was ‘fishing and robbing’”37. This shabby mode of
piracy was invariably paired with the stage of civilization on which these people
were posited in the British discourses. The author of the articles on “Piracy and
Slave Trade in the Indian Archipelago” had thus intimated that the Orang Laut
and the more sedentary Malays (Orang Malayu) belonged to the same race; they
were only distinguished by the fact that the latter had “attained a higher degree of
civilization”38. Crawfurd went even further and claimed that: “[…] one can hardly,
indeed, help conjecturing that even the more advanced Malay States of the Penin-
sula, Sumatra, and Borneo, of whose history we have no record, may have sprung
from the same people, seduced by circumstances favourable to social advancement
to abandon their roving habits and precarious mode of existence for a fixed life”39.

211

Fig. 4 A chief. Fig. 5 Weapons.

37. J. Crawfurd, A Descriptive Dictionary […], op. cit., p. 250 et 315.

38. The Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia, vol. 3, 1849, p. 634. Quoted from van Angelbeek’s
Report on piracy on Riau (1825). See J. N. F. M. à Campo, “Discourse without Discussion […]”, op. cit.,
p. 202-203.
39. J. Crawfurd, A Descriptive Dictionary […], op. cit., p. 315; my italics.
 Martin Müller

Whereas Crawfurd in the 1820s tended to describe the Orang Laut as, if not
noble then at least rather harmless primitives40, these had by the 1850s become
a sad lot whose depredatory character was indelibly imprinted upon their very
bodies. This was nowhere captured more vividly than in Thompson’s description.
Dwelling upon their allegedly stereotypical facial features, Thompson saw “a face
[…], the most ugly and disagreeable that I have witnessed; in which the symptoms
of no stray virtue could be detected, but utterly forbidding and typical of fero-
city and degeneracy”. This was seamlessly followed by the following inference: “I
could not fancy such people to be capable of a single act of commiseration to the
unhappy victims of their piracy, and one could only feel pity for those that are so
unfortunate as to come under their power”41.

The Sea Dyak Head Hunters

In spite of the attempt to distinguish conceptually between piracy and inter-

tribal warfare, and to ascribe each their judicial and political meaning, the British
commentators had to acknowledge that the two were in practice entwined; they
represented deeply entangled aspects of the social, demographic, and political
dynamics in the region as it came more and more in touch with the Europeans
212
and Chinese and was increasingly integrated into an evermore globalized market.
This conceptual conflict became particularly enounced when the devastating
headhunting expeditions of the so-called Sea Dyaks along the rivers and coastal
regions of northwest Borneo had to be assessed, and a political approach towards
it devised. Notwithstanding the political complexities involved in these discus-
sions—both in terms of domestic politics, imperial ideology, and inter-colonial
rivalries42—the discursive field in which these debates were unfolded seemed to be
structured along the lines delineated by a fundamental dissociation between two
interpretations: between those who perceived the behaviour of the Sea Dyaks as
a legitimate, however reproachable and undesired, inter-tribal warfare, and those
who saw it as pure piracy. In favour of the latter interpretation one could find
Sir James Brooke, the self proclaimed Rajah of Sarawak43 and his entourage of
protégés (like H. St. John and Hugh Low) and the Royal Navy officers who had
40. J. Crawfurd, Journal of an Embassy […], op. cit., p. 53: “In their general character, they are indolent, impro-
vident, and defective in personal cleanliness. Like the other islanders, however, they are neither selfish, cunning,
nor mendacious”.
41. John T. Thompson, “Description of the Eastern Coast of Johore and Pahang, with Adjacent Islands”, The
Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia, vol. 5, 1851, p. 142-143. This article was often quoted. See
e.g. J. Crawfurd, A Descriptive Dictionary […], op. cit., p. 314, and S. Osborne, Quedah; Or, Stray Leaves from
a Journal in Malayan Waters, London, 1857, p. 255-260.
42. For a recent and succinct analysis of these debates, see Alex Middleton, “Rajah Brooke and the Victorians”,
The Historical Journal, vol. 53, no. 2, 2010, p. 381-400.
43. Two recent analyses hereof can be found in John H. Walker, Power and Prowess. The Origins of Brooke King-
ship in Sarawak, Honolulu, 2002, and in A. Middleton, “Rajah Brooke and the Victorians”, op. cit.
 Embodying Piracy, Textualizing the Piratical Body: Defining, Combating, and Punishing Southeast Asian “Piratical Communities” […]

abetted him in his enterprise (like H. Keppel and Rodney Mundy), as well as his
supporters at home like H. St John. Supporting the former were a group of poli-
tical Radicals, with Joseph Hume as the most outspoken, together with scholars
and clerics congregated around the ‘philanthropic’ Aborigines Protection Society
(1837) from which the Ethnological Society of London (1843) was an offspring.
In deciding upon these questions a paramount importance was vested in
the physical and societal body of the Sea Dyaks, and in particular in their arms
and equipment. Assessing the ethnic position of the Sea Dyaks, both in terms of
degree of civilization and with regard to indigeneity, proved pivotal in determining
whether they were perilous pirates, or “merely” conducting a ravaging inter-tribal
warfare44. Brooke’s adversaries claimed that he and his allies employed the term
piracy in its “most extensive application, comprising piracy in its ordinary accep-
tation, intertribal and defensive war, headhunting expeditions, and retalitative
aggressions”45. Whereas often culpable in acts pertaining to the latter categories46,
the Sea Dyaks could, according to this argumentation, impossibly be guilty of
acts of “piracy in its ordinary acceptation”, simply because they were deemed too
primitive and did neither possess the adequate means nor the mentality to commit
such a crime. It was in this context that the overwhelming interest in the seawor-
thiness of their long but frail war canoes, the bankongs47, and in the puny potential
of their weapons, like the sumpitan (blowpipe)48, should be assessed49; combined 213
with a claim of their reputed superstitious dread of firearms, this allegedly made
them harmless to European shipping50. Even though deadly to enemies on the
same primitive level of civilization, this interpretation nonetheless produced an
image of the Dyaks as more picturesque than poignant warriors. This narrative of
the relatively feeble, primitive Sea Dyak was obviously contested by Brooke and
his supporters. They favoured a broader definition of piracy as “the enemies of

44. L. A. Chamerovzow, Borneo Facts Versus Borneo Fallacies […], op. cit., p. 19-21.
45. Ibid., p. 46 ; George Foggo, Adventures of Sir James Brooke, K.C.B., Rajah of Sarawak, “Sovereign De Facto of
Borneo Proper,” Late Governor of Labuan. […] Devastation of Farms, Huts, and Plantations, Under the Pretence of
Checking Piracy”, London, 1853; Joseph Hume, A Letter to the Right Honourable the Earl of Malmesbury, Secretary
of State for Foreign Affairs, etc. etc. etc. Relative to the Proceedings of Sir James Brooke, K.C.B. etc. etc. etc. in Borneo,
London, 1853, Scrutator, Borneo Revelations: A Series of Letters on the Sereban and Sakarran Dyaks, and the Rajah
Brooke, Singapore, 1850, W. N., Borneo. Remarks on a Recent “Naval Execution”, London, 1850, and “The Borneo
Massacres”, The Colonial Intelligencer, or Aborigines’ Friend, vol. 3, 1850-1851, p. 261-266.
46. “Revolting as this practice [headhunting] may be […] it was certainly not one of which the Government
of this country ever contemplated the suppression by the destruction of those who were addicted to it.”, L. A.
Chamerovzow, Borneo Facts Versus Borneo Fallacies […], op. cit., p. 14.
47. Ibid., p. 55.
48. See e.g. H. Keppel, The Expedition to Borneo […], op. cit., vol. 2, p. 198, Rodney Mundy, Narrative of Events
in Borneo and Celebes, Down to the Occupation of Labuan: From the Journals of James Brooke, Esq. Together with a
Narrative of the Operations of H.M.S. Iris, London, 1848, 2 vols., vol. 2, p. 224-231, and Hugh Low, Sarawak; Its
Inhabitants and Productions, London, 1848, p. 211 et 328.
49. L. A. Chamerovzow, Borneo Facts Versus Borneo Fallacies […], op. cit., p. 13.
50. Ibid., p. 13, 16, and 58.
 Martin Müller

214
Fig. 6 Sea Dyak Warrior. Fig. 7 Sea Dyak Warrior.

Fig. 8 Sea Dyak bankong (war canoe).

 Embodying Piracy, Textualizing the Piratical Body: Defining, Combating, and Punishing Southeast Asian “Piratical Communities” […]

the human race, and […] every nation has the a right to attack and exterminate
them without any declaration of war”51, instead of defining the right to combat
piracy within a narrow national framework where the Royal Navy only had the
right to suppress proved instances of piracy committed against British shipping on
the high seas. In opposition to this, Joseph Hume claimed that “the distinction
between acts of piracy and the predatory attacks of intertribal warfare is a refine-
ment beyond comprehension of the said natives”52, and hence they could not be
considered guilty of the former.
By introducing the element of indigeneity into the discourse, the Sea Dyaks
appeared not merely primitive but also pristine. The categorical dissociation
between the Sea Dyaks and other native peoples of Borneo on the one hand, and
the Malays on the other, seemed especially to have been practiced when these were
sharing the same riverine spaces, and hence, to a certain extent, belonged to the
same societal entity of interwoven communities. Such an ethnological atomization
and essentialization served, on a seemingly scientific basis, to dissociate the Malays
as a distinct ethnicity53 from the native peoples of Borneo. The Malays could then
be presented as a group of exploitative adventurers and intruders who infested
the Bornean coast and river mouths and preyed upon the more primitive peoples.
All British texts thus represented the Sea Dyaks as a primitive, but moral, people
whose potential for civilization was superior to that of the Malays54. This moral 215
superiority could even be decoded directly from their physical bodies, in shape of
their superior prowess and agility when compared to the degenerate Malays55.
The great ethnic diversity in Southeast Asia thus permitted a discourse that
emphasized the vast variety of the different kinds of piratical activities, and it linked
these to the diversity of the piratical communities behind these. Hence, instead of
constituting a levelling and uniformizing discourse, the concept of piracy provided
an interpretive matrix where the specific mode of piracy could be analyzed and
graduated according to such parameters as race, level of civilization, and specific
cultural traits.

51. This is an excerpt of the American jurist C. Kent’s definition from 1844 grounded in notions of natural law
which Brooke frequently quoted as legitimating a very activist politics against the alleged pirates. See e.g. British
Parliamentary Papers. Accounts & Papers: 1852-1853, vol. 5, p. 351.
52. Extract of a letter from J. Hume to Earl of Malmesbury, Dec. 12, 1852. British Parliamentary Papers. Accounts
& Papers: 1852-1853, vol. 5, p. 371.
53. On Borneo, Malayness, in reality, constituted a fluid and inclusive category. By professing the Muslim faith,
abiding by its fundamental tenets, and adopting the Malay language one automatically became Malay. See e.g.
Anthony Milner, The Malays, London, 2008, and Robert Pringle, Rajahs and Rebels: The Ibans of Sarawak under
Brooke Rule, 1841-1941, London, 1970.
54. L. A. Chamerovzow, Borneo Facts Versus Borneo Fallacies […], op. cit., p. 14.
55. H. Low, Sarawak […], op. cit., p. 177 and 180.
 Martin Müller

Piracy and progress:

The Instrumentalist Use of a Politicised Concept
Having established the imperative need to combat, and if possible eradicate,
the scourge of piracy, the various strategies were conceived in close concert with
the descriptions and classification of the different types of pirates in the region, as
well as with the political possibility and expediency.
Primarily perceived as inveterate enemies, driven as much by religious fervour
as by economic greed, the Illanuns were unanimously regarded as the most formi-
dable of all the pirates, and their piratical character was hardly questioned at all56.
Of particular interest in this context is the tacit, yet nonetheless guiding tendency
to assess the Illanuns more in terms of what Carl Schmitt dubbed absolute enmity57,
rather than as a more conventional enemy with whom one could ultimately nego-
tiate, and whose right to exist was at some level acknowledged. Neither were they
treated as a group of common criminals who could be hunted down and perse-
cuted according to the prevailing laws. Transcending the purely political spectre58,
the Illanuns were rather condemned as “the enemies of the human race and the
most atrocious violators of the universal law of society”59 whose very existence
as a piratical body had to be annihilated, even if this implied the extinction all
216
the physical bodies of the pirates as well. The representations, both in text and
illustration, of the Illanun as an implacable, amok-running fanatic who invariably
preferred a violent death to surrender reified the picture of the Illanun warrior
as a figure beyond the realm of reason, a person with whom negotiation seemed
futile60. In his religious fanaticism he appeared not only irreconcilable, but he was
also presented as impervious to the fundamental logics of economic. The invoked
‘stage topos’ by Sir E. Belcher, furthermore, conveyed the impression of an atavistic
character; frozen in time and incapable of real improvement, despite the fact that
their formidable prahus were equipped with the modern artillery; they may have
used modern technology, but they proved incapable of genuine modernization.
Although their piracy was considered beyond question, the Malay pirates
were, however, assessed in a different light. Although their piratical propensities
56. Not even L. A. Chamerovzow doubted their piratical character, Borneo Facts Versus Borneo Fallacies […],
op. cit., p. 6.
57. Carl Schmitt, The Theory of the Partisan. A Commentary/Remark on the Concept of the Political, A. C.
Goodson (trans.), Michigan, 2004 [1963], p. 48-50 and 64-68.
58. C. Schmitt, Det Politiskes Begreb (The Concept of the Political), København, 2002 [a translation of the revised
edition from 1963 of the 1932 version], p. 72-73.
59. Quoted by J. Brooke, British Parliamentary Papers. Accounts & Papers: 1852-1853, vol. 5, p. 351 (hand
pagination).
60. As Schmitt concluded: “[…] every attempt at containing or fencing in war must involve the consideration
that in relation to the concept of war enmity is the primary concept, and that the distinction between various
kinds of war is preceded by the discrimination among various kinds of enmity” (C. Schmitt, The Theory of the Par-
tisan […], op. cit., p. 64; my italics).
 Embodying Piracy, Textualizing the Piratical Body: Defining, Combating, and Punishing Southeast Asian “Piratical Communities” […]

were often traced back to their very origin as an ethnic entity in the region, the
decay theory of the Malay piracy remained highly influential too; according to this
hypothesis the Malay piracy infesting the region was primarily the result of the
mercantilist and monopolistic policies of the Dutch in an earlier wave of European
expansion61. If they originally had been led astray by blind European greed, then a
visionary European creed could bring them back on the track, once their eyes had
become open to the blessings of free trade and their minds receptive to the enligh-
tened reason behind it. What was needed, then, seemed to be a calculated mix
of brute and unrelenting force on the one hand62 and the lure of economic gain
on the other. Yet the precarious existence of a prosperous free trade could only be
maintained under the auspices of a continuous and vigilant British paramountcy63.
The inherent but unorganized piracies committed by the itinerant Orang laut
were attributed to their, in all meanings of their word, abject status. Margina-
lized from the rest of society and frowned upon by the Malays, being deprived
of almost all the ordinary means of existence, an opportunist preying composed
a natural source of income for these people; but the most influential cause rested
in the low stage of civilization in which they still lingered. Inscribing these into
the trope of stadial progress, the anonymous author of the article on “The Piracy
and Slave Trade in the Indian Archipelago”, in The Journal of the Indian Archipe-
lago and Eastern Asia, quoted how Mr. Angelbeck (Angelbeek) had advocated to 217
turn the Orang Laut away from piracy by engaging “them to choose occupations
productive of benefits to all”. Such occupations could be “the fishing of agar-agar
and tripang [Bêche-de-mer, or sea-slug], which the Orang laut for some time had
been forbidden to pursue”; combined with a strict vigilance this was deemed “the
only means by which the [piratical] propensity of the Orang Laut could be suppressed,
short of their total extirpation”64. ‘Progress or perish’ hence constituted the absolute
imperative within this discourse of extinction65. Such progress should be abetted by
the gradual integration into the flourishing market-economy and by attributing
them a position as producers of primary products or as skilled gatherers of these.

61. Despite insisting on tracing their piratical character back to their origin, Crawfurd also used the decay theory,
coined by Raffles (J. F. Warren, The Sulu Zone, 1768-1898. The Dynamics of External Trade, Slavery, and Ethnicity
in the Transformation of a Southeast Asian Maritime State, Singapore, 2007, p. 147), when it seemed discursively
opportune. E.g. J. Crawfurd, History of the Indian Archipelago, Edinburgh, 1820, 3 vols., vol. 3, p. 234-235.
62. Brooke’s suggestions in the enclosure in a letter to the Earl of Aberdeen, dated March 31, 1845 (in The Ses-
sional Papers, Printed by Order of the House of Lords, vol. XV, Accounts and Papers, 1851, p. 31-39, hand pagina-
tion). See also H. Keppel, A Visit to the Indian Archipelago […], op. cit., vol. 1, p. 289.
63. “Experience has shewn that the Malay chiefs of the Peninsula are quite willing to co-operate in the abolition
of piracy; but they require to be constantly pushed, directed, and encouraged”. H. Keppel, A Visit to the Indian
Archipelago […], op. cit., vol. 1, p. 293. Quoted from The Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia, vol. 3,
1849, p. 463-467.
64. The Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia, vol. 3, 1849, p. 635; my italics.
65. See Patrick Brantlinger, Dark Vanishings. Discourse on the Extinction of Primitive Races, 1800-1930, Ithaca,
2003, for an extended analysis of the ‘extinction discourse’.
 Martin Müller

Regarding the suppression of the alleged piracy committed by the Sea Dyaks
opinions were more divided. All concurred in the fact that the entire region would
benefit and prosper from the curbing of headhunting. Yet opinions differed regar-
ding the means that would best serve this end. The Radicals and, especially, the
members of the Christian and philanthropic Aborigines Protection Society favou-
red the cheapest solution for the British tax payer, viz. that of bringing the Gospel
to the natives through missionary activity. The supporters of the piracy interpreta-
tion did not, however, trust in the instructive powers of religion and its ability to
obviate the internecine state of violence in the region; in their mind much more
draconic means were required. Although they all emphasized the eroding influence
of the Malays, and in particular of the self-appointed so-called Arab sheriffs66, the
Sea Dyaks nonetheless bore the brunt of the casualties inflicted by the expeditions
carried out by Sir James Brooke in close collaboration with the Royal Navy. This
was particularly the case during the expeditions up the Saribas River in 1843, up
the Sekrang (Skrang) tributary in 1844, and not at least in the battle/massacre at
Beting Maru on July 31, 1849. The sanguinary, triumphalist tenor with which
the latter ‘severe lesson’, dealt to the ‘atrocious’ and ‘bloodthirsty’ pirates, was
lauded by the supporters of the piracy interpretation reveals, perhaps involunta-
rily, something about the nature of this warfare; especially the manner in which
218
the body of enemies was represented tells us a lot. Recounting the details of the
battle and its aftermath, where at least 500 and probably up to a 1000 or more Sea
Dyaks perished, whereas the British casualties were trifling, Captain Keppel thus
stated that:

Orders were given to shew mercy to any of the pirates who wished to give
themselves up; but mercy is not understood by these people, either in name
or in reality: and, indeed, the few wounds which were received by any of
our men were the penalty of their humane endeavours to save the pirates
from drowning. These latter, when they took to the water, invariably did
so in full fighting costume,—sword in one had and shield in another—
rendering any effort of humanity most perilous.They are indeed a desperate
race, and utterly reckless either of their enemies’ life or their own: nor do
they spare age or sex. Even in their confused and precipitate retreat, on
this night, they found time to perpetrate great atrocities.67

Against such inveterate enmity the embracing, soft power of Christianity offe-
red no comfort; indeed, humanity in itself was represented as utterly mistaken,

66. See e.g. J. Brooke’s “Memorandum on the Suppression of Piracy […]”, op. cit., p. 33 (hand pagination), and
H. Low, Sarawak […], op. cit., p. 123-126 and 191.
67. H. Keppel, A Visit to the Indian Archipelago […], op. cit., vol. 1, p. 159; my italics.
 Embodying Piracy, Textualizing the Piratical Body: Defining, Combating, and Punishing Southeast Asian “Piratical Communities” […]

given the thoroughly dehumanized character ascribed to these enemies. Even

though none of the texts here analysed ever intimated the desirability or inevitabi-
lity of a final extermination of the Sea Dyaks, the combat situation described here
left little doubt about the element of annihilation—not merely of the (alleged)
piratical body but of the bodies of the pirates as well.

Conclusion
“With our increased knowledge… of the real character of the people with
whom we had to deal. Step by step our policy [of suppressing piracy] would be
surely advanced, and, with each step, our future progress would become easier;
piracy would dwindle from the crime of communities to the crime of individuals, and
gradually be extinguished”68.
The instrumental use of the notion of piracy was neither unproblematic nor
did it remain uncontested in its day. Given the spatial restrictions ingrained in the
concept, qua its essential association with the sea, its scope prima facie appeared to
be limited by the littoral; as such its political applicability would have been severely
demarcated unless it somehow could be extended to cover parts of the landmass
too. The question of who could be classified as pirates, as well as how these should 219
be treated, constituted further issues of heated discussion in the public realm.
Rather than being constrained to a narrow judicial discourse, these debates also
involved political, economic, and anthropological arguments. Hence piracy was
conceptualized and challenged in the fluid intersections between trade, politics,
ethnology, and jurisprudence.
Piracy thus proved to concern more than merely a question of policing unruly
seas; it furthermore provided a powerful master trope embedding the whole region
within a particular interpretive framework. As such it epitomized the British
approach to the indigenous societies in the region. The confined gaze, provided
by these conceptual lenses, prefigured this region as lingering in a state of society
deviant from the desired norm of progress and improvement: as aberrant rather
than as archaic. Furthermore, it prescribed the range of instruments that could be
employed by the supervising, or colonial, state in ‘normalizing’ the situation.

68. Contained in a letter from Sir James Brooke to Ld. Stanley dated Oct. 4, 1852. British Parliamentary Papers.
Accounts & Papers: 1852-1853, vol. 5, p. 355-366 (hand pagination); my italics.
 Martin Müller

Fig. 9 A Moluccan
Kora Kora.

220

Fig. 10 Thomas Baines,

Trading Proa
in Madura
Strait, 1856.

Fig. 11 An Illanum
War Prahu.
 Embodying Piracy, Textualizing the Piratical Body: Defining, Combating, and Punishing Southeast Asian “Piratical Communities” […]

Ethnicised Interpretive The Embodied Mode of Strategies of

Pirate Framework Pirate Enmity Suppression
Illanun Medievalism The amok Absolute Annihilation of
Dichotomy running, fanatic Enmity the societal body
of holy war panglima or and, if necessary,
chief the physical bodies
too
Malay Stadial progress Personified in Conventional Forcing them back
of civilization the degenerate Enmity on the right path
Deviation from Sultan Omar of progress
the norm Ali Suffedeen II Rehabilitating
of progress the societal body
Orang Laut Stadial progress A seaborne “Progress or Integration into
of civilization abject and perish”, enforced the market
Primitive proto- opportunistic through policing Eradication of
Malays petty thief at sea the societal body
through progress
Sea Dyak Indigeneity The tattooed, “A severe Cleansing of
and savagery headhunting lesson”, or Malayan influence 221
Mislead but savage with momentarily Improvement of
improvable his blowpipe absolute enmity, the societal body
followed by through mission
education

Fig. 12 Synthetic Table of the Illustrations.

 Table des illustrations

Article 4 1. Tableau des occurrences tacitéennes 48

2. Monument de Firmus, fils d’Ecconus

(Salomon Reinach, Répertoire de reliefs grecs et romains,
t. II, Paris, 1912, p. 54) 53

Article 12
1. António F. Cardim, Fasciculus e Iapponicis floribus
suo adhuc madentibus sanguine (Rome, 1646).
Gregório Carvalhal († 1592) 180
2. António F. Cardim, Fasciculus e Iapponicis floribus
suo adhuc madentibus sanguine (Rome, 1646).
João Baptista Machado († 1617) 181
3. António F. Cardim, Fasciculus e Iapponicis floribus
suo adhuc madentibus sanguine (Rome, 1646).
Paul Mikki († 1597) 182
4. António F. Cardim, Fasciculus e Iapponicis floribus
suo adhuc madentibus sanguine (Rome, 1646).
Nicolau Kean († 1633) 183
5. António F. Cardim, Fasciculus e Iapponicis floribus
371
suo adhuc madentibus sanguine (Rome, 1646).
Francisco Pacheco († 1626) 184
6. António F. Cardim, Fasciculus e Iapponicis floribus
suo adhuc madentibus sanguine (Rome, 1646).
Mateus de Couros († 1632) 185

Article 14
1. Weapons
(Source : Edward Belcher, Narrative of the voyage
of H.M.S. Samarang, During the Years 1843-46;
Employed Surveying the Islands of the Eastern Archipelago,
London, 1848, 2 vols., vol. 1) 209
2. Warrior
(Source : Frank S. Marryat, Borneo and the Indian
Archipelago, London, 1848) 209
3. War Prahu
(Source : F. S. Marryat, Borneo […], op. cit.) 209
4. A chief
(Source : F. S. Marryat, Borneo […], op. cit.) 211
5. Weapons
(Source : E. Belcher, Narrative of the voyage
of H. M. S. Samarang […], op. cit.) 211
6-7. Sea Dyak Warriors
(Source : F. S. Marryat, Borneo […], op. cit.) 214

 Table des illustrations

8. Sea Dyak bankong (war canoe)

(Source : F. S. Marryat, Borneo […], op. cit.) 214
9. A Moluccan Kora Kora
(Source : Edmond Paris, Essai sur la construction navale
des peuples extra-Européens, ou Collection des navires
et pirogues construits par les habitants de l’Asie, de la Malaisie,
du Grand Océan et de l’Amérique, Paris, 1841, 2 vols.) 220
10. Thomas Baines, Trading Proa in Madura Strait, 1856 220
11. An Illanum War Prahu
(Source : Rodney Mundy, Narrative of Events in Borneo
and Celebes, Down to the Occupation Labuan:
From the Journals of James Brooke, Esq. Together
with a Narrative of the Operations of H.M.S. Iris,
London, 1848, 2 vols., vol. 2) 220
12. Synthetic Table of the Illustrations 221

Article 15
1. Le Grelot (républicain satirique), 16 octobre 1881,
Alfred Le Petit, “UN CAUCHEMAR DE J. FERRY” 226
2. La Charge (boulangiste), 14 juillet 1888,
Alfred Le Petit, “SOUVENIR DU 14 JUILLET” 226
3. “Une” d’un numéro de La Bastille (antimaçonnique),
5 janvier 1907, Bruno, “NOS SOUHAITS
À ‘CES MONSIEURS’” 227
4. Le Grelot (satirique), 16 juin 1889, Pépin,
372
“UNE BELLE PENSÉE DE JULES FERRY” 228
5. Caricature de situation, deuxième semestre 1889 228
6. La Ménagerie républicaine, 1889, Blass, “L’AUTRUCHE” 229
7. La Ménagerie républicaine, 1889, Blass, “LE LIÈVRE” 229
8. La Ménagerie républicaine, 1889, Blass, “LE CASTOR” 229
9. “Une” du Don Quichotte (républicain),
21 décembre 1883, Charles Gilbert-Martin,
“(NOËL) L’ADORATION DES MAGES” 229
10. Le Grelot (satirique), 18 août 1889, Pépin,
“LA PASSION DE LA BOULANGE” 230
11. Carte postale, 1906, “COMBES TERRASSANT
LE DIABLE” 230
12. Cartes postales, Orens Denizard 231
13. Le Pilori (monarchiste), Blass,
“FERRYBOULANGISME” 232
14. É. Muller, 1903-1904, “MR COMBES” 232
15. Le Pèlerin (catholique antisémite), 27 juillet 1902,
Lemot, “LE COMBES DE L’ACTIVITÉ
DÉVORANTE POUR FAIRE LE MAL” 233
16. La Ménagerie républicaine, 1889, Barentin,
“LA SOURIS BLANCHE” 234
17. La Volonté nationale (journal d’arrondissement
nationaliste, Remiremont, Vosges), 21 août 1904, Henriot 234
18. Caricature émanant d’un publiciste radical 235

 Table des illustrations

19. L’Assiette au beurre (satirique anarchiste), 14 mai 1904,

Gustave-Henri Jossot, “LE CREDO” 236
20. L’Aigle (organe des comités impérialistes lyonnais),
20 juillet 1884, Grépinot, “À PROPOS DE RÉVISION” 237
21. Illustration d’un journal conservateur, 1904,
“LE TONTON” 238
22. Musée des Horreurs (antisémite), 1900, V. Lenepveu,
“À LA NICHE” 239
23. Carte postale, 1906, Orens 239
24. Jean Effel, mai 1958, “L’ASSUMOIR” 241

Article 16 1. Bozkurt Belibağlı, “İçerden Dışarıya Sevgilerle”

Karikatür Sergisi, 1986 251
2. Mithat Solmaz, Gırgır, 4th September 1983 251
3. Metin Cedden, “İçerden Dışarıya Sevgilerle”
Karikatür Sergisi, 1986 252
4. Orhan Coğuplugil, “İçerden Dışarıya Sevgilerle”
Karikatür Sergisi, 1986 253
5. “İçerden Dışarıya Sevgilerle” Karikatür Sergisi, 1986 255
6. Orhan Coğuplugil, “İçerden Dışarıya Sevgilerle”
Karikatür Sergisi, 1986 255

Article 18 1-5. Médinet Habou, temple de Ramsès III,

373
mur d’enceinte nord, bas-relief extérieur, panneau XV,
d’après Medinet Habu, t. I, Earlier Historical Records
of Ramses III, Chicago, 1930, pl. 42 282-283
6. Tombe thébaine no 93, tombe de Qénamon
(c. 1400-1350 av. J.-C.), timbres à ferrade,
d’après J. Vandier, Manuel d’archéologie égyptienne,
t. V, Bas-reliefs et peintures. Scènes de la vie quotidienne
(2e partie), Paris, 1969, t. I, p. 267, fig. 119, 4 282-283
7-8. Timbres à ferrade en bronze, collection
William M. Flinders Petrie. Copyright : Petrie Museum
of Egyptian Archaeology, University College London,
UC63717 (estampille = 10,3 x 9,6 cm)
et UC63714 (9,2 x 3,3 x 1,4 cm) 282-283
9. Tombe thébaine no 17, tombe de Nébamon
(c. 1400-1350 av. J.-C.), Nébamon supervisant
les activités de son domaine. Tempéra sur papier
par Charles K. Wilkinson, 1928. Copyright :
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 30.4.57 282-283
 Table des Matières

INTRODUCTION
1 Jean-Claude Caron, Laurent Lamoine, Natividad Planas 9

PREMIÈRE PARTIE L’ennemi, un lieu de mémoire

2 Jean-Claude Caron
Introduction. De l’utilité mémorielle de l’ennemi 25

3 Enrique García Riaza

Hispanis hostes : de la praxis militaire
à la représentation idéologique dans la Rome républicaine 31

4 Laurent Lamoine
Le corps du rebelle Sacrovir, de l’ostentation
à l’immolation (21 apr. J.-C.) 43

5 Blaise Pichon 375

Les Germains et l’Empire chez les historiens romains,
de Tacite au début du ve siècle 61

6 Annliese Nef
La Lettre au trésorier de l’église de Palerme
ou de l’art de choisir ses ennemis 85

7 Jean-Claude Caron
Mémoires de guerre civile ou l’ennemi absolu.
Lyon, 1831 : un nouveau 1793 ? 95

8 Laurent Dornel
La fabrication de l’ennemi “héréditaire”
allemand (1815-1914) 107

DEUXIÈME PARTIE De chair et d’encre

9 Laurent Lamoine
Introduction. De chair et d’encre 125

10 Christophe Giudicelli
De l’utilité politique de l’ennemi. Les “Indiens de guerre”
et la construction des frontières de l’Amérique espagnole 131
 Table des matières

11 Natividad Planas
La Judith musulmane. Action politique et commensurabilité
selon les captifs chrétiens d’Alger (xviie siècle) 149

12 Federico Palomo
Teatro de sangue, espelho de aço. António Francisco Cardim
et la représentation du martyre dans le monde portugais
de la première modernité 165

13 Sébastien Pivoteau
Les deux corps de l’ennemi. L’imbrication du biologique
et du social dans l’identification des auteurs de l’assassinat
commis au château de la Borie (Maurs, Cantal) en 1827 187

14 Martin Müller
Embodying Piracy, Textualizing the Piratical Body:
Defining, Combating, and Punishing Southeast Asian
“Piratical Communities” in British Discourse
and Practice, c. 1810-1860 201

15 Julien Bouchet
L’adversaire politique en images.
Usages du corps dans la France républicaine (1880-1914) 223

16 Valentina Marcella
376 Smuggling Intellectual Freedom under Physical Constraint:
The Enemy’s Body in Turkish Prison Cartoons 243

TROISIÈME PARTIE Marquer et éliminer l’ennemi

17 Natividad Planas
Introduction. Le corps de l’ennemi 261

18 Luc Renaut
Signation chrétienne et marquage des captifs
dans le monde antique : pratiques et représentations 269

19 Maribel Fierro
Murder as Accident : The Deaths of the Abbasid
‘Abd Allah b. ‘Ali and the Sultan Ghiyath Al-Din of Delhi 285

20 Louise Mallart
Représentations et significations de la consommation
du corps de l’ennemi dans l’Occident médiéval 297

21 Igor Pérez Tostado

Châtiment et persuasion : le corps de l’ennemi catholique
en Angleterre (xvie et xviie siècles) 309
 Table des matières

22 Jean-Pierre Cavaillé
Le corps de l’ennemi de Dieu et des hommes :
le supplice de Jules-César Vanini, condamné
au bûcher pour blasphème et athéisme (1619) 323

23 M’hamed Oualdi
Circoncire des Européens à Tunis. Significations
d’une étape de conversion et d’intégration
(début du xviiie-milieu du xixe siècle) 337

CONCLUSION
24 Jean-Claude Caron, Laurent Lamoine, Natividad Planas 353

BIBLIOGRAPHIE SÉLECTIVE 365

TABLE DES ILLUSTRATIONS 371

TABLE DES MATIÈRES 375

377
 Déjà parus aux PUBP
– Philippe Bourdin, Jean-Claude Caron et Mathias Bernard (dir.), La Voix et le
geste. Une approche culturelle de la violence socio-politique, 2005.

– Natividad Planas et José Javier Ruiz Ibanez (dir.), “Vivre avec l’ennemi”, Siècles,
no 26, 2008.

– Jean-Claude Caron (dir.), “L’identification de l’ennemi”, Siècles, no 31, 2010.

– Rose Duroux et Catherine Milkovitch-Rioux (dir.), J’ai dessiné la guerre.

Le regard de Françoise et Alfred Brauner, 2011.

– François Marotin (dir.), Révolutions au XIXe siècle. Violence et identité, 2011.

– Laurent Lamoine, Clara Berrendonner et Mireille Cébeillac-Gervasoni,

Le Quotidien municipal II. Gérer les territoires, les patrimoines et les crises, 2012.
Q u’il soit aux portes ou à l’intérieur de la Cité, l’ennemi est une catégorie
omniprésente dans le vocabulaire mémoriel comme dans le récit historique
ou le discours politique. Cet ouvrage interroge sa pertinence en mettant en
lumière les contextes où elle est à l’œuvre de l’Extrême-Orient à l’Amérique
espagnole, en passant par l’Europe et l’Afrique du Nord, au cours d’une
période qui va du VI e siècle av. J.-C. au XIX e siècle. Il s’agit d’analyser les usages
que les sociétés du passé font des figures de l’ennemi, souvent réduites à de
simples topoï. Objet de traitements antagonistes, entre massacre et intégration
au sein des plus hautes sphères de l’État, ceux que l’on nomme ennemis sont
parfois devenus des figures mythiques que cette enquête vise à déconstruire.

Presses res
Universitai
BLAISE PA
SCAL C o l l e c t i o n H i s t o i r e s c r o i s é e s

Jean-Claude Caron, professeur d’histoire contemporaine à l’UBP et membre de l’IUF,

travaille sur les violences socio-politiques au XIX e siècle.

Laurent Lamoine est maître de conférences en histoire romaine à l’UBP. Ses travaux portent sur les élites
et les institutions locales en Gaule à l’époque de l’indépendance et à l’époque romaine.

Natividad Planas, maître de conférences en histoire moderne à l’UBP,

travaille sur les relations entre l’Espagne et l’Islam.

9 782845 166783
ISBN 978-2-84516-678-3 / PRIX 25 €