While he was still a prince he performed the hajj to Mecca but was forced to spend time in the French colony Mauritius due to adverse winds.
Under these circumstances his principal queen Merah di Awan, a daughter of Sultan Badr ul-Alam Syah (d. 1765) gained a degree of influence in court affairs.
[3] In contrast with his father he acquired a degree of popularity among his subjects, although he did not quite trust them and preferred to keep a lifeguard of Indian sepoys.
However, the colonial administrator Francis Light opined that a considerable force would be needed to keep a secure post there, and rather pointed at the possibilities with Penang off the coast of the Malay Peninsula.
[6] Penang was founded as a British colony in August 1786 and quickly attracted Acehnese traders who arrived with betel-nut, pepper, rice, cloth and so on.
[8] French ships visited Aceh with some frequency after 1793 which made the British highly anxious of an Acehnese-French alliance.