Amarasi

It had an important role in the political history of Timor during the 17th and 18th century, being a client state of the Portuguese colonialists, and later subjected to the Netherlands East Indies.

[1] There he founded a princedom with help of firearms that he had acquired in Beboki-Insana, which in turn lay close to the land of the Topasses (Portuguese mestizo population).

In consequence, Amarasi fought the Dutch East Indies Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC), which attempted to expand its power on Timor, attracted by the stands of commercially valuable sandalwood.

A sizeable Dutch expedition led by Arnold de Vlaming van Oudshoorn (1656) was soundly defeated by Amarasi and the Topasses.

[2] For almost a century after this event, Amarasi remained a Portuguese vassal, during much of the time fighting the Timorese clients of the VOC in the Kupang area in westernmost Timor.

However, the princedom was badly defeated by the other Dutch clients, its king committed suicide and a large part of the manpower was killed or enslaved.