Rulers index

The diplomatic letters were sent to Batavia Castle by hundreds of different kings, sultans, governors and other power holders from across a very broad region which included not only the Indonesian archipelago, but the whole of Asia, and stretching west as far as the Middle East, Africa and Europe. All of these rulers had their successors, and this is also evident when studying these letters. In different ways, this page provides a clear overview of all the rulers found in these letters, including their kingdoms’ locations, the period of their respective reigns, and the amount of letters they sent and received.

The top ten diplomats and monarchs who corresponded with Batavia by diplomatic letter are presented here:

Download the full overview here of the rulers and ordered by their total number of letters

Download the full overview here, ordered geographically and chronologically

Download more background information about the rulers and the chronology of their reign, as presented here in a separate overview by Maarten Manse and Simon Kemper


Browsing and searching for rulers

The names of the rulers engaged in this diplomatic correspondence can be browsed and searched for. This includes both the original correspondents and those receiving the letters. The ruler’s names are standardized according to modern spelling and are arranged alphabetically. Rulers may have different alternative names in the letters, and these alternative names are also mentioned for each ruler. For research purposes, the ruler’s alternative names will all direct the researcher to the standardized name.

You searched for: first_letter is M. We found 90 results.


Name Alternative names Location Number of letters
Magat Sukaraja Batang 1
Maharaja Dija Malu Laut Mandar 1
Maharaja Indra Datuk Maharaja Pariaman
Panglima Maharaja Laut
Maharaja Indra Salida
Padang 10
Maharaja Thuljaji (1763-1787) Thanjavur 2
Mahmud Abdul Jalil Jalaluddin Shah (1740-1760) Inderapura 2
Mahmud Datu Jereweh (1780-1791) Sumbawa 1
Mahmud II of Johor (1685-1699) Paduka Sri Sultan Mahmud Shah II ibni al-Marhum Sultan Ibrahim Shah
Johor 3
Major Manuel de St. Stephan Manuel de Saint Stephan
Manila 1
Malapa Malu (1656-1666) Prominent rice trader
Saraswat Malapa Malu
Kanara 1
Manatuli Brother in law of Raja Arung Bujung
Banjarmasin 1
Manavikraman VI Bharani Tiruna (1684-1705) Samoothiri Raja [Zamorin] Manavikraman VI Bharani Tiruna
Bharani Tirunal Mana Vikrama
Calicut 1
Mandarin of Beijing Lepus of Beijing
Beijing 4
Mandarins of Qingyuan Quintang 5
Mangkubumi Pangeran Mandura Banten 3
Mangkunegara II (1796-1835) Kanjeng Gusti Pangeran Adipati Arya Mangkunegara II
Raden Mas Sulomo
Pangeran Surya Mataram
Pangeran Surya Mangkubumi
Pangeran Adipati Prangwadana
Surakarta 2
Manjampa Singa Raja Singa
Colombo 1
Mansyur Bila Warlord Mansyur Bila
Mocha 1
Mantris of Inderapura Inderapura 8
Manu Kore Liae 14
Manuel Corte-Real de Sampaio (1668-1671) One of the three governors of Portuguese India between 1668 and 1671.
Goa 1