Foreigners are shocked to see the gold-plated island in RI, thought it was fiction

Photo: BMKG

HOLIDAY NEWS - Hundreds of years ago European people were fed the story of a gold-plated island located on one side of the earth. They could only hear from people that anyone who came to the golden island would definitely prosper.

Unfortunately, as a result of not being able to carry out a search, they then believed that all the stories were just fiction. Moreover, they also cannot own gold easily because of the high price. As a result, gold is just an item of imagination.

However, around the 15th century, when humans had the ability to sail, they realized that the story of the golden island was not just fiction, but really existed. The name of the island is Sumatra.

All foreigners from Europe who came to Sumatra showed the same response, namely shock and astonishment. The reason is, those who had been convinced that the island of gold was just fiction finally witnessed it first hand with their own eyes.

One story comes from a British official, Thomas Stanford Raffles, during a visit to Minangkabau in July 1818.

Historian Anthony Reid in Southeast Asia in the Commercial Period, 1450-1680 (1992) said that Minangkabau was the richest area in gold in Southeast Asia. There are many gold mines there, all of which are exported to meet the needs of the people of Southeast Asia.

This fact then made Raffles come directly to Minangkabau and was immediately amazed at the amount of gold he saw. In the Memoir of the Life and Public Services of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (1830), he said that when crossing the hills from Simawang to Pagaruyung there were hills that contained gold.

The gold is then mined very easily by many people to be traded. There were times when the gold blocked Raffles' steps. So abundant.

"However, to continue our journey [...] various types of iron and gold ore blocked our steps. But, soon we arrived at the gold mine," wrote Raffles.

Not only about gold-covered land, Raffles also shared his experience of seeing a golden river in the Simawang area. However, it is no longer known whether Raffles' story regarding the river of gold is fictional or not. However, this testimony encouraged geologists to carry out gold mining in Minangkabau land based on modern science.

The shocked response was not only experienced by Raffles, various other European explorers also had similar reactions. Especially when you witness firsthand the lifestyle of the residents which is inversely proportional to Europeans.

Usually in Europe, only super rich people can wear gold. However, in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia today, gold is used by many people without exception.

"Europeans were often amazed at the way Southeast Asians presented themselves with hundreds of dollars' worth of gold on their bodies," writes historian Anthony Reid.

Explorer Francis Drake, for example, when he came to the archipelago in 1580 he was amazed to see the Sultan of Ternate wearing clothes with pure gold jewelry. Or when you meet the Sultan of Johor who wears three gold chains around his neck and gold bracelets on his arms.

While European explorer Tome Pires in Suma Oriental (1944) also said so. While visiting Java in 1513 he saw the Javanese king who was very rich. Her appearance from top to bottom is full of gold. In fact, the bodyguards and pet dogs also wear gold necklaces and bracelets. This also happened to common people.

Because the demand for gold is so high, a new profession has emerged, namely goldsmiths or people who process gold into various forms. Anthony Reid said that this profession appeared in many royal capitals to meet people's gold needs.

In the end, the surprise of the foreigners was proof that they were not truly superior. In other parts of the world, there are regions and societies that are very developed and rich and have a lot of gold. From here, they then encouraged large-scale gold exploration and exploitation. It has been proven that during the colonial period, gold was a potential source of profit besides spices.

Bule Kaget Lihat Langsung Pulau Berlapis Emas di RI, Dikira Fiksi

HOLIDAY NEWS - Ratusan tahun lalu masyarakat Eropa dicekoki cerita pulau berlapis emas yang berada di salah satu muka bumi. Mereka hanya bisa mendengar dari orang-orang bahwa siapapun yang datang ke pulau emas niscaya bakal makmur.

Sayang, akibat tak bisa melakukan pencarian, mereka lantas meyakini semua cerita itu hanya fiksi belaka. Apalagi, mereka juga tak bisa memiliki emas secara mudah karena harga yang mahal. Alhasil, emas jadi barang imajinasi saja.

Namun, sekitar abad ke-15, saat manusia sudah memiliki kemampuan berlayar, mereka lantas mengetahui bahwa cerita pulau emas bukan fiksi semata, tapi benar-benar ada. Nama pulau itu adalah Sumatera.

Semua bule dari Eropa yang datang ke Sumatera menunjukkan satu respon sama, yakni kaget dan tercengang. Pasalnya, mereka yang selama ini yakin pulau emas hanya fiksi semata akhirnya menyaksikan langsung dengan mata kepala sendiri.

Salah satu cerita datang dari pejabat Inggris, Thomas Stanford Raffles, saat berkunjung ke Minangkabau pada Juli 1818.

Sejarawan Anthony Reid dalam Asia Tenggara dalam Kurun Niaga, 1450-1680 (1992) menceritakan, Minangkabau merupakan daerah yang paling kaya akan emas di Asia Tenggara. Di sana terdapat banyak tambang emas yang seluruh hasilnya diekspor untuk memenuhi kebutuhan masyarakat Asia Tenggara.

Fakta ini kemudian membuat Raffles datang langsung ke Minangkabau dan langsung tercengang atas banyaknya emas yang dia lihat. Dalam Memoir of the Life and Public Services of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (1830), dia bercerita bahwa saat melintasi perbukitan dari Simawang ke Pagaruyung terdapat bukit-bukit yang mengandung emas.

Emas tersebut kemudian ditambang dengan sangat mudah oleh banyak orang untuk diperjualbelikan. Ada kalanya juga emas tersebut menghalangi langkah Raffles. Saking melimpah.

"Tetapi, untuk melanjutkan perjalanan kami [...] berbagai jenis bijih besi dan emas menghalangi langkah kami. Tapi, tak lama kemudian kami sampai di tambang emas," tulis Raffles.

Tak hanya soal tanah berlapis emas, Raffles juga menceritakan pengalamannya melihat sungai emas yang berada di kawasan Simawang. Hanya saja, cerita Raffles terkait sungai emas itu tak diketahui lagi fiksi atau tidak. Namun, kesaksian tersebut mendorong para geolog melakukan penambangan emas di tanah Minangkabau berdasarkan ilmu pengetahuan modern.

Respon kaget tak hanya dialami oleh Raffles, berbagai penjelajah Eropa lain juga memiliki reaksi serupa. Apalagi saat menyaksikan langsung gaya hidup para penduduknya yang berbanding terbalik dengan orang Eropa.

Biasanya di Eropa, hanya orang super kaya saja yang bisa memakai emas. Namun, di Asia Tenggara, khususnya kawasan Indonesia sekarang, emas dipakai oleh banyak orang tanpa terkecuali.

"Orang Eropa seringkali tercengang melihat cara orang Asia Tenggara menampilkan diri mereka dengan emas seharga ratusan dollar di tubuhnya," tulis sejarawan Anthony Reid.

Penjelajah Francis Drake, misalkan, saat datang ke Nusantara pada 1580 dia takjub saat melihat Sultan Ternate memakai pakaian dengan perhiasan-perhiasan dari emas murni. Atau saat menemui Sultan Johor yang memakai tiga buah rantai emas di leher dan gelang emas di lengan.

Sementara penjelajah Eropa Tome Pires dalam Suma Oriental (1944) juga berkata demikian. Saat mengunjungi Jawa tahun 1513 dia melihat raja Jawa yang sangat kaya. Penampilannya dari atas ke bawah full menggunakan emas. Bahkan, para pengawal dan anjing peliharaan juga memakai kalung dan gelang emas. Ini juga terjadi pada rakyat jelata.

Saking tingginya kebutuhan emas, muncul profesi baru, yakni tukang pandai emas atau orang yang mengolah emas menjadi berbagai bentuk. Anthony Reid menceritakan, profesi ini muncul di banyak ibu kota kerajaan untuk memenuhi kebutuhan emas masyarakat.

Pada akhirnya, rasa kaget para bule menjadi bukti bahwa mereka tak benar-benar superior. Di belahan bumi lain, terdapat wilayah dan masyarakat yang sangat maju dan kaya dengan memiliki banyak emas. Dari sini, mereka kemudian mendorong terjadinya eksplorasi dan eksploitasi emas besar-besaran. Terbukti di masa penjajahan, emas jadi sumber cuan potensial selain rempah-rempah.