The Portuguese country traders' search for markets focused, in the late seventeenth century, on the few non-VOC-controlled markets in the South China Sea. Manila's market offered some opportunity but the Portuguese could not displace the Chinese junks. Portuguese trade on Timor in the early eighteenth century suffered from the over-cutting and depletion of sandalwood stocks, Chinese competition and the Batavia market becoming a centre for the sale of sandalwood to Chinese junks. Chinese maritime trading competition became more intense after 1684, which was related to the revival of, and stability provided by, the Ch'ing for seaborne trade in south China.

BANJARMASIN

Banjarmasin in the late seventeenth century temporarily offered some enterprising Portuguese Crown officials and country traders the opportunity to monopolise pepper supplies in quantities that were large enough to command significant portions of the market and compete against the European and Chinese suppliers of that spice in south China.

The sultanate of Banjarmasin was located in the south-east of Borneo. Two main groups lived in the area claimed by the Sultan (or Panambahan) of Banjarmasin, the valley or lowland people, the Banjarese; and upland people, the Biajus or Njadjus. Banjarese society was part of the Malay world and they claimed to be the descendants of the original Javanese inhabitants and foreign immigrants on Borneo; Biajus were the aboriginal Dayak tribes of south-east Borneo whose mobile village life co-existed with the extension of Banjarese political control.