Achehnese Control over West Sumatra up to the Treaty of Painan, 1663

The west Sumatran coast between Barus in the north and Inderapura in the south, which came under Achehnese rule, was originally part of the Minangkabau kingdom which developed in the fourteenth century and reigned supreme in central Sumatra up to about the end of the following century The Padang lowlands and the coastal region up to the northern border of Silebar were considered in the Alam Minangkabau as part of the rantau, or acquired territories, as different from the darat, or nucleus of the kingdom formed by the 3 luaks (or districts) of Agam, Tanah Data and Lima Puloh Kota. The important distinction between the darat and the rantau was that the former was administered on genealogical principles with a penghulu at the head of each negeri in the luak while the rantau was divided into several parts and was under the territorial rule of various rajas who were members of the royal family.2 Beneath the rajas appointed by the central administration at Pagarruyong were minor rajas and penghulus selected from amongst the local inhabitants who were in charge of the various districts. In return for the help and protection provided by the darat, especially in times of trouble, the negeris in the rantau were obliged to pay homage and tribute to Pagarruyong, a duty which they evaded during periods of weak central control, as at the end of the fifteenth century.