The Precious Gift（Tuhfat al-nafis）

It is significant that the Tuhfat al-Nafis should begin its account of ‘the relationship between the Kings of Johor, of the Bugis areas, and of the island of Sumatra’ in the late seventeenth century. A hundred and fifty years later, as the Tuhfat was being completed, most thinking Malays would have agreed that the period after 1699 had seen major changes in the Malay world. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the kingdom of Johor, where the prestigious Malacca dynasty had been re-established following the Portuguese conquest of 1511. 

The status of Johor as Malacca’s rightful heir had been further enhanced in 1602 through a judicious alliance with the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The consequent defeat of Portuguese Malacca in 1641 by a combined Dutch-Johor force brought Johor trading privileges which enabled it to surpass its commercial rival, Aceh, and eventually to emerge as the foremost Malay state in the area. While VOC officials in Dutch-ruled Malacca struggled to balance their ledgers, using force as well as persuasion to attract traders, Johor prospered. Decades afterwards, this period was still regarded as a golden age in Johor history.