The Sea as Life Support for Bugis People in Colonial Period

Abstract

This article wanted to describe how the sea became a pillar in Bugis people’s life. The purpose of the study was to explain analytically concerning the Bugis people’s livelihoods related to the sea, such as being fishermen, carrying out trading activities, and piracy. The method used was the historical method which included heuristics, criticism, interpretation, and historiography. The results indicated that Bugis people from then until the colonial period mainly depended on the marine environment. They lived in coastal areas that were close to sea life and depended on their life to the sea. Some of Bugis livelihoods during the colonial period were being fishermen, trading activities, and becoming pirates. Some of the fishing products were consumed by themselves, and the rest were sold. Activities in the commercial sector were carried out through trading activities. They sailed and traded on an international and inter-insular scale. Some other Bugis people depended their lives on piracy. They pirated in coastal areas and in the archipelago ocean. This study concluded that Bugis people’s life could not be separated from a marine environment. It was through the sea that during the colonial period, they could exist, survive, and develop. For Bugis people, marine environment was seen as a pillar of the community’s economy.