State in a subordinate relationship to another, more powerful state
A
tributary state
is a pre-modern
state
in a particular type of subordinate relationship to a more powerful state which involved the sending of a regular token of submission, or
tribute
, to the superior power (the
suzerain
).
[1]
This token often took the form of a substantial transfer of wealth, such as the delivery of gold, produce, or slaves, so that tribute might best be seen as the payment of
protection money
. It might also be more symbolic: sometimes it amounted to no more than the delivery of a mark of submission such as the
bunga mas
(golden flower) that rulers in the
Malay Peninsula
used to send to the kings of
Siam
, or the
Tribute of the Maltese Falcon
that the
Grand Master
of the
Order of St. John
used to send annually to the
Viceroy of Sicily
in order to
rule Malta
. It might also involve attendance by the subordinate ruler at the court of the
hegemon
in order to make a public show of submission.
The modern-day heirs of tribute hegemons tend to claim that the tributary relationship should be understood as an acknowledgement of the hegemon's
sovereignty
in the modern world, whereas former tributary states deny that there was any transfer of sovereignty.
A
formalised tribute system
developed in
East Asia
with many neighbouring East,
Central
, and
Southeast
Asian countries and regions becoming tributary states of various
Chinese dynasties
.
[2]
[3]
Historically, the
Emperor of China
saw himself as the emperor of the
entire civilised world
. It was not possible for such an emperor to have equal diplomatic relations with any other power, and so all diplomatic relations in the region were construed by the Chinese as tributary. The disdain of the state ideology of
Confucianism
for trade, and the belief that Chinese civilisation had no need of products or technology from outside meant that trade, when it was permitted, was also construed as tributary. Diplomatic missions and trading parties from non-Chinese regions were interpreted in Chinese records as being tributary, regardless of the intention of those regions. Under this construction, the goods received by China constituted a tributary offering, while those that the visitors received were interpreted as gifts that the emperor in his kindness had bestowed upon his distant tributaries.
In
Al-Andalus
, the last remaining
Moorish
Nasrid dynasty
in the
Emirate of Granada
paid tribute to the Christian Kingdom of
Castile
(present-day
Spain
). Tributary states, usually on the periphery of the
Ottoman Empire
, were under vassalage in different forms. Some were allowed to select their own leaders, while others paid tribute for their lands. In the Western colonial system, non-Western states were sometimes incorporated into a European empire as
protectorates
.
In the
Philippines
, the
Datus
of the Barangays became vassals of the
Spanish Empire
, from the late 16th century until the Archipelago fell under the power of the
United States of America
in 1898. Their right to rule was recognised by King
Philip II of Spain
, on 11 June 1594, under the condition of paying tributes due to the
Spanish Crown
.
[a]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- a.
^
The king further ordered that the natives should pay to these nobles the same respect that the inhabitants accorded to their local lords before the conquest, without prejudice to the things that pertain to the king himself or to the
encomenderos
(trusteeship leaders). The original royal decree (
Recapilacion de leyes
; in Spanish) says:
[4]
- No es justo, que los Indios Principales de Filipinas sean de peor condicion, despues de haberse convertido, antes de les debe hacer tratamiento, que los aficione, y mantenga en felicidad, para que con los bienes espirituales, que Dios les ha comunicado llamandolos a su verdadero conocimiento, se junten los temporales, y vivan con gusto y conveniencia. Por lo qua mandamos a los Gobernadores de aquellas Islas, que les hagan buen tratamiento, y encomienden en nuestro nombre el gobierno de los Indios, de que eran Senores, y en todo lo demas procuren, que justamente se aprovechen haciendoles los Indios algun reconocimiento en la forma que corria el tiempo de su Gentilidad, con que esto sin perjuicio de los tributos, que a Nos han de pagar, ni de lo que a sus Encomenderos
.
- This translates into English as:
[5]
- "It is not right that the Indian Principales of the Philippines be in a worse condition after conversion; rather they should have such treatment that would gain their affection and keep them loyal, so that with the spiritual blessings that God has communicated to them by calling them to his true knowledge, the temporal blessings may be added, and they may live contentedly and comfortably. Therefore, we order the governors of those islands to show them good treatment and entrust them, in our name, with the government of the Indians, of whom they were formerly Lords. In all else the governors shall see that the Principales are benefited justly, and the Indians shall pay them something as a recognition, as they did during the period of their paganism, provided it be without prejudice to the tributes that are to be paid us, or prejudicial to that which pertains to their Encomenderos."
References
[
edit
]
- ^
[1]
Asiatic, Tributary, or Absolutist
International Socialism, Nov. 2004
- ^
"Archived copy"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2017-01-10
. Retrieved
2017-03-04
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link
)
- ^
Garver, John W. (July 2011).
Protracted Contest: Sino-Indian Rivalry in the Twentieth Century
. University of Washington Press.
ISBN
9780295801209
.
- ^
Juan de Ariztia, ed.,
Recapilacion de leyes
, Madrid (1723), lib. vi, tit. VII, ley xvi. This reference can be found at the library of the Estudio Teologico Agustiniano de Valladolid in Spain.
- ^
Felipe II,
Ley de Junio 11, 1594
in
Recapilacion de leyes
, lib. vi, tit. VII, ley xvi. The English translation of the law by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson can be found in
The Philippine Islands (1493?1898)
, Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XVI, pp. 155?156.