Majapahit fleet enforces tribute across the Malay world

1343

Gajah Mada, the empire's great prime minister, dispatched naval expeditions to enforce Majapahit suzerainty over Sumatra, Borneo, and the Moluccas. His Palapa Oath - a vow to eat no spiced food until the archipelago was unified - became the founding legend of Indonesian political unity five centuries before Indonesia existed.