With the Bugis gaining control over much Kedah, Perak and
Selangor during
the mid-18th century, the Bugis saw the Dutch as major threat to their
domination
of the Peninsula - especially after Johore allied itself with the East
India
Company. The Bugis leader, Daeng Kamboja, made Linggi his base - the
word
"Linggi", in fact, is actually derived from an old Bugis word
which
means the 'stem' or the bow of a ship.
From Linggi, the Bugis in October 1756 blockaded and
besieged Dutch
Malacca. Unfortunately, Dutch reinforcements from Batavia arrived in
February
1757, attacked Daeng Kemboja's bases in Linggi and the Bugis were
forced
to lift the siege in July 1757. Exhausted by the war, the Bugis sought
to
restore friendly relations with the Dutch and both agreed to jointly
build
a fort at the mouth of the Linggi River as a token of friendship.
The fort was built on a Bukit Supai (Sepoy Hill), just a
few hundred metres
from the seashore, on the southern bank of the river mouth. It is a
square-shaped
structure measuring 167 feet by 150 feet, with walls consisting of
broken
laterite slabs. The walls were about 8 feet high and had bastions for
artillery
at each corner. A moat completely surrounded the fort, except for a
landward
entrance and a seaward entrance that led to a passageway connecting the
fort
and the landing stage at the beach.
The Dutch called it Fort Filipina after the daughter of
Jacob Mosel, the
Governor General of the Dutch East India Company at the time. The Dutch
formally
sealed this unlikely alliance with a peace treaty that was signed at
the
fort on the 1st of January 1758 with Daeng Kemboja of Linggi, Raja Adil
of
Rembau and Raja Tua of Klang.
Under the terms of the treaty, the three ruling chiefs
submitted to the Dutch
but were allowed to retain their positions. All trade with foreign
Europeans
nations was to cease and all the tin of Linggi, Rembau and Klang was to
be
sold to the Dutch at the price 32 Spanish dollars per bahar and 2
Spanish
dollars for the ruler. No vessels were to pass along the coast from
south
to north and vice versa without calling at Melaka to obtain passes.
The treaty also required that the fort be also offically
handed over to the
Dutch. From this strategic location, the Dutch could control traffic on
the
river and collect taxes from vessels transporting tin quarried in the
Linggi
and Rembau river valleys.
The Dutch finally abandoned the fort in 1759 because of the continuing
good
relations with the Bugis. The uneasy peace remained until the death
Daeng
Kemboja, after which Raja Haji led the Bugis to war against the Dutch
in
1782.
Though remnants of the stone walls and bastions of the
fort remain today,
other structures, including buildings that were erected inside the
fort,
have now vanished with time. The fort was gazetted as a historical
monument
under the Antiquities Act of 1976 and archeological work at the site
have
unearthed a cannon, some clay pots and six shillings belonging to the
East
India Company.
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Sejarah Melayu
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this site.
With the Bugis gaining control over much Kedah, Perak and
Selangor during
the mid-18th century, the Bugis saw the Dutch as major threat to their
domination
of the Peninsula - especially after Johore allied itself with the East
India
Company. The Bugis leader, Daeng Kamboja, made Linggi his base - the
word
"Linggi", in fact, is actually derived from an old Bugis word
which
means the 'stem' or the bow of a ship. 
From Linggi, the Bugis in October 1756 blockaded and
besieged Dutch
Malacca. Unfortunately, Dutch reinforcements from Batavia arrived in
February
1757, attacked Daeng Kemboja's bases in Linggi and the Bugis were
forced
to lift the siege in July 1757. Exhausted by the war, the Bugis sought
to
restore friendly relations with the Dutch and both agreed to jointly
build
a fort at the mouth of the Linggi River as a token of friendship.
The fort was built on a Bukit Supai (Sepoy Hill), just a
few hundred metres
from the seashore, on the southern bank of the river mouth. It is a
square-shaped
structure measuring 167 feet by 150 feet, with walls consisting of
broken
laterite slabs. The walls were about 8 feet high and had bastions for
artillery
at each corner. A moat completely surrounded the fort, except for a
landward
entrance and a seaward entrance that led to a passageway connecting the
fort
and the landing stage at the beach.
The Dutch called it Fort Filipina after the daughter of
Jacob Mosel, the
Governor General of the Dutch East India Company at the time. The Dutch
formally
sealed this unlikely alliance with a peace treaty that was signed at
the
fort on the 1st of January 1758 with Daeng Kemboja of Linggi, Raja Adil
of
Rembau and Raja Tua of Klang.
Under the terms of the treaty, the three ruling chiefs
submitted to the Dutch
but were allowed to retain their positions. All trade with foreign
Europeans
nations was to cease and all the tin of Linggi, Rembau and Klang was to
be
sold to the Dutch at the price 32 Spanish dollars per bahar and 2
Spanish
dollars for the ruler. No vessels were to pass along the coast from
south
to north and vice versa without calling at Melaka to obtain passes.
The treaty also required that the fort be also offically
handed over to the
Dutch. From this strategic location, the Dutch could control traffic on
the
river and collect taxes from vessels transporting tin quarried in the
Linggi
and Rembau river valleys. 
Though remnants of the stone walls and bastions of the
fort remain today,
other structures, including buildings that were erected inside the
fort,
have now vanished with time. The fort was gazetted as a historical
monument
under the Antiquities Act of 1976 and archeological work at the site
have
unearthed a cannon, some clay pots and six shillings belonging to the
East
India Company.