Kupang

Kupang stands on a bay at the western end of Timor. The harbour lay in the country of the Helong people and became a foothold for the Dutch East India Company in the island's sandalwood trade. Portuguese and Dutch ambitions met here among the many Timorese domains, whose own rulers made and remade alliances across the island.

The Dutch first reached Kupang in 1613 and established a fort in 1653. After defeats by Portuguese forces and their allies in the 1650s, groups from Sonbai and Amabi moved to the vicinity of the Dutch stronghold. In 1749 the Topass leader Gaspar da Costa led a large force toward Kupang. A company force and its Timorese allies defeated him at Penfui on 9 November, and da Costa was killed. The battle altered the balance in western Timor, bringing additional local domains into alliance with the Dutch.