Gaspar da Costa Gaspar da Costa ( d . Penfui , West Timor , 9 November 1749 ) was the leader or " tenente general " ( lieutenant general ) of the Portuguese - speaking Topasses , a Eurasian group that dominated much of the politics on Timor in the early modern period . He was largely responsible for the dramatic collapse of Portuguese power in West Timor , a process that laid the foundations for the modern division of Timor in an Indonesian and an independent part . Political rise . His exact parentage is not known , but he might have been the son of the former tenente general Domingos da Costa ( d . 1722 ) . He appeared as tenente general in 1732 , shortly after the conclusion of a treaty between the Topasses and the official Portuguese governor of Timor . There had been a state of intermittent warfare between the two Portuguese fractions since 1702 , but during the time of Gaspar da Costa there was a lull in the hostilities . He supported the foundation of a priest seminar on Timor , but at the same time dominated large parts of Timor without caring about the governor . His main seat of residence was Animata in the present Oecussi - Ambeno enclave , close to Lifau at the north coast , where the governor resided . Animata was described as an extensive settlement with circa 1 , 800 houses . The son of Gaspar da Costa . In 1748 Gaspar da Costa sent his eldest son Baltazar together with a Dominican priest to France for educational purpose . In the next year the boy and his preceptor arrived to Lorient in France . The priest , however , disappeared with the goods and left Baltazar to fend for himself . The latter pursued the rest of his life as a ship ' s cook and a humble relief - seeker . His plight was noted by some French persons of standing , who presented him to the public as the " Prince of Timor " , but Baltazar eventually died poor and forgotten , some time after 1778 . The Battle of Penfui . Gaspar da Costa ' s relations with the Dutch colonizers in Kupang in westernmost Timor were generally poor . In 1735 a Topass army seriously threatened Kupang , and in 1746 - 49 the Topasses intervened on the Island of Roti , a Dutch dependency close to Timor . In 1748 a number of Timorese princedoms in West Timor , who were usually clients to the Portuguese , turned rebellious against Gaspar da Costa . As the Topass forces fought back , lots of Timorese refugees headed for Kupang and the Dutch , who sympathized with the rebels . Especially , the ruler of the prestigious Sonbai princedom joined the Dutch with the bulk of his followers . Gaspar da Costa raised a comprehensive army consisting of Topasses and levies from the various Timorese princedoms still under his control . The Dutch calculated it to be 20 , 000 men or even more . The professed aim of Gaspar da Costa was to bring the fugitives back and to eliminate the Dutch garrison in Kupang . The Topass - Timorese army camped at Penfui , at present - day El Tari Airport east of Kupang , where they made fortifications of stone and earth . On 9 November 1749 the Dutch sent out a multi - ethnic force consisting of Europeans , Solorese , Sawunese , Rotinese , mardijkers ( non - whites in Dutch service ) , Timorese , etc . In the ensuing Battle of Penfui they attacked the fortifications of Gaspar da Costa with success . The weakness of his large but non - uniform army became apparent as big contingents fled the field in the beginning of the battle . When Gaspar da Costa attempted to leave the battlefield on horseback he was pierced by a Timorese spear , while his followers were slaughtered in the thousands . The Topass defeat meant that the Dutch were able to extend their sphere of influence to most of West Timor during the following decade . In this way the battle laid the ground for the colonial division of Timor in two halves , which was permanented in the nineteenth century , with consequences until today .