Intent on capturing a piece of the Portuguese trade in pepper and other spices, the Java-based Dutch allied with the Malays in 1633 to blockade Melaka.
The Dutch and the Malays had worked together before.
mnli hypothesis: The Dutch and the Malays had worked together before. premise: Intent on capturing a piece of the Portuguese trade in pepper and other spices, the Java-based Dutch allied with the Malays in 1633 to blockade Melaka.