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Atributary state is a pre-modernstate in a particular type of subordinate relationship to a more powerful state which involved the sending of a regular token of submission, ortribute, to the superior power (thesuzerain).[1] This token often took the form of a substantial transfer of wealth, such as the delivery of gold, produce, or slaves, so that tribute might best be seen as the payment ofprotection money. It might also be more symbolic: sometimes it amounted to no more than the delivery of a mark of submission such as thebunga mas (golden flower) that rulers in theMalay Peninsula used to send to the kings ofSiam, or theTribute of the Maltese Falcon that theGrand Master of theOrder of St. John used to send annually to theViceroy of Sicily in order torule Malta. It might also involve attendance by the subordinate ruler at the court of thehegemon in order to make a public show of submission.
The modern-day heirs of tribute hegemons tend to claim that the tributary relationship should be understood as an acknowledgement of the hegemon'ssovereignty in the modern world, whereas former tributary states deny that there was any transfer of sovereignty.
Aformalised tribute system developed inEast Asia with many neighbouring East,Central, andSoutheast Asian countries and regions becoming tributary states of variousChinese dynasties.[2][3] Historically, theEmperor of China saw himself as the emperor of theentire civilised world. It was not possible for such an emperor to have equal diplomatic relations with any other power, and so all diplomatic relations in the region were construed by the Chinese as tributary. The disdain of the state ideology ofConfucianism for trade, and the belief that Chinese civilisation had no need of products or technology from outside meant that trade, when it was permitted, was also construed as tributary. Diplomatic missions and trading parties from non-Chinese regions were interpreted in Chinese records as being tributary, regardless of the intention of those regions. Under this construction, the goods received by China constituted a tributary offering, while those that the visitors received were interpreted as gifts that the emperor in his kindness had bestowed upon his distant tributaries.
InAl-Andalus, the last remainingMoorishNasrid dynasty in theEmirate of Granada paid tribute to the Christian Kingdom ofCastile (present-daySpain). Tributary states, usually on the periphery of theOttoman Empire, were under vassalage in different forms. Some were allowed to select their own leaders, while others paid tribute for their lands. In the Western colonial system, non-Western states were sometimes incorporated into a European empire asprotectorates.
In thePhilippines, theDatus of the Barangays became vassals of theSpanish Empire, from the late 16th century until the Archipelago fell under the power of theUnited States of America in 1898. Their right to rule was recognised by KingPhilip II of Spain, on 11 June 1594, under the condition of paying tributes due to theSpanish Crown.[a]
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