Batusangkar Palace
Pictures credited to The Spice Route End

Padri Movement worked in an attempt to purge and reform local cultural practices. There are many factors that affect the establishment of the Padri Movement in Minangkabau. Interestingly, all these factors seem to interrelate with each other. It is impossible to single out one element only because each of them would further tangles with other elements.

Economic Repercussion
The rapid changes in the economic structure of Minangkabau had become the triggering factor which later leads to other factors as well. The new economic paradigm has brought along disturbance to society in terms of societal development. This includes the unorganized trading network as well as an inadequate method of settling disputes booming from the society inability to move along the rapid changes in commerce. 

Traders had to deal with acute bandit problem who robbed not only their goods but also abducted and sold them to east coast traders in the worst case. Banditry threatened the safety of the trade routes that started to flourish. With the deterioration in the morality of the people along with the inclination of the economic direction of Minangkabau, Padri Movement could have thought the matters concerning moral can only be solved if the people of Minangkabau turn back to religion sooner. 

Social & Moral Reclination
Although the community had already embraced Islam, owing to the closed interwoven between traditions and religions – some of these traditions retained in the society and failed to be abolished. Superstitions, beliefs in magic and charms, cockfighting and even gambling were too often practised by them despite being a Muslim. 

Looking at the history of Islam in the Malay land itself, most of the people seems to embrace Islam as a symbol of sovereignty to their rulers. They were not exposed to a proper Islamic teaching resulting in the inability to differentiate between the good and the bad attitudes as described in the book of Allah. This obviously has created gap in which Padri Movement appealed to fill in. The Padris had implemented their strict rulings in an attempt to educate the society to behave as aligned by their, possibly, skewed interpretations of Islam.

Political Interests
Padri Movement, at an early stage, participates in the effort of wanting to implement Islamic law in solving these problems, yet in the later period they also aim to involve in the customary density of Council of Nagari (district) or nagari government council. According to Hafiz and Mohd Afandi (2011), the ‘ulama’ previously had no role in political as well as administrative affairs within the Minangkabau power structure. Prior to the founding of surau, Islamic law only played a marginal role in society whereas adat or customary practices becomes the dominant references in solving general and societal problems. 
Surau Lubuk Bauk 

By taking into account their political interests, Padri Movement could have recognized the influence they could have in implementing Islamic values as a way of life better once they could administer it through the power held as an authority. There is also an opinion that the political model of the Padri Movement worked on the basis of democratic egalitarian in which generally characterized by equality for all humans.