The Big Picture: Major Influences - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 16

Armada in 1588, was a pivotal event in the sanctioning of
further British expeditions. The race for territory was on,
and it was inevitable that swords would cross.
T Territorial gain and sea-lane control became para-
mount concerns. The importance of control over the
Strait of Malacca cannot be underestimated. A plaque in
the garden of the sultan' s former palace in Malacca reads:
“Whoever is lord of Malacca has his hand on the throat
of Venice.” The Italian city-state of Venice dominated
international trade from the 1200s to the mid-1400s.
The Portuguese established trading ports from Africa
to China, and by 1520 they dominated the seas. Intoler-
ant of Islam and greedy for profit, they tried to force out
the Muslims who remained along the coasts of Indonesia' s
islands and used Islam as a rallying point against the Eu-
ropean intruders. The Portuguese moved into Cochin,
Diu, Goa, and created a new port at Bombay (Mumbai) in
India. They took the critical port of Malacca in 1511, and
acquired control of Macao in 1557 (Figure 1-13). The
Portuguese kept T Ternate in the Spice Islands until 1570,
when it was wrested away by the Dutch. However, the
Portuguese remained in Timor-Leste until 1975.
Both the Dutch and the British were anxious to oust
the Portuguese from South and Southeast Asia. Backed
by stockholders, with monopoly privileges and the right
to raise armies and navies, British and Dutch trading
companies aggressively intruded into the area. Factories,
or trading posts, were quickly set up throughout the re-
gion. The Dutch took T Ternate in 1607 and founded
Batavia on Java in 1619. Malacca fell into their hands in

1641, and Banten (by then British) was acquired in 1682.
When the Dutch attacked the Johor port in 1784, the
British responded.
Britain had initially concentrated on India but became
intrigued with the economic potential of Southeast Asia,
where they vied with the Dutch. They seized Malacca in
1796 and gained the island of Singapore in 1819. France
entered the picture and established the first of its settle-
ments at Pondicherry , India, in 1674. However, the French
were more interested in their African colonies and were not
as aggressive as their British and Dutch contemporaries.
And so the era of European colonialism was launched.

Colonialism and Imperialism

With colonization rampant in the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries, an extensive web of ports and shipping lanes
fostered the evolution of an Atlantic economy as well.
Silver and other resources from the New World became
integral to economic exchange between Atlantic and
Pacific realms. A world economy was emerging.
The number of imperial powers increased from two
(Spain and Portugal) in the sixteenth century to five in
the seventeenth century with the addition of Britain,
France, and Holland. Collections of colonies worldwide
were absorbed into the web of economic interchange.
The only place not colonized in Southeast Asia was Siam
(Thailand). It became a buffer state between British and
French interests in mainland Southeast Asia.
Competition was fierce during this mercantilist pe-
riod, during which raw materials were brought to the colo-
nial power, where factories produced manufactured goods
to be shipped back to the colonies. Under mercantilism,
colonies were not allowed to manufacture such goods.
Neither were they allowed to trade with other than their
own colonial overlord. The Seven Y ears' War (1756-1763)
between Britain and France ended French ambitions in In-
dia and North America and allowed Britain to become the
world' s leading power. With colonies around the globe, it
was said that the sun never set on the British Empire.
Britain expanded further into India, and France
reached into Indochina. Holland tightened its grip on the
Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). In order to control their
monopoly on the spice trade and to jack up prices, the
Dutch began destroying all the spice plants on some of
the islands. Fearing instant poverty , the islanders resis-
ted, with terrible consequences. For instance, almost the
entire population of the Banda Islands was exterminated.
By attacking and blockading ships owned by indigenous

Figure 1-13
This building reflects both Dutch and Malay architecture. Eventu-
ally it was used by the British as the exclusive Melaka Club. Now
it is an Independence Memorial for Malaysia. Photograph courtesy
of B. A. Weightman.