The Singapore and Melaka Straits: Violence, Security and Diplomacy in the 17th Century

Conclusion

189 Conclusion The Singapore and Melaka Straits were historically, and still remain, a nexus of security and commerce. This is not retroactively reading presentday priorities and concerns into the more distant past. This book has shown, for the period under review (c. 1600–40), that the Straits were a focal point of competition not only among regional players such as Johor and Aceh, but also among the early European colonial powers. It is appropriate, in the present context, to tease out some conclusions about a few “big themes” that derive from the history of early modern European expansion. These include the strategic location of Singapore island and the adjacent Straits, the sovereignty of the Asian princes and the dynamics of cooperation between Asian princes and the early European colonial powers. Strategic฀Location What factors significantly shaped and determined a strategic location in the maritime context of the early modern period? The first ingredient was the presence of seaborne trade. In the maritime context, there can be sparse value to a strait or a promontory where little or no commercial interaction takes place. 06 S&MS.indd 189 12/31/09 2:58:45 PM 190฀ The Singapore and Melaka Straits In the age of sail, oceanic currents, weather patterns and wind conditions greatly shaped the patterns of seaborne trade. Familiarity with and knowledge of these conditions were prerequisites to mastering the maritime sea lanes, which in many instances did not — and could not — follow the shortest, most direct route. The region between the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra marks a point where the two Asian monsoons overlap. Singapore, Melaka and the Straits are situated in this region, and over the centuries they have supported the rise of several historically important trading emporia along their shores. In the age of sail, Asian traders did not favour long-distance intra-Asian commerce, as waiting for the monsoon winds to shift extended the turnaround time of ships, crew and cargo. This consequently cut into potential profits. Thus, long before the arrival of the early European colonial powers, the ports and emporia located around the Singapore and Melaka Straits had firmly established themselves as meeting grounds and forums of commercial exchange. Produce from ports around the Bay of Bengal, Persia, Arabia and East Africa was exchanged for goods from around the Indonesian Archipelago, the Malay Peninsula, Siam, Cochinchina, Champa, China, Korea and Japan. The strategic significance of Singapore and the adjacent Straits was thus determined by the convergence of numerous trading networks that were, in turn, conditioned by the two monsoonal weather systems, by geography and, of course, by the desire of traders to maximise their profits. Sumatra and also, to a lesser extent, Java, staked out both the land-based meeting grounds as well as the physical barriers to maritime trade that straddled the ports of the Indian Ocean rim and the South China Sea. The advantage of location, however, only partially helps to reconstruct the parameters underpinning the “strategic location” of Singapore, Melaka and the region around the Straits at large. The second — and arguably far more important — facet is political stability. For a region or emporium to succeed, it is not sufficient for it to be situated at the convergence of important regional trading networks. Location is only one aspect within the bigger scheme of things, and in order to both attract and maintain trade it is imperative to optimise conditions of trade with regime stability as well as commensurate fees and imposts. The history of the ports and polities around the Straits of Singapore and Melaka is replete with stories of success and failure. This book has focused on a relatively narrow period within this wider history, namely, the first four decades of the 17th century. The evidence presented, however, demonstrates how regime change, the 06 S&MS.indd 190 12/31/09 2:58:45 PM Conclusion 191 arrival of new “players” in the region, the shift in the balance of power and successive changes in policy greatly impacted the fortunes of a given port or polity. The arrival of the VOC as a commercial and political force in the region, the rise of Aceh as an imperial power and the resulting fates of important settlements and trading centres such as Johor Lama, Batu Sawar and Portuguese Melaka merit specific mention in this context. The jockeying for political supremacy by Johor and Aceh; the legacy of...