Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300-1800 by John N. Miksic


Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300-1800
Title : Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300-1800
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The overland Silk Road linking China with West Asia and Europe is a famous and fabled trade route The sea route that was its alternative was arguablysignificant both historically and economically and holds the greatest potential for understanding the great movements of people ideas and goods in Asia With its teeming port cities and huge vessels carrying exotic luxuries along with everyday commodities such as iron and fish oil the Silk Road of the Sea is eually glamorous but has attracted much less attention that its overland counterpart Temasik an early name for Singapore is the first Chinese settlement in Southeast Asia that is mentioned in a written historical source an account prepared in 1349 Situated at the southern end of the Straits of Melaka Temasik was a logical stopping off point between east and west for sailing ships which could not travel through from India to China in a single monsoon Archaeological research in Singapore has confirmed that a 14th century settlement existed near the mouth of the Singapore River and excavations there have recovered large uantities of local and imported artefacts Thanks to twenty five years of archaeological research combined with written accounts scholars can reconstruct the 14th century port of Singapore in greater detail than is possible for any other early Southeast Asian city The picture of ancient Singapore that emerges is of a port where people processed raw materials used money and had specialised occupations Within its defensive wall the city was well organised and prosperous with a cosmopolitan population made up of local residents along with foreigners from China other parts of Southeast Asia and the Indian OceanShortlisted for the 2015 Best Study in the Humanities from the International Convention of Asia Scholars The ICAS jury described the book as “a ground breaking study of Singapore and its role in the regional long distance maritime trade during the pre colonial periodIt is a work of lasting scholarship

Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300-1800 Reviews

  • JOSE LUIZ M. DO VALE

    Beautifully ilustrated meet my spectation Easy reading I use as reference Informative and presented in a good format Brilliant research

  • Claire Barnes

    This book deserves a much wider audience than may be attracted by its title The history of Singapore from 1300 1800 is indeed fascinating and until recently under appreciated that this is now changing is in large part due to Prof Miksic Local textbooks have been changed since publication of this book to take account of a 700 rather than 200 year history and an earlier golden age However the book also offers the best account to date of a much larger topic the 1500 year pre European history of the lost kingdoms of Southeast Asia from HanRoman times up to the arrival of the Portuguese and the mostly maritime interactions of these kingdoms in the context of the Silk Road of the Sea Over the last few decades much has been learned from archaeological sites on land and at sea not all has been published that which has been published is not always easy to access and a synthesis was much needed This account by Southeast Asia's leading regional archaeologist is invaluable and an excellent read