Melaka: a traditional Malay kingdom

part of modern political culture but it also illustrates Melakas reputation for being the greatest port in 15th century Southeast Asia. From very early times, the demands of international trade and the strategic situation of ports in the region of the Straits of Melaka contributed to the working of a system of collection and exchange points which circulated through the region and fed into longer-distance trade routes. Unlike most of the other ports in the region, however, visitors to Melaka left written accounts describing its royal court, commercial success and power politics. A Portuguese traveller, Tome Pires, in the early 16th century wrote to persuade the Portuguese that Melaka was of crucial importance to Europe: Whoever is lord of Malacca has his hand on the throat of Venice. As far as from Malacca, and from Malacca to China, and from China to the Moluccas, and from the Moluccas to Java, and from Java to Malacca and Sumatra, [all] is in our power.2 The Malay Annals is an invaluable source for trying to understand the priorities and values of a Malay sultanate and it will be a primary source for this discussion. The system of governance and the royal ceremonial developed at Melaka during the 15th century were maintained by later Malay kingdoms, such as Kedah and Johor which will be described in the following chapter.

International commerce
During the 12th and 13th centuries regional and international trading activity was booming. One analysis of global trade patterns for this period has identified three major interlocking systems: a European subsystem with Genoa and Venice as commercial centres; a Middle Eastern network incorporating routes in and out of Mongol Asia using the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea; and the Indian OceanEast Asia system, incorporating Southeast Asia and the ChinaIndia networks. Venice and Genoa owed their wealth to their roles as intermediaries between Asian goods and European markets.
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