This study compares Melaka and Penang in the context of overall trends - policy, geographical position, nature and direction of trade, and morphology and sociology - and how these factors were influenced by trade and policies. Conclusions are drawn concerning where and how Melaka and Penang fit in the urban traditions of Southeast Asia and the significance of the fact that the period under study coincided with the shift from the height of the "Age of Commerce" towards a period of heightened imperialist activities.

lgrsnf/TRADE AND SOCIETY IN THE STRAITS OF MELAKA.pdf

zlib/Society, Politics & Philosophy/Government & Politics/Nordin Hussin/Trade And Society in the Straits of Melaka: Dutch Melaka And English Penang, 1780-1830_5457978.pdf

Trade And Society in the Straits of Melaka: Dutch Melaka And English Penang, 1780-1830 (Nias-Mordic Institute of Asian Studies Monograph Series)

Hussin, Nordin

University of Hawaii Press

NIAS monographs -- 100, Singapore, Copenhagen S, Denmark, Malaysia, January 31, 2005

Monograph series (Nordic Institute of Asian Studies), 1. oplag, Copenhagen, 2007

Nordic Institute of Asian Studies monograph series, no. 100, Copenhagen, 2007

Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS Press), Singapore, 2007

Nias-Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Monograph Series, 2007

NIAS monographs, Singapore, Copenhagen S, Denmark, 2007

Denmark, Denmark

lg2506430

{"isbns":["8791114888","9788791114885"],"publisher":"NIAS Press","series":"Nias-Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Monograph Series"}

Revision of the author's thesis (doctoral)--Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [344]-368) and index.

This pioneering work from a member of Malaysia's new generation of historians is a tale of two very different cities, the one with a trading heritage dating back centuries, the other a new creation spawned by the declining fortunes of the once mighty Dutch East India Company. Melaka was an important commercial entrepot on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula long before it fell to Portugese forces in 1511, but thereafter began an extended process of decline that would continue after the Dutch conquest of the city in 1641. Penang became a significant port after 1786 when 'country traders' created a base on the island to defy the Dutch monopoly, although it was quickly overshadowed by Singapore after the founding of a British settlement there in 1819.
Drawing on a large volume of archival records, many of them not used by earlier historians, Trade and Society in the Straits of Melaka examines the social and economic fabric of these two port cities, the one very much a Dutch town and the other British. Along the way, the author deals with a number of key questions. Did colonial port cities have a different character and structure from indigenous towns? Did the administrative style of the Dutch and English differ substantially? What was the economic basis of Melaka and Penang? What was the effect of the European presence on indigenous trade and society? The answers involve considerations of urban morphology, demographic characteristics and migration, property rights, and slave ownership. The author also provides a detailed account of shipping in the Straits of Melaka, and discusses how this information contributes to debates concerning the decline of the region's 'Age of Commerce' in the face of imperialist competition.
By documenting the impact of imperialist ambitions on the economy and society of two major trading centers, this book breaks new ground and will provide a point of reference for all future research concerning the period.illus.
For sale only in the U.S., its dependencies, Canada, and Mexico

Book Title
Contents
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Currencies, Weights and Measurements
Introduction
1. The Straits of Melaka and the Trading World
2. The Geography and Trade of Melaka, 1780–1830
3. The Geography and Trade of Penang, 1786–1830
4. Trade in the Straits: Melaka and Penang, 1780–1830
5. Urban Traditions, Geography and Morphology
6. Population Growth in Melaka and Penang, 1780–1830
7. Dutch Urban Administration in Melaka
8. British Urban Administration in Penang
9. Melaka Society, 1780–1830
10. Penang: a Port-town of Migrants, 1786–1830
11. Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

Melaka was an important commercial entrepot on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula long before it fell to Portuguese forces in 1511. Penang became a significant port after 1786 when 'country traders' created a base on the island to defy the Dutch monopoly. This title examines the social and economic fabric of these two port cities.

2020-04-21