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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 April 2015
Because our modern world system emerged within world-wide contexts, we must consider how founding relationships that established it reflect global interconnectedness of their own era. Douglas Sturm has written, “History is a process of new formations. What we are and what we shall become are not givens. They are results of many relations in which we are engaged and whose character we affect, in however small a degree, by the manner of our participation.” Too often this relational perspective has been ignored in propounding origins and fundamental relationships of our modern world. For over five hundred years, for example, Eurocentrism has betrayed indebtedness to Renaissance hubris. Further, contemporary memories of our relational past are laced with policies and perspectives of forebears who constituted nation states. These processes entailed “inventing traditions” post facto, while also vesting collective memories with [hi]stories on behalf of national dignity and imperial stature. Even as false memories have been used for socializing children into citizens, and for motivating troops and voters, they also render indispensable historical understandings problematical. Sometimes there are hints of such fabrications in paradoxical impressions. Edward Lucie-Smith muses: “Granted that piracy is really no more than robbery at sea, how did the crime come to acquire the aura of sinister glamour that still clings to it, an aura which sets the pirate apart from other and more commonplace malefactors?” Piracy's “aura of sinister glamour” is not confined to tropes like Blackbeard, the Jolly Roger, or Long John Silver. “Piracy” has clouded Asian history and rationalized European incursions, at least since the Portuguese captured the fabulous port city of Melaka in 1511.
1. Sturm, Douglas, Community and Alienation: Essays on Process Thought and Public Life at 68 (U Notre Dame Press, 1988)Google Scholar.
2. In Historia general de las Indias, written in 1553, Spanish historian Francisco Lopez de Gomara extolled the opening of Iberian routes to the East and West Indies as “the greatest event [sic] since the creation of the world, apart from the incarnation and death of him who created it.” Quoted in Boxer, C. R., Four Centuries of Portuguese Expansion, 1415-1825 at 1 (Johannesburg: Witwatersrand U Press, 1965)Google Scholar. For an almost identical passage see, Smith, Adam, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations IV vii c 626 (Clarendon Press, 1976)Google Scholar, as well as note 73. See also Manifesto of the Communist Party, in Tucker, Robert C., ed, The Marx-Engels Reader at 469–500, 474 (W. W. Norton & Company, 2nd ed, 1978)Google Scholar.
3. For example, consult Hobsbawm, Eric & Ranger, Terence, The Invention of Tradition (Cambridge U Press, 1983)Google Scholar, and Bushman, Claudia L., American Discovers Columbus: How an Italian Explorer Became an American Hero (University Press of New England, 1992)Google Scholar.
4. Lucie-Smith, Edward, Outcast of the Sea at 8 (Paddington Press, 1978)Google Scholar.
5. Rubin, Alfred P., The Law of Piracy at 13 (Naval War College Press, 1988)Google Scholar.
6. Id at 346.
7. Id at 345-46.
8. Rare, not unprecedented, as associates of Douglas Sturm, honored recipient of this essay, will avow.
9. “Brigandage,” because it denotes and connotes “thieving outlaw bandso” Today, “piracy” also refers to “theft of intellectual property rights” a meaning without currency in the 16th century.
10. Simkin, C. G. F., The Traditional Trade of Asia at 162 (Oxford U Press, 1968)Google Scholar. The spelling, “Malacca” stems from an antiquated English usage; “Melaka” is preferred today.
11. Id at 260. At 251-60, Professor Simkin borrows and embellishes “the historical constant” from Dutch historian Leur, J. C. Van, Indonesian Trade and Society at 87–88 (The Hague, 1955)Google Scholar.
12. See Taylor, Keith W., The Early Kingdoms, 1 The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, at 137–182, 175–76 (Cambridge U Press, 1992)Google Scholar.
13. See Hall, Kenneth R., Economic History of Early Southeast Asiat 1 Cambridge History of Southeast Asia at 208 and following (cited in note 12)Google Scholar.
14. Shaffer, Lynda Noreen, Maritime Southeast Asia to 1500 102 (M.E. Sharpe, 1996)Google Scholar.
15. Taylor, , The Early Kingdoms at 175 (cited in note 12)Google Scholar. Southeast Asia scholar, Jan M. Pluvier, suggests Paramesvara, founder of Melaka, “turned this pirates' nest into a thriving port,” and he states “several [Chinese] war fleets under admiral Cheng Ho were sent to deter the Siamese and to assist Malacca in asserting its independence.” Pluvier, Jan M., Historical Atlas of South-East Asia at 19 (E. J. Brill, 1995)Google Scholar. Yet, the Chinese Treasure Fleet seems to have had friendly voyages to Siam, exchanging tribute, taking Siamese officials on cruises, conducting business, and so forth. See Levathes, Louise, When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne 1405-1433 at 105–06, 111–12Google Scholar.
16. “Sovereigns of the sea;” often quasi legendary peoples, like Minoan Crete or ancient Phoenicia. Consult the XI Oxford English Dictionary at 234 (Garendon Press, 1978)Google Scholar.
17. Taylor, , The Early Kingdoms at 173 (cited in note 12)Google Scholar.
18. Id at 174.
19. Id at 175.
20. de Casparis, J.G. & Mabbett, I.W., Religion and Popular Beliefs of Southeast Asia Before c. 1500 in 1 Cambridge History of Southeast Asia at 339 (Cambridge U Press, 1992)Google Scholar.
21. Dreyer, Edward L., Early Ming China: A Political History 1355-1435 at 173 (Stanford U Press, 1982)Google Scholar.
22. For Melaka, see Tsai, Shih-shan Henry, The Eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty at 151 (State U of New York Press, 1996)Google Scholar; for Java, consult Casparis & Mabbett, Religion and Popular Beliefs of Southeast Asia Before c1500 at 331 (cited in note 20)Google Scholar.
23. Tsai, , Eunuchs in the Ming at 150 (cited in note 22)Google Scholar.
24. See Cheng Ho, 1 Dictionary of Ming Biography at 194–200 (Columbia U Press, 1976)Google Scholar; Needham, Joseph, Science and Civilisation in China, IV Civil Engineering and Nautics, Part 3, at 476–540 (Cambridge U Press, 1971)Google Scholar; Tsai, , Eunuchs in the Ming at 145–164 (cited in note 22)Google Scholar; on Zheng He's failing health and the probabilities of a pilgrimage, see Levathes, , When China Ruled the Seas at 171–172 (cited in note 15)Google Scholar.
25. Zheng He occasionally appeared in fantasy literature, which was considered a degraded art form during much of China's history. See I Dictionary of Ming Biography at 199 (cited in note 24).
26. On Chinese trade, Tsai, , Eunuchs at 141–64 (cited in note 22)Google Scholar; or consult a standard work such as Fairbank, John K., Reischauer, Edwin O. & Craig, Albert M., East Asia: Tradition and Transformation (Houghton Mifflin, 1973)Google Scholar and Fairbank, John King, Trade and Diplomacy on the China Coast; the Opening of the Treaty Ports, 1842-1854 (Harvard U Press, 1953)Google Scholar.
27. References in note 23 above. Tsai, , Eunuchs at 157–62 (cited in note 22)Google Scholar is succinct and detailed.
28. Dreyer, , Early Ming China at 199 (cited in note 21)Google Scholar.
29. Tsai, , Eunuchs at 163 (cited in note 22)Google Scholar.
30. Dreyer, , Early Ming China at 226–30 (cited in note 21)Google Scholar.
31. Quoted in Simkin, , Traditional Trade of Asia at 144 (cited in note 10)Google Scholar.
32. 2 Dictionary of Ming Biography at 1198 (cited in note 24).
33. The following are typical in this respect, while they differ significantly over other issues; the list is not exhaustive, of course. 1 Dictionary of Ming Biography, entries for “Cheng Ho” at 194–200, 195–96 (cited in note 24)Google Scholar and for “Shih Chin-ch'ing,” at 1198-1201 passim; Dreyer, , Early Ming China at 195 (cited in note 21)Google Scholar; Levathes, , When China Ruled the Seas at 98, 102 (cited in note 15)Google Scholar; Simkin, , Traditional Trade of Asia at 142 (cited in note 10)Google Scholar; Tsai, , Eunuchs in the Ming at 151 (cited in note 22)Google Scholar.
34. The Dictionary of Ming Biography account reveals:
Six days after the reception of Cheng Ho [Zheng He] at the Ming court [upon return firom the first voyage] and the presentation of the captives, Shih Chin-ch'ing's son-in-law, Ch'iu Yetv-ch'eng, was granted an audience at court. The emperor issued a decree proclaiming the establishment of an office of pacification at Palembang and the appoint of Shih Chin-ch'ing as the commissioner. Ch'iu received the robes, sash, and seal of office to take back to Shih. This is the only occasion in history when the Chinese government had an overseas agency to take charge of Chinese settlers. But neither its authority over Shih nor Shih's control over his domain was very strong…[For, as the official Ming History states] “Although he accepted the decrees of the imperial court he was also a vassal of Java. His territory was a small strip and cannot be compared with Sri Viuaya of the past.”
1 Dictionary of the Ming Biography at 1200 (cited in note 24); for other details at 196.
35. Andaya, Barbara Watson, Religious Developments in Southeast Asia c. 1500-1800 in 1 Cambridge History of Southeast Asia at 508-71, 516 (cited in note 12)Google Scholar.
36. For Melaka, consult Andaya, , Religious Developments at 517 (cited in note 35)Google Scholar. In the case of Palembang it is suggested that Shih Chin-Ch'ing's daughter, the Elder Mistress Shih, “had a part in the introduction of Islam” into parts of Java, took the Javanese name, Niai Gede Pinatih, and became “shahbandar” (chief of port) at Gresik, a city In eastern Java adjacent to the island of Madura. 1 Dictionary of Ming Biography at 1200-01 (cited in note 24). Exactly how she may have participated in Islamic life at Gresik is not clear from this account. Today, scholars believe Islam was “firmly established in eastern Java by the end of the 13th century.” Casparis, & Mabbett, , Religion and Popular Beliefs at 339 (cited in note 20)Google Scholar.
37. 1 Dictionary of Ming Biography at 1200-01 (cited in note 24).
38. William Dampier (?1651-1715) was a famous English pirate and intellectual. In addition to being aluminary in demand at London social functions, he frequented the Royal Society, along with Sir Isaac Newton and Charles II. Dampier was also an oceanographer, geographer, and a prolific writer. He was the contemporary of Sir Henry Morgan (a “buccaneer” who sacked Panama and became Governor of Jamaica) as well as Daniel Defoe (who under the pseudonym, Johnson, Captain Charles, wrote the runaway best seller, A General History of the Pyrates in 1724)Google Scholar. Johnson, Captain Charles, A General History of the Pirates (Dodd, Mead, 1926)Google Scholar.
39. Rubin, , Law of Piracy at 220 (cited in note 5)Google Scholar.
40. Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (1782-1826) was one of the founders of the British Empire in the “Far East.” Imperial posts in Southeast Asia involved him inter alia at Pinang, Java, Sumatra and Singapore. Professor Wolters' reference is to Raffles' History of Java? published in England in 1817. The information in note 38 above is relevant to Professor Wolters' point. SirRaffles, Thomas, The History of Java (Oxford U Press, 1978)Google Scholar.
41. Wolters, O. W., History, Culture, and Region in Southeast Asian Perspectives at 40 (Inst Southeast Asian Studies, 1982)Google Scholar.
42. Id at 39-40.
43. The Book of Duarte Barbosa, excerpted in Bastin, John, ed, The Emergence of Modern Southeast Asia: 1511-1957 at 8–11 (Prentice Hall, 1967)Google Scholar.
44. Subrahmanyam, Sanyay, The Portuguese Empire in Asia 1500-1700: A Political and Economic History at 13 (Longman, 1993)Google Scholar (Melaka's population is said to have been “variously estimated at between 100,000 and 200,000” while Istanbul's was “no more than 100,000” late in the 15th century).
45. See Reid, Anthony, Economic and Social Change, c 1400-1800 in 1 Cambridge History of Southeast Asia at 464–66 (cited in note 12)Google Scholar.
46. Id at 469.
47. Id at 471.
48. Braudel, Fernand, Civilization and Capitalism in 3 The Perspective of the World at 526–27 (Harper & Row, 1984)Google Scholar.
49. Braudel, , Perspective at 528 (cited in note 48)Google Scholar.
50. Id at 528. (One wonders why Braudel was so surprised.) It seems to me the existence of a Malay lingua franca helps to explain how Antonio Figafetta, Magellan's scribe, was able to compile 450 Malay terms used at Spice Island Sultanates. Linguists who are amazed by his efforts apparently overlook the fact that Magellan's translator was a Melakan, whom Magellan had enslaved while at the city on a Portuguese campaign. It seems probable that Pigafetta was familiarized with an existing list by his translator on their voyage, rather than undertaking entire compilations during his short stay in the Moluccas. See Pigafetta, Antonio, Magellan's Voyage: A Narrative Account of the First Circumnavigation at 11 (Dover, , Skeiton, R. A., trans, 1994)Google Scholar; various lists are available on 90-91,128-130 and 172-177.
51. See the remarkable study by Andaya, Leonard Y., The World of Maluku: Eastern Indonesia in the Early Modern Period (U of Hawaii Press, 1993) (especially 47–112)Google Scholar.
52. See Curtin, Philip D., Cross-Cultural Trade in World History (Cambridge U Press, 1984) (instructive about alternative models of commercial relationships)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
53. Braudel, Fernand, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II (Harper & Row, 1973)Google Scholar. (Especially relevant for this essay is Vol II, Part Two, Ch VII, at 836-891.)
54. Braudel, , Perspective at 492 (cited in note 48)Google Scholar.
55. See also Andaya, , Religious Developments at 516 and following (cited in note 35)Google Scholar.
56. See entries for “pirate” in A New English-Chinese Dictionary at 994 (U of Washington Press, 1988)Google Scholar.
57. From The Malay Armais, composed prior to 1536; excerpted in Bastin, , Emergence of Modern Southeast Asia at 13–14 (cited in note 43)Google Scholar.
58. For valuable perspectives on Portugal, see Subrahmanyam, , The Portuguese Empire in Asia 1500-1700 (cited in note 44) (especially 9–79)Google Scholar.
