In this volume Anthony Reid positions Southeast Asia on the stage of world history. He argues that the region not only had a historical character of its own, but that it played a crucial role in shaping the modern world.Southeast Asia’s interaction with the forces uniting and transforming the world is explored through chapters focusing on Islamisation; Chinese, Siamese, Cham, and Javanese trade; Makasar’s modernising moment; and slavery. The last three chapters examine from different perspectives how this interaction of relative equality shifted to one of an impoverished “third world” region exposed to European colonial power.
