ARI Working Paper Series

In the mid-fourteenth century, two empires dominated Southeast Asia: Majapahit in Java, and Ayudhya in Thailand. The 14th century was an important era in Asian history. The first known overseas Chinese settlements formed during this period. Little is known of them.

Archaeological research over the past 20 years has shown that Singapore experienced its first period of prosperity during this century. Historical sources such as the Malay Annals and Chinese texts also confirm that Singapore was founded around 1300 CE. Since 1984, over half a million artifacts have been unearthed in Singapore. These include Chinese exports including ceramics, glass, and coins, along with coins from Srilanka, glass from India, and pottery from Thailand and Vietnam.

The only ancient Chinese trader who left an account of his activities, Wang Dayuan, mentions that Chinese were living in Singapore. He also mentions that Singapore was attacked by a country called Xien, which most scholars believe corresponded to Shan/Siam. Singapore is also mentioned in Javanese and Vietnamese sources of the 14th century.

Unfortunately The Malay Annals, our only source for 14th-century Singapore’s history, devotes little attention to Singapore’s relations with foreign countries except for Java. Archaeology and sources from other countries in the region suggest that Singapore’s relations with other Southeast Asian countries were at least as important as the port’s relations with more distant China or India.