II.2 Mainland Southeast Asia (Tonkin, Siam, Pegu)

Various mainland kingdoms were traditionally connected to the Nusantara trade networks. During the seventeenth century, Java continued its traditional export of Javanese horses to Siam, while Batavian households (and perhaps those in other ports as well) still used large imported Martaban jars from Pegu in present-day Burma (Myanmar) as storage and transportation goods. Batavia established direct trade with with Siam (Thailand) in 1604 and the north Vietnamese kingdom of Tonkin in 1637.

The Daily Journals of Batavia Castle are one of the most important and coherent sources for the diplomatic relations between the Supreme Government and the rulers of Tonkin and Siam. The hundreds of diplomatic letters, exchanged between the governors-general and the kings and prakhlang (Minister of Maritime Trade and External Relations) of Siam inserted into the Daily Journals, makes this source a unique one for understanding Thai dynastic and trade history. A letter from the king of Tonkin from 1700 reveals the Vietnamese perspective on the discontinuation of the trade with Batavia.

Letter from the King of Tonkin concerning the termination of the trading relation with the VOC, 10 February 1700

Introduced: Hoang Anh Tuan
Release Date: Sept. 3, 2013 read more...