From Slave to King: The Role of South Asians in Maritime Southeast Asia (from the late 13th to the late 17th century)

摘要

From Slave to King : The Role of South Asians in Maritime Southeast Asia (from the late 13th to the late 17th century). This study is focused on people coming from South Asia not at all or at least not mainly involved in trade among the various societies of maritime Southeast Asia. One of the main obstacles related to this research is that these individuals and groups can be traced mostly through surviving material evidence or through identifications mentioned by others with all the distortions and uncertainties attached to this kind of sources. A panorama of the main social and occupational settings in which they found a place is presented : slaves, spouses and concubines, warriors, tax collectors, moneylenders, seamen and fishermen, miners and artisans, interpreters, staff and servants, religious proselytizers and leaders, rulers and civil dignitaries. All the coastal areas from Gujarat to Bengal yielded migrants to a greater or lesser extent, along with Ceylon and the Maldives. The Tamil area, Bengal, and Gujarat were probably the most significant suppliers, followed by Ceylon, the Maldives, Orissa and Malabar. Regarding geographical distribution, during the period under consideration South Asians not involved in trade were present from Aceh to Maluku. Even if the demographic weight of this migratory phenomenon is impossible to estimate with precision, I suggest that over one million individuals found their way to maritime Southeast Asia at that time.