Southeast Asian traders
Still covered in barnacies from half a millennium spent under water, these Thai ceramics are part of the trade cargo of the 'Nanyang' shipwreck discovered off the coast of Pahang in 1995.
For at least two millennia, Southeast Asian products have been sought-after commodities in the international trade arena. Spices from the Malay World reached Europe in the 1st century CE, and Malay ships were the dominant means of transport in the Indian Ocean during the early days of long-distance maritime trade. The strategic location of Southeast Asia at the nexus of the monsoons straddling the major East–West maritime trade route greatly contributed to its high trade profile.
- Information in the full article includes
- From product collectors to international traders
- Early reports of Southeast Asian Traders
- The lure of rainforest exotica