Site Admin – Asia's Port Cities

Manila and its early Chinatown…

Is it possible that America’s first Chinatown was in Manila???

The colonisation of the Philippines by the Spanish (in the 1560s) presented the Spaniards with the opportunity to tap into the lucrative trade with China. Manila became a valuable part of the transpacific trade between Asia and Mexico.

While the Spanish were primarily concerned with conducting the profitable Manila Galleon trade and making converts, thousands of Chinese travelled to Manila as traders and artisans (c.1560s onwards). These Chinese included merchants, bringing in goods in vast quantities, but also artisans, providing for the daily needs of Manila’s elites. This included the carving of religious statues for churches for example.

The Chinese resided outside the walled Spanish city (intramuros) but their daily activities often brought them into contact with Spanish authorities and traders. This interaction led to the development of a dynamic Chinatown in Manila’s extramuros. This was however, a relationship that was often fraught with suspicion and violence; the Spanish were far-outnumbered by, and often suspicious of the Chinese community.

The remnants of Manila’s intramuros can still be seen today.

Examine the scholarship of Prof. Evelyn Hu-DeHart (Brown University) for the latest research on the Chinese community in Manila.

Here’s a useful website on the transpacific trade:

http://www.transpacificproject.com/index.php/european-exploration-and-colonization/

Port cities as sites of ‘Vice & Virtue’

Channel News Asia is currently airing a series examining the ‘forgotten’ histories of Singapore, Penang and Melaka. The episode on Singapore raises interesting observations on how the EIC settlement tapped into shipping networks and attracted traders. The host, Dr Farish Noor’s description of the East India Company as the equivalent of a ‘modern day drug cartel’ is definitely designed to capture our attention! Indeed the EIC earned the ironic nickname ‘The Honourable Company’ for its heavy involvement in opium production.

In the opening minutes of the documentary Singapore’s modern port is highlighted before we are shown images of Singapore as an early EIC trading outpost. After a few years of uncertainty (the British were concerned they may not hold Singapore against the Dutch) we see Singapore flourishing as a trading centre. The free trade environment also attracted a large migrant workforce and ‘associated evils’ such as opium addiction and prostitution which formed a source of revenue for the early administration.

The historical angle, and introduction of relatively unknown (or under-studied) primary sources and historical figures makes for compelling viewing. This is a fresh addition as a series focusing on the history behind some of the ports of Asia.

Here’s a link to the programme:

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/tv/tvshows/documentaries-specials/vice-virtue-1800s/2477378.html

The Portuguese in Asia

Following the much celebrated voyage of Vasco da Gama to Calicut in the 1490s, the Portuguese were among the first Europeans to venture into Asian waters. Generally, the Portuguese approach was to secure agreements with existing rulers to establish trading settlements. This was with the aim of ensuring their ease of access to the lucrative trade in Asian goods. When negotiations failed, the Portuguese were prepared to use force and had the firepower to capture several ports.

The Estado da India (State of India) is the term the Portuguese used to refer to their ‘forts and ports’ scattered throughout Asia.(Formally this referred to their ports/settlements but informally they sometimes also used this term to refer to dominion over the waters of Asia).

Goa, Melaka, Macau are three of the best known examples of the Portuguese presence in the region. Goa was captured in 1510 and would become the ‘capital’ of the Estado da India. Many of these settlements remained reliant on provisions brought via the sea: they weren’t self sufficient. Here was a potential weakness for the Estadao da India.Early European ventures (in the Age of Discovery) were driven by the three Gs: GOD, GOLD and GLORY. It is worthwhile remembering that the Order of Christ was a major sponsor of Portuguese voyages. Numerous churches and a Christian populace often centred in former Portuguese settlements are current day reminders of the legacies of the Portuguese presence in Asia.

While the Portuguese predominance in Asia was soon challenged by the Dutch and later the British, Goa remained a Portuguese territory until 1961.

The following website, titled Colonial Voyages provides a wealth of information on the Portuguese presence in Asia and is worth a visit:

http://www.colonialvoyage.com/goa-capital-portuguese-india/

Travellers and the ‘Age of Commerce’

While the 15th century is generally associated with Southeast Asia’s ‘Age of Commerce’ travellers had long been moving throughout the lands and waters of Asia, and their accounts are extremely valuable for learning more about the ports and trading communities of Asia.

We can gain insights into early modern Asia’s maritime realm by examining accounts written at the time. Ibn Battuta, a well-known 14th Century Muslim traveller (pictured above) provides many glimpses into not only the rigours of traveling in Asia (by land and by sea) but also observations of many key port cities and trading settlements.

Berkley University’s virtual tour of Ibn Battuta’s voyages is particularly engaging and can be found at this address:

http://ibnbattuta.berkeley.edu

(Chapter 7 onwards traces from Delhi to the Maldives, Ceylon and into Southeast Asia)

Port Cities?

What comes to mind when we think about port cities? And the Asian port city? Ships, sailors and the sea?

We are largely a terrestrial people and very often we think about the land rather than the water. National histories for example, tend to view the water as a way of ‘demarcating territory’. Maritime historians in recent times however, have argued that we can see the oceans as connective forces for new and comparative studies.

Examining the port cities of Asia is a way to re-orient our attention not only to the littoral (coastal) communities but to the water. Port cities provide us with points of connectivity via networks; people, goods and ideas circulated between ports. This gives rise to the observation that port cities are by their very nature porous and also outward looking. They are a ‘marriage of land and sea’ as aptly captured in the book titled Brides of the Sea…