Peter Borschberg

Book Launch 6 February 2010

 

 

The first half of the 17th century brought heightened commercial, political and diplomatic activity to the Straits of Singapore and Melaka. Key elements included rivalry between Johor and Aceh, the rapid expansion of the Acehnese empire, the arrival of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), and the waning of Portuguese power and prestige across the region. Archives in Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands contain detailed information on these developments in the forms of maps, rare printed works, and unpublished manuscripts, many of them unfamiliar to modern researchers.

The Singapore and Melaka Straits: Security, Violence and Diplomacy in the 17th Century draws on these materials to examine early modern mapmaking as a projection of Western power, treaty and alliance making, trade relations, and the struggle for naval hegemony in the Straits. The book provides an unprecedented look at how the Spanish and Portuguese attempted to restore their political fortunes by containing the rapid rise of Dutch power. The appendices provide copies of key documents, transcribed and translated in English for the first time.

 

 

 

 

 

Published in Asia by

NUS Press, 2010

ISBN: 978-9971-69-464-7

List price: US$ 32/ S$ 42

 

Published in Europe by

KITLV Press, 2010

ISBN: 978-90-6718-364-2

List price: € 29

 

Distributed in the US & Dependencies, Canada and Mexico by University of Hawai’i Press

“The Singapore and Melaka Straits: Violence, Security and Diplomacy in the 17th Century”

 

This launch was kindly organized by the Singapore Heritage Society, in conjunction with the National Library Board

and NUS Press

Guest-of-Honour Prof. Wang Gungwu

Date: 7/Dec/2009

Above: The Guest –of-Honour, Prof. Wang Gungwu (left), arrives for the launch.

Below: A very surprised Peter welcomes Chan Sek Keong, Singapore’s Chief Justice, to the launch.

Above: Copies of the book for sale together with other Singapore titles from NUS Press

Below: Peter gives a short account of how and why the book came about over a period of almost two decades before an audience of about 110 guests.

Above: Wang Gungwu sharing his impressions with the audience after reading the book; from left to right: Wang Gungwu, Peter, Paul Kratoska and Liew Kai Khiun

Below: A visibly exhausted Peter signing books for members of the audience

All photos of the launch courtesy of Sebastian Song