Networks of Malay Merchants and the Rise of Penang as a Regional Trading Centre

Abstract

Throughout history the role of Malay merchants and traders in the Malay-Indonesianarchipelago was very imminent. Their presence was very important in the Malay watersand it was they who were the collector and distributor of goods and commodities thatarrived at many major port-towns in the archipelago. Although their presence in theintra-Asian trade is very clearly documented in the VOC Dutch and English records, research and writing on their role in trade has been neglected by scholars. The importanceof Malay merchants and traders was seldom highlighted and if they were mentioned theirrole were not written in greater detail. Malay traders were an important group of tradersfrom the archipelago and their presence was clearly seen right from the Srivijaya perioduntil in the nineteenth century. However, while trade and commerce expanded in SoutheastAsia, the nineteenth century saw the decline of Malay merchants and traders whenfewer of them appeared to have the means and resources to participate in long distancetrade.It is the aim of this paper to highlight the role of the Malay merchants and traderswhich was an important group of merchants that had been plying in the Malay waters.Who were these traders and where they came from and the commodities they carried andthe various types of ships they travelled will be discussed in the paper. The study will alsolook at the importance and the role of these merchants in early Penang.