Early Mapping
of Southeast Asia
Early Mapping
of Southeast Asia
The Epic Story of Seafarers, Adventurers, and Cartographers
Who First Mapped the Regions between China and India
THOMAS SUÁREZ
PERIPLUS EDITIONS
Singapore • Hong Kong • Indonesia
Published by Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
Copyright © 1999All rights reserved
ISBN: 978-1-4629-0696-3 (ebook)
Printed in Singapore
10 09 08 5 4 3 2
Opening end paper: Gulf of Siam and Indian Ocean, from the Traiphum, late eighteenth century. The peninsula in the nine o'clock position is Phatthalung, in southern Thailand; the chain of islands along the bottom is Rama's Bridge leading to Sri Lanka.
Closing end paper: Southeast Asia, from the atlas of the twelfth century Sicilian geographer, Sharifal-ldrisi. A copy of 1553; south is at the top. [Courtesy of the Bodleian Library, Oxford]
Half-title page: Southeast Asia by Pierre Mortier, ca. 1700.
Fig. 1 Java, Van Keulen, 1728. (51 x 114 cm)
Acknowledgments
Of the many people who generously assisted me while I was researching this book, I would like to acknowledge several in particular. In alphabetical order they are as follows: Deepak Bhartasali of the World Bank, who helped me with Indian history as it relates to Southeast Asia, and with Indian-inspired Southeast Asian cosmology; Richard Casten, who created time which didn't exist to scrutinize the draft and then shared his enormously helpful feedback; Rodrigue Lévesque, whose personal correspondence, as well as his published research on Micronesia, were helpful in sorting through early Pacific voyages and the identities of the islands discovered; Dr. Hans Penth of the Archive of Lan Na Inscriptions, University of Chiang Mai, who took the time to meet with me in person while I was in Thailand, and by mail and fax when I was nor; and Dr. Dawn Rooney of Bangkok, who lent her considerable expertise regarding Southeast Asian culture and history, patiently critiqued my draft, and supplied me with difficult-to-find reference material. I am also grateful to the following people for generously sharing their knowledge with me: Thomas Goodrich, Ambassador William Itoh, Frank Manasek, Greg McIntosh, Professor Gunter Schilder, Michael Smithies, G. R. Tibbetts, Lutz Walter, Paul Wheatley, David Woodward, and Michael Wright.
My wife, Ahngsana, was of enormous help with translations and other practical matters. Both she and my daughter, Sainatee, pulled me our of many medieval Southeast Asian jungles in which I appeared to have become lost.
From the institutions whose material I have illustrated, I would like to acknowledge several people in particular: Suwakhon Siriwongwarawat, Director, National Library of Thailand; Joselito B. Zulueta, Director, University of Santo Tomas Publishing House; Jan Werner, Universiteitsbibliotheek Amsterdam; Jim Flatness and David Hsu of the Library of Congress; Elaine Engst and Laura Linke Cornell University; Doris Nicholson, Bodleian Library, Oxford.
Many of the illustrations were lent by antiquarian book and map dealers: Richard B. Arkway (New York), Roderick M. Barron (Sevenoaks, Kent), Clive A. Burden (Rickmansworrh, Herts), Rodolphe Chamonal (Paris), Geoff Edwards (Jakarta), Susanna Fisher (South hampton), Anriquariaat Forum (Utrecht), Mappæ Japoniæ (Tokyo), Robert Augustyn and the firm of Martayan Lan (New York), Edward Lefkowicz (Providence), Jonathan Porter (London), Roberr Purman (Amsterdam), and Paulus Swaen Old Maps Internet Auction (Geldrop, Holland).
I was singularly fortunate to have had Julian Davison edit the book. A scholar of Southeast Asian history and ethnography, knowledgeable about maps and a master of page laying out, Dr. Davison polished the book with a precision that no mere editor could have accomplished. Finally, many thanks to Michael Stachels and Eric Oey of Periplus Editions for their expertise and patience in making this book possible. It was my great honor to work with them.
In memory of
Paw U'ee Ma and Phan Ninkhong
Fig. 2 India Orientalis, Hendrik Doncker ca. 1664. [Courtesy Museum of the Book/Museum Meermanno-Westreenianum, The Hague]
Contents
| Introduction | 12 | |
| Part I | Southeast Asia | |
| Chapter 1 | The Land and Peoples of Southeast Asia | 16 |
| Origins and Influences; Arts and Daily Life; Gender; The Geography of Kingdoms and War; Religion; Colonialism; Continuing Change. | ||
| Chapter 2 | Southeast Asian Maps and Geographic Thought | 24 |
| Indian Influence; Earth and Geography; Travel, Trade and Statehood; Extant Southeast Asian Maps; Map Making Media; Principal Types of Southeast Asian Maps. | ||
| Chapter 3 | Asian Maps of Southeast Asia | 44 |
| India; China; Japan and Korea; The Arab View of Southeast Asia. | ||
| Part II | The Early Mediterranean and European Record | |
| Chapter 4 | Asia and Classical Europe | 60 |
| Greece; Rome. | ||
| Chapter 5 | Medieval Europe | 66 |
| Southeast Asia on Medieval European Maps; Paradise and Ophir; 'True' Southeast Asia on Medieval Maps. | ||
| Chapter 6 |