This book, based on VOC (Dutch East Indies Company) archives and traditional Malay texts, examines the rise of a Malay state in the early modern era. It focuses on the ecological frontier of eastern Sumatra, with its multi-ethnic communities, and how they were able to transform themselves, in the words of an English visitor, into a summit of prosperity by the end of the eighteenth century. Particular emphasis is placed on the methods used by Siak leaders used unite the disparate communities in the region, and how this was viewed in other Malay communities.

PHILOSOPHY / Reference