Malacca+-+Amorosano,+Hunter,+Sengstaken

Malacca; Economic, Social, and Political Achievements Talia Amorosano, Natalie Hunter, Casey Sengstaken Mr. Ferrante AP World History, period 6 April 9, 2010  Abstract: The city of Malacca was located in Southeast Asia. Its strategic location in the Strait of Malacca provided its economy with great prosperity, and its exports of spices contributed to its wealth. Malacca's government was amonarchy, which interacted with China for monetary benefit. As a result of this, China remained in control of their country and te king of Malacca remained in power of the city. As an important trading post, Malacca attracted Southeast Asian, Chinese, and Indian traders who spread thier culture. The cultural diversity helped give Malacca its own unique society that incorporated many different beliefs and forms of expression. Even today Malacca is noted for its ancient foods, cultural dances, and building styles that originated from much older times. These social staples were complemented by Malacca's economic roles and political structure.

Malacca was located in the region of Southeast Asia. It was advantageously situated on the Strait of Malacca which effected its social stratification, economic welfare, and political organization. Malacca was able to spread religion and thrive economically because of its convenient location between China and India. Its role in the Indian Ocean trade was helpful and its exports of various spices contributed to its overall wealth. In addition, its geographical position helped it to run its government wisely. This allowed Malacca to be a successful city under the Portuguese's rule until it was handed over to the Dutch. Because of many aspects, including Malacca's ruler, location, trade policies, and tributes, Malacca was able to prosper politically, socially, and economically. After Malacca was invaded by the Portuguese in 1511, its economy became incredibly prosperous. The Portuguese desired for Malacca to become very much involved in trade. As a result, it became one of the principal cities of trade in Southeast Asia. Malacca was a part of the Spice Island trade. It was located in the Chinese and Indian trade routes on the eastern side of the Indian Ocean. Another one of the reasons why Malacca was so involved with trade is because it was in the Strait of Malacca. This was where the port of Malacca was located, which was a very ideal location for the Malaccan economy. The port of Malacca was where most of the exports were sent out and the imports were received. It was beneficial because it was a simple and local way to import and export various goods. The Strait of Malacca’s location was perfect for trading with a vast variety of the regions in Asia such as South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. It was enabled Malacca not only to trade be able with cities within Southeast Asia such as the Philippines and Cambodia. Malaccans were also able to trade with people from the Indian trade route such as Quilon, Ceylon, and Calicut, but also with cities from the Chinese trade route such as Srivijava, Hangchow, Zaitun, and Canton. Malacca was so successful with trade that they had their navy protecting their trade ships and cargo. Some items that were traded to and from Malacca were coral, stone, silk textiles, precious stones, steel, and building materials. All of these products helped to stimulate Malacca's economy, which was primarily dependant on their trading relationships with other regions. Because of its great success and involvement in trade, Malacca’s economy kept increasing at a high rate and kept improving until 1641. This is when Portuguese Malacca surrendered its rule to the Dutch. The decline of Malacca's role in trade and economy seemed to correspond with the Dutch taking over the area. For the most part the Portuguese and the Strait of Malacca helped this Southeast Asian city prosper economically.  Malacca, a prosperous city of Southeast Asia, was exposed to many different cultural influences due to its vulnerable location on the tip of a strait in Malaysia. However beneficial for trade this location may have been, it was also a spot where the city could easily be taken over by many different kinds of peoples. As a result of the taking over and re-taking over of Malacca, it became a culturally diverse and unique city with mixed art styles and traditions that would influence others for years to come. Since Malacca was in contact with the Chinese throughout most of its history, Chinese styles had vast influence on Malaccan art and general life in the city. The Chinese also spread Buddhism throughout Malacca and the religion was widely embraced for a time. In terms of art, some paintings and artifacts can still be found today. Much of the Chinese influenced art had religious significance and many paintings depict images of the Buddha. China was not the only place that had a cultural influence on the city. Indian culture made its way into Malacca through the Silk Route. Trade had a major impact on the traditional Malaccan society. Merchants spread Hinduism as they came through the area and when Indian people began moving into the city; Hinduism took even more of a stronghold. Though this newer religion was becoming prevalent, it did not completely obliterate Buddhism's influence. In fact, the Buddhist religion maintained its grasp on Malaccan society throughout most of its history. Lastly, Muslim religion gained followers from Malacca as well after the seventh century. though during the early fifteenth century, Islam probably had its greatest impact on Malacca. Muslim merchants and traders from the Middle East and Indonesia utilized the trade routes not only for monetary gain, but for spreading the word about their religion. Mosques of traditional architectural style were built as places of prayer and worship. They not only served as outlets for peoples' religious reverence, but they could be used as temporary shelter for travelers or merchants. When people would arrive there, they would of course be influenced by the Muslim behavior. The building materials and building style of the mosques transferred to the houses in the city. Clay tile roofs were commonly used and sometimes buildings were raised on stilts. After Islam was successfully spread to Malacca, it continued to expand its reach to many other areas in and around the Malay Peninsula. Malacca’s location on the silk routes affected its influence on surrounding civilizations. The Chinese demanded tribute in order for Malacca to remain independent and India influences government policies. The city of Malacca had a very important location on the silk route. It was located in Southeast Asia, right between India and China. This caused the city to have an interesting government due to influences from both Indian and Chinese politics. The city of Malacca was ruled independently by a king but the king paid tribute to China in order to remain independent. Although they remained independent, they commonly enforced Chinese policy due to the heavy influence from China in the north. Malaccan politics were heavily influenced by the religions popular during the time because the religions they had were all filtered through India so the religions had been changed and developed to meet India's political and economic needs. These changes in turn affected the way the government was run and the way the people of Malacca acted. Due to Malacca’s strategic location on the silk routes, it was regularly switched between rulers. One very important switch was when a young man from the Philippines allied himself with the Chinese and overthrew the Malaccan government. This was an important turnover because trade coming into Malacca was boosted under the new government policy. This in turn boosted the economy which was a very important part of everyday life in the city of Malacca. Malacca was very advanced socially, economically, and politically considering it was city that had been captured and taken over multiple times. Despite the hardships that this city faced, it managed to become one of the most successful cities of Southeast Asia. Malacca was able to uphold itself through the exchange of culture and goods and by the encouragement of trade by their rulers, the Portuguese. Malacca was also able to maintain its success by use of its strong government that was influenced by both China and India. Its location allowed it to discover these influences and trade more efficiently as well. Mainly as a result of the Portuguese interactions and its setting on the Strait of Malacca, Malacca was able to survive successfully through the Post Classical Era. All in all, the seemingly different factors of social procedures, government operations, and economic strategies all went hand in hand and helped make Malacca a prosperous region no matter who it was ruled by.  __Work Cited__ Bentley, J. H., & Ziegler, H. F. (n.d.). Chapter 15. In //Tradition Encounters// (pp. 436-437). Boston:  McGraw Hill.  Docstoc. (n.d.). //The History of Malacca and its Glorious Starts//. Retrieved from Docstoc website:  []  Global Oneness. (n.d.). A Wisdom Archive on Economic importance. In //Economic Importance//. Retrieved from http://www.experiencefestival.com/economic_importance  NationMaster. (n.d.). Mansur Shah of Malacca. In //Encyclopedia: Mansur Shah of Malacca//. Retrieved  from http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Mansur-Shah-of-Malacca <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Wikipedia. (n.d.). //Malacca//. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malacca#History <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">