Things of Interest

Book Reviews

Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and Malay Peninsula

By Paul M. Munoz

This text is more of a reference tome than a fast read. More of a work for amateur historians than a bedtime book.

The early pre-colonial history of SE Asia was a time when seafaring men were able to build great empires that stretched from the Indonesian archipelago to Indochine such as:

  • Sriwijaya ( aka Zabag to the Arab traders)
  • Majapahit
  • Melaka
  • Mataram
  • Sanjaya
  • Blambangan

This book explains how Indonesia today is derived from a blend of all the immigrants, invaders, colonists that landed on its shores, among others:

  • Chinese
  • Indian
  • Portuguese
  • Arab
  • English
  • Dutch

Anecdotes of some interesting traveler’s memoirs included in the book are:

  • Marco Polo – in Riau ( Sumatra)
  • Tome Pires (Portuguese apothecary) – in Pajajaran ( W Java)
  • Junghuhn ( Dutch) –  around Lake Toba ( N Sumatra) on the Bataks/ cannibalism
  • Yi-Tsing ( Chinese monk) – in Palembang in 7th century ( S Sumatra)

This book is in the same league as the classic The Indianized States of Southeast Asia by George Coedes published in 1996.