ABSTRACT
European influence in the archipelago reached only the fringes, while the bulk of the island population continued to be governed by indigenous rulers and their time-tested traditions. Unfortunately, the general paucity of materials in respect to indigenous states, as opposed to the abundance of documentation concerning the activities of the European trading companies, has handicapped historians' efforts in providing a proper balance and perspective to Southeast Asian history. In the fifteenth century, two Iberian powers—Spain and Portugal—both Catholic, rivaled each other in exploring routes to the East. By the end of the sixteenth century, two rival European merchant communities—the Dutch and the English—resolved to enter the spice trade directly. For most of the sixteenth century, they effectively dominated the Strait of Malacca and therefore the chief sea route from India to China. Of all the European powers in Southeast Asia prior to the nineteenth century, the greatest impact was made by a people who made the least profit—the Spaniards.
