ABSTRACT
Maritime (or Insular) Southeast Asia comprises a series of island and peninsular nations spreading across the chain of seas connecting the Indian and Pacic oceans, and constitutes a hugely diverse collection of cultures spanning tens of thousands of islands stretched along the equator. Climatically dened by the equatorial monsoon weather cycle, and frequently impacted by the volcanic activity that is responsible for the islands’ origins, the region for centuries has fostered commercial and cultural exchange. The agricultural commodities of Maritime Southeast Asia, which have historically included tea, rubber, coee, tobacco and most of all spices, have long drawn longdistance visitors to its ports via the ancient Indian Ocean trade routes. As a result, the region has been connected to the Muslim world in the west since the earliest days of Islam, as well as to China and points north.1
