ABSTRACT
Southeast Asia has long had a reputation for being a region rich in natural resources, and a dynamic zone of commerce and trade. From ancient times, speculation abounded outside the region over the plenitude and wealth of this part of the world. Cloves, nutmeg, aromatic woods, camphor, and resins from the region were available in the markets of the Roman empire and Han China more than 2,000 years ago (Reid 1993 p, 1). In ports and trading centers from the Atlantic to the China Sea, ancient mariners discussed, speculated and fantasized about what they called "The Land of Gold" (Shaffer p. 2). The rare assortment of condiments, woods, lacquers, and other products collected in Southeast Asia, and exchanged along ancient trade routes, had no match elsewhere in the world, and encouraged the belief that this was an exotic domain of mystery and incredible wealth (see Savage), The Alexandrian astronomer and geographer Ptolemy, in his Geographike Hyphegesis (Guide to Geography), pointed to Southeast Asia as the location of the fabled peninsula of the "Golden Kh ersonese" (Savage pp. 28 33). According to the Romans, the area was a mythical place inhabited by "wild men" and was rich in gold, animals, and other resources considered valuable across the ancient world. Although the early chronicles contain exaggerated, even fanciful, accounts, their references to the area's wealth and abundant natural resources were a direct consequence of its dynamic and active role in world trade networks from ancient times.
