ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book shows that persons of Chinese descent such as Taksin assumed even the highest levels of political power in some Southeast Asian polities. It looks at the export of Chinese ceramics to the sultanates of early Islamic India over the fourteenth–seventeenth centuries, primarily through Southeast Asian ports which were closely tied to the subcontinental Islamic polities. The book examines interactions between the Melakan sultanate, the Ming court and the Portuguese who had attacked and occupied Melaka in 1511. It also examines the emergence of the Nguyen polity in southern Vietnam, the perceived role of Chinese courts as a source of authority and legitimation, and the role of Guangdong officials as frequent mediators in the interactions. The book explores the processes by which the Qing expanded their control over polities on their southern borders.
