The 21st century has been characterised as “the Asian century”, and therefore, its interaction with Europe, a relationship that began centuries ago through the silk and spice trade, will be fundamental to both explaining its past and to better understanding its future. There remains a clear legacy, within Asia, of European influence, practice and policy, and yet this legacy takes a different shape, a different set of values according to origin and host. To say there is a single European identity, especially when viewed historically, is as misleading as to say there is a single Asian identity. The intricate relationships that have so shaped identity and reality require closer examination.