Monsoon Traders: Ships, Skippers and Commodities in Eighteenth-century Makassar

Makassar was an early-modern Southeast Asian kingdom which has been seen as exemplifying "The Age of Commerce," both in its trade-based prosperity in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and its decline into insignificance following conquest by the Dutch East India Company in 1667. Statistical analysis of the Dutch harbormasters' registers (which listed incoming and outgoing non-Company traffic) reveals that Makassar actually succeeded in establishing new and profitable networks after a difficult period of transition. Whereas slaves and rice had once been predominant exports, by the mid-1700s sea cucumbers, in great demand in China, had become the most important commodity. This volume provides detailed material on shipping, crews, armament, routes, merchandise and skippers, and hence offers unique insights into both the trade of Makassar itself, and the wider transformations of Asian commerce in the 18th century.