Southeast Asian Archipelago

By straitofmalacca
  • Period: 690 to 1288

    Srivijaya empire on Sumatra

  • Period: 800 to 1300

    Srivijaya sends tributary missions to China to strengthen control over sea trade.

  • Period: 960 to 1127

    Trade during Sung dynast

    During the Sung dynasty, Arab traders brought Philippine goods to China. Chinese traded silk, porcelain, colored glass, beads and iron ware for hemp cloth, tortoise shells, pearls and yellow wax of the Filipinos. Filipinos sent tributary missions to the Sung emperor.
  • 1000

    Srivijaya empire controls most of Java (island of Indonesia)- Mahayana Buddhist. Trade routes established in Sulu.

  • 1000

    Small empires rule in Malaysia, the Orang Asli (indigenous people) have little to no contact with people living on the coast.

  • Period: 1019 to 1045

    Airlangga (Indonesian king) rules Java

  • Period: 1023 to 1045

    Chola Kingdom on Sumatra and Java

    Chola empire launches naval raids on key ports of Srivijaya Kingdom. Palembang was taken by Chola. Srivijaya Kingdom moves to another port on island of Java. These raids weakened Srivijaya empire, they lost control of lucrative trades routes. This marks beginning of the decline of the Srivijaya empire.
  • 1025

    Chola empire conquers Malay peninsula

  • 1080

    Kota Cina (Chinese Fort) established in northeast Sumatra and becomes a trade hub.

  • 1100

    Chola Empire influences peninsular Malaysia and much of Thailand

  • 1222

    Ken Angrok founds Singhasari empire

  • 1258

    Rajah Ahmed defeats Rahaj Avirjirkaya of Maynila (present day Manila) and establishes Maynila as a Muslim principality

  • 1275

    Javanese attack peninsular Malaysia

  • 1275

    Singhasari empire launches peaceful naval campaign toward Sumatra and the remains of the Srivijaya empire. The campaign was motivated partially by raids by Ceylonese pirates that disrupted trade routes.

  • 1288

    Singhasari Kingdom conquers Srivijaya Kingdom

  • 1292

    Civil war in Singhasari empire; the Mongols invade Java.

  • 1293

    Singhasari Kingdom ends when Kertanegara is assassinated; Wijaya establishes Majapahit Kingdom and rules as Kertarajasa.

  • Period: 1293 to 1500

    Majapahit empire in Indonesian islands

  • Period: 1293 to 1309

    Wijaya rules Majapahit Kingdom as Kertarajasa

  • 1294

    The Majapahit empire under Raden Wijaya defeat the Mongols in Java. Majapahit empire built on military might.

  • Period: 1300 to 1401

    Islam spread throughout Indonesia by Indian merchants

  • Period: 1301 to 1400

    Islam introduced to Philippines by Muslim Arabs

  • 1320

    Malacca trade

    Large numbers of Chinese immigrate to Malaysia, causing a bump in trade. Malacca became an international trade port, trading with ships as far away as China. From the island, tin, camphor, ebony and gold were traded for sandalwood, pearls, porcelain, silk, feathers and spices from Indonesia.
  • Period: 1331 to 1364

    Gajah Mada is the prime minister of the Majapahit Kingdom

  • 1400

    Islam forms Port Melaka. Active trading center with Siam and China in Philippines also formed

  • 1402

    Parameswara (prince in Java, changed his name to Sultan Iskander Shah) founds Kingdom of Malacca.

  • 1409

    Chinese general Zheng Yi visits Malacca on his way to expand the Chinese Muslim empire

  • 1445

    Muslim ruler established in Malacca

  • 1478

    Demak becomes first Muslim state on Java.

  • 1500

    Islam becomes Indonesia's dominant religion

  • Period: 1500 to

    Manila becomes leading commercial center regarding trade with India, China, and East Indies

  • 1511

    Portuguese seize Malacca

  • Period: 1511 to

    Portuguese in Malaysia

  • 1513

    Portuguese build fort at Sunda Kelapa (present day Jakarta)

  • 1521

    Ferdinand Magellan lands in Philippines (Cebu)

  • Period: 1521 to

    Spanish in the Philippines

  • 1527

    Sultanate of Demak defeats Majapahit empire

  • 1565

    Spanish take control of Philippines and spread Christianity. Named after King Phillip II.

  • 1568

    Parian de Arroceros established as a Chinese marketplace near Manila.

  • 1570

    Ternatean Muslims revolts against Portuguese in Ternate after the Sultan was beheaded.

  • First Dutch ships under de Houtman arrive in Banten (on West Java).

  • Conflict in Manila

    6,000 Chinese merchants march on a Spanish city outside of Manila to behead Spanish leaders and march on Manila. They are forced to turn back after Spanish, Filipino and Japanese chase them out of Manila, kill 20,000 Chinese and burn down the Parian de Arroceros.

  • Dutch East India Company set up trading post in Palembang (capital of South Sumatra state)

  • Dutch captured Malacca from Portuguese

  • Immigration of the Bugis (indigenous people of Sulawesi, Indonesia)

    The weakness of the small coastal Malay states led to the immigration of the Bugis, escaping from the Dutch colonization of Sulawesi, who established numbers settlements on the peninsula which they used to interfere with Dutch trade. They seized control of Johor (state in southern Malaysia) following the assassination of the last Sultan of the old Malacca royal line.

  • Buginese defeated by an alliance of Johor and the Dutch.

  • British East India Company procure the island of Penang off the coast of Malaysia from Sultan of Kedah (northern state of Malaysia)

  • The British throw the Dutch out of Malaysia

  • British take control of Mahasa region of Indonesia

  • Malacca is handed back to the Dutch

  • British East India Company establish a trading post on the island of Singapore

  • British hegemony in Malaya (present day Malaysia) is formalized by the Anglo-Dutch Treaty, which divided the Malay archipelago between Britain and the Netherlands

  • The Dutch impose direct rule on Riau (island of Indonesia)

  • British and Dutch sign the Treaty of London, dividing the East Indies between themselves. Dutch took Sumatra, Java, Maluku, Irian Jaya and others. British took Malaya and Singapore. Aceh (Indonesian state on Sumatra) remained independent.

  • Period: to

    British empire in Malaya

  • Penang (Malaysian state), Malacca and Singapore are combined in the British Straits Settlement

  • The British formally make Malaysia a colony; the Straits Settlement becomes a crown colony of the British empire.

  • Krakatoa (island volcano between Java and Sumatra) erupts causing devastating tsunami

  • Slavery of Orang Asli people in Malaysia abolished

  • The Federated Malay States are formed after the British intervened in the fratricidal wars of the sultans

  • The Treaty of Paris gives control of the Philippines to the United States from Spain

  • Period: to

    Spanish-American War

  • Period: to

    Philippine-American War

  • British gained control of Northern Malaya through an agreement with Thailand

  • Period: to

    Japanese occupy Philippines

  • The Japanese attack the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore

  • Japan gains control of Singapore

  • Japan invades the Dutch East Indies

  • The British resume control over Malaysia after WWII

  • Japan surrenders, Sukarno (the first president of Indonesia) returns to Indonesia and declares Indonesia.

  • The Republic of the Philippines gained independence. Heavily based on US politics.

  • The British formed the Malayan Union and made Sarawak and North Borneo into crown colonies

  • Communist Hukbalahap Revolution begins in the Philippines, protesting the fraudulent election of Elpidio Quirino.

  • British-controlled Malay states combine to create Federation of Malaya

  • Period: to

    Malaysian Civil War

  • Period: to

    State of emergency declared in Malaya to counter local communist uprising

  • Communist uprisings in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines

  • Dutch recognize Indonesian independence after 4 years of guerrilla warfare

  • Federation of Malaya gained independence from Britain. Tunku Abdul Rahman becomes the Prime Minister.

  • British colonies Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore join Federation of Malaya and form Federation of Malaysia

  • Singapore leaves Federation of Malaysia, becomes an independent republic and joins the United Nations

  • Period: to

    Dictator Marcos rules in the Philippines

  • Major political changes in Indonesia

    General Suharto and the Indonesian army carry out a massacre of communists on Java and Bali. Suharto becomes president and launches the New Order to stabilize Indonesia and rehabilitate its economy. Indonesia rejoins the United Nations.

  • Association of South Asian Nations is established. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore are founding members.

  • Indonesia merges West Papua into their territory and it becomes Irian Jaya province.

  • President Aquino creates a new constitution and bicameral Senate in the Philippines.

  • Malay Sultans lost legal immunity

  • Asian Financial Crisis