Peter Borschberg
Peter Borschberg is an award-winning historian of the early modern period and a thought leader in global history, globalisation, maritime history, and Europe-Asia interactions from 1300 to 1900. His research has significantly broadened the scope of Southeast Asian history, situating the region at the nexus of global maritime trade, diplomatic relations, and evolving concepts of sovereignty. By integrating local and global perspectives, Borschberg has reshaped traditional narratives, underscoring Southeast Asia’s pivotal role in and contributions to world history. Specifically, his concept of multi-polar sovereignty has transformed understandings of political authority in early modern Southeast Asia, demonstrating how power was negotiated among European colonial agents, indigenous polities and other regional actors. Moreover, his pioneering work on the seas as contested spaces underscores their historic function as borderlands, dynamic arenas of trade, diplomacy and conflict. Today, Borschberg's work serves as a cornerstone for researchers working on early modern history, maritime studies, and global history, with his interdisciplinary approach redefining the study of Southeast Asia within the frameworks of global historical processes.
Address: Department of History
National University of Singapore
11 Arts Link
Singapore, 117570
Republic of Singapore
Address: Department of History
National University of Singapore
11 Arts Link
Singapore, 117570
Republic of Singapore
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Books by Peter Borschberg
Admiral Matelieff was a director of the Rotterdam Chamber of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) formed in 1602. He was appointed fleet commander on one of the company’s first voyages to Asia. Matelieff’s mission was both commercial and military: he launched a major sea-borne attack on the Portuguese colony of Melaka, arranged for the signing of treaties with the rulers of Johor, Aceh and Ternate, and founded the first Dutch fort on the island of Ternate. His endeavours, however, to open the Chinese market for the Dutch company proved unsuccessful.
Following his return to the Dutch Republic in September 1608, Matelieff penned a series of memorials and letters. In these he advanced recommendations for changing the way the company organized its fleets and conducted business. More importantly he offered his Dutch contemporaries a vision of empire in Asia. The materials contained in this volume offer important observations of a perceptive analyst who was also determined to grasp the political and economic structures of Asia, and also of inter-state relations in across this vast region. At a time of Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, French and English engagement in Southeast Asia, Matelieff sought to critically assess and strategize on the ways in which Europeans were increasingly engaging with Asian polities and their rulers.
This book will be released for sale in Australasia and Europe in June 2014 and available in the Americas after September 2014
""""
In 1603, Dutch Admiral Jacob van Heemskerk plundered a Portuguese merchantman, the Santa Catarina, travelling from Macao to Melaka. The sale of the cargo at a public auction made traders across Northern Europe aware of the riches to be reaped from Asian trade. However, the episode raised legal questions and the United Dutch East India Company (VOC) commissioned the young Hugo Grotius to defend Heemskerk's actions. Grotius produced two classic legal texts, The Law of Price and Booty and its spin-off, The Free Sea, among the greatest works in the history of international legal and political thought. His observations dealt with free trade in the East Indies, the Dutch Republic's military conflict with the Portuguese and Spanish in Asia, and the legal and moral grounds for attacking and plundering Portuguese and Spanish mercantile shipping.
This book considers the background to the treaties then content and significances, and what Grotius actually knew about Southeast Asian politics and Portuguese institutions of trade and diplomacy when he wrote them.
Grotius' work on the freedom of the sea was a cornerstone in his enduring reputation as one of the founders of modern international law. The present book provides a valuable resource for historians of Southeast Asia and for students of international relations, political theory, maritime history and public law.
"""""
Drawing on maps, rare printed works, and unpublished manuscripts written in Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and Latin, Peter Borschberg provides new information on the diplomatic activities of Asian powers, and shows how the Portuguese and Spanish attempted to restore their political fortunes by containing the rapid rise of Dutch Power in the region. Key documents, transcribed and translated into English for the first time, make up a series of appendices.
The product of more than two decades of research in European libraries, archives, The Singapore and Melaka Straits will be of great interest to readers in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, where little is known about this pivotal pre-colonial period. It is also an invaluable resource for historians and other students of early modern Europe and of the European presence in Asia.
"""
This ambitious book, co-written by four of Singapore’s foremost historians, offers an assertive re-evaluation of that view, firmly situating Singapore’s starting point seven hundred years ago. Drawing on a multi-disciplinary range of archival, textual and cartographical records, as well as the latest archaeological discoveries, the authors cast a singular historical trajectory for Singapore over the past seven centuries, animating its history like never before.
Written in a compelling and accessible manner, and richly illustrated with more than 200 artefacts, photographs, maps, art works and ephemera, this volume builds upon the foundations of an earlier book, Singapore: A 700-Year History. Extensively rewritten to incorporate ground-breaking research findings, Seven Hundred Years: A History of Singapore widens the historical lens and offers a vital new perspective on the story of Singapore.
This book has been published by the National Library of Singapore's Books SG site. It can be accessed as a non-downloadable e-book here:
http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/printheritage/detail/422c9b10-422c-4c79-aa6c-f5d69044bda0.aspx?s=admiral
The manuscripts come from a bundle of documents preserved at the National Library of Spain in Madrid that includes De Coutre’s autobiography and several memorials to the Crowns of Spain and Portugal. Chapters from the autobiography have been excerpted from book I, which covers the writer’s life in Southeast Asia between 1593 and 1603. A glossary and list of place names provide information about officials, goods and places mentioned in the text that will be unfamiliar to readers of English.
This volume offers selected excerpts from European texts touching on Singapore and the Straits region dating from the period c.1500-1819. It brings together archival documents and rare printed materials that have been identified and selected over more than two decades, many of which are made available in English for the first time. The present collection expands documentation on early modern Singapore, and exhibits a range of perspectives that puncture and invalidate the narrative established in the British colonial era. This claimed that Singapore was an unrecognized and unappreciated location between the fall of ancient Temasek in the late fourteenth century and the establishment of a British trading post on the island in 1819. From hazy impressions and casual observations by early modern travellers passing by Singapore, accounts of naval battles, and reports circulating within European halls of knowledge, this compilation becomes a foundational resource of primary sources for a new generation of historians interested in writing the future of the past.
Reviews of My Work by Peter Borschberg
Admiral Matelieff was a director of the Rotterdam Chamber of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) formed in 1602. He was appointed fleet commander on one of the company’s first voyages to Asia. Matelieff’s mission was both commercial and military: he launched a major sea-borne attack on the Portuguese colony of Melaka, arranged for the signing of treaties with the rulers of Johor, Aceh and Ternate, and founded the first Dutch fort on the island of Ternate. His endeavours, however, to open the Chinese market for the Dutch company proved unsuccessful.
Following his return to the Dutch Republic in September 1608, Matelieff penned a series of memorials and letters. In these he advanced recommendations for changing the way the company organized its fleets and conducted business. More importantly he offered his Dutch contemporaries a vision of empire in Asia. The materials contained in this volume offer important observations of a perceptive analyst who was also determined to grasp the political and economic structures of Asia, and also of inter-state relations in across this vast region. At a time of Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, French and English engagement in Southeast Asia, Matelieff sought to critically assess and strategize on the ways in which Europeans were increasingly engaging with Asian polities and their rulers.
This book will be released for sale in Australasia and Europe in June 2014 and available in the Americas after September 2014
""""
In 1603, Dutch Admiral Jacob van Heemskerk plundered a Portuguese merchantman, the Santa Catarina, travelling from Macao to Melaka. The sale of the cargo at a public auction made traders across Northern Europe aware of the riches to be reaped from Asian trade. However, the episode raised legal questions and the United Dutch East India Company (VOC) commissioned the young Hugo Grotius to defend Heemskerk's actions. Grotius produced two classic legal texts, The Law of Price and Booty and its spin-off, The Free Sea, among the greatest works in the history of international legal and political thought. His observations dealt with free trade in the East Indies, the Dutch Republic's military conflict with the Portuguese and Spanish in Asia, and the legal and moral grounds for attacking and plundering Portuguese and Spanish mercantile shipping.
This book considers the background to the treaties then content and significances, and what Grotius actually knew about Southeast Asian politics and Portuguese institutions of trade and diplomacy when he wrote them.
Grotius' work on the freedom of the sea was a cornerstone in his enduring reputation as one of the founders of modern international law. The present book provides a valuable resource for historians of Southeast Asia and for students of international relations, political theory, maritime history and public law.
"""""
Drawing on maps, rare printed works, and unpublished manuscripts written in Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and Latin, Peter Borschberg provides new information on the diplomatic activities of Asian powers, and shows how the Portuguese and Spanish attempted to restore their political fortunes by containing the rapid rise of Dutch Power in the region. Key documents, transcribed and translated into English for the first time, make up a series of appendices.
The product of more than two decades of research in European libraries, archives, The Singapore and Melaka Straits will be of great interest to readers in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, where little is known about this pivotal pre-colonial period. It is also an invaluable resource for historians and other students of early modern Europe and of the European presence in Asia.
"""
This ambitious book, co-written by four of Singapore’s foremost historians, offers an assertive re-evaluation of that view, firmly situating Singapore’s starting point seven hundred years ago. Drawing on a multi-disciplinary range of archival, textual and cartographical records, as well as the latest archaeological discoveries, the authors cast a singular historical trajectory for Singapore over the past seven centuries, animating its history like never before.
Written in a compelling and accessible manner, and richly illustrated with more than 200 artefacts, photographs, maps, art works and ephemera, this volume builds upon the foundations of an earlier book, Singapore: A 700-Year History. Extensively rewritten to incorporate ground-breaking research findings, Seven Hundred Years: A History of Singapore widens the historical lens and offers a vital new perspective on the story of Singapore.
This book has been published by the National Library of Singapore's Books SG site. It can be accessed as a non-downloadable e-book here:
http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/printheritage/detail/422c9b10-422c-4c79-aa6c-f5d69044bda0.aspx?s=admiral
The manuscripts come from a bundle of documents preserved at the National Library of Spain in Madrid that includes De Coutre’s autobiography and several memorials to the Crowns of Spain and Portugal. Chapters from the autobiography have been excerpted from book I, which covers the writer’s life in Southeast Asia between 1593 and 1603. A glossary and list of place names provide information about officials, goods and places mentioned in the text that will be unfamiliar to readers of English.
This volume offers selected excerpts from European texts touching on Singapore and the Straits region dating from the period c.1500-1819. It brings together archival documents and rare printed materials that have been identified and selected over more than two decades, many of which are made available in English for the first time. The present collection expands documentation on early modern Singapore, and exhibits a range of perspectives that puncture and invalidate the narrative established in the British colonial era. This claimed that Singapore was an unrecognized and unappreciated location between the fall of ancient Temasek in the late fourteenth century and the establishment of a British trading post on the island in 1819. From hazy impressions and casual observations by early modern travellers passing by Singapore, accounts of naval battles, and reports circulating within European halls of knowledge, this compilation becomes a foundational resource of primary sources for a new generation of historians interested in writing the future of the past.
https://kyotoreview.org/issue-30/review-studying-singapore-before-1800/
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-asian-studies/article/studying-singapore-before-1800-edited-by-kwa-chong-guan-and-peter-borschberg-singapore-national-university-of-singapore-press-2018-600-pp-isbn-9789814722742-paper/35030741F31F6F6A3EABCF221A97EBB1
https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3017222/history-singapore-over-700-years-shows-city-states-ups-and
“Seven Hundred Years, A History of Singapore” by Kwa Chong Guan, Derek Heng, Peter Borschberg and Tan Tai Yong
https://www.scmp.com/culture/books/article/2175180/singapore-colonisation-temasek-singapura-destruction-and-flight-melaka
https://berita.mediacorp.sg/mobilem/commentary/ulasan-s-pura-sudah-maju-700-tahun-lalu-walaupun-berdepan/4168982.html
http://asianreviewofbooks.com/content/studying-singapore-before-1800-by-kwa-chong-guan-and-peter-borschberg/
during the seventeenth century. It focuses on how European agents, especially
the Dutch East India Company (VOC), disrupted the political structures of their
treaty partners and allies. Since many readers will be unfamiliar with early modern
Southeast Asian trade and statecraft, Part I introduces and discusses six core
concepts that stake out the values, practices, and structures of polities in the region
with an eye on providing the political and commercial context discussed in the
second half of the article. Part II then turns to explore how certain legal instruments
[3.104.43.49] Project MUSE (2025-01-16 04:10 GMT) National University of Singapore
and policies, specifically however written treaties, maritime passes, reliance on
f
ixed prices, and exclusive trading deals bypassed local social hierarchies and
destabilized politico-economic institutions. Taken together, these hindered the
ability of rulers to raise sufficient revenues, discharge their traditional duties, and
meet the material needs of their followers.
second half of the article. Part II then turns to explore how certain legal instruments and policies, specifically however written treaties, maritime passes, reliance on fixed prices, and exclusive trading deals bypassed local social hierarchies and destabilized politico-economic institutions. Taken together, these hindered the ability of rulers to raise sufficient revenues, discharge their traditional duties, and meet the material needs of their followers.
The Spanish fleet comprising 10 galleons and several support vessels had been purpose-built at great cost to the Philippine treasury. the plan was fairly straightforward: the ships carrying around 5,000 men would sail from Manila to the Singapore Straits during the northeast monsoon season of 1615-6, drop anchor, and await naval reinforcements sent by the Portuguese viceroy of India. The Spanish and Portuguese ships would rendezvous off Singapore, and in the early weeks of 1616 sail in convoy to Maluku to take on the Dutch. Organizing this expedition involved coordinating communications and logistics between Goa and Mexico City, in other words this operation spanned half the globe. When the Spaniards dropped anchor off Singapore in February 1616, little did they realize that the ships sent by the Portuguese viceroy had already been destroyed, in a first blow by the Acehnese and shortly thereafter by the Dutch. When no ships were found at Singapore, the Spanish governor of the Philippines, Juan de Silva, headed up the coast to ascertain the situation. When he arrived at Melaka, he was received as a hero, but celebration turned to mourning when he suddenly passed away after a brief illness. Meanwhile, the ships of the Spanish fleet were suffering large daily losses to disease. With Juan de Silva dead, the Portuguese auxiliary vessels destroyed, and mounting daily casualties aboard the ships, it was decided to raise anchor and return to Manila. By the dime this decision was taken, there was hardly enough able-bodied men left to sail the vessels back to the Philippines.
Singapore from its founding in 1819 to about 1830. By focusing on
this timeframe, it aims to shed light on the important shifts that
occurred during this formative period. The article addresses three
issues that are key to understanding the trajectory of early British
Singapore. First, it explores the reasons behind the dissolution of
the original power- and revenue-sharing arrangements between
the British, the Temenggong, and Sultan Hussain by 1824. By
investigating the reasons behind this termination, the article
seeks to uncover the power struggles that (re-) shaped early
governance in Singapore. Second, the article examines the roles
played by traditional Malay commercial conventions and
practices. As a result, a more differentiated understanding
emerges of Singapore’s commercial and cultural origins. Finally,
the article investigates the driving forces behind the
establishment of British Singapore as a free port supported by
free trade. By exploring the motivation, timing and debates about
policy, the article provides insights into the economic and
political factors that propelled Singapore’s rise as a trading hub.
The conclusions in this article offer a thought-provoking
reassessment and reframing of Singapore’s early development as
a port and British settlement.
When the Spaniards dropped anchor off Singapore in February 1616, little did they know that the ships sent by the Portuguese viceroy had been completely destroyed, in a first blow by the Acehnese and shortly thereafter by the Dutch. After waiting in vain for the Portuguese ships to arrive, the Spanish governor of the Philippines, Juan de Silva, headed up the coast to ascertain the situation. When he arrived at Malacca, he was received as a hero, but celebration turned to mourning when he suddenly passed away. Meanwhile, the ships of the Spanish fleet were suffering large daily losses due to disease. With the Spanish governor dead and mounting daily casualties aboard the ships, the officers decided to raise anchor and return to Manila. By the time this decision was taken, there were hardly enough able-bodied men left to sail the vessels back .
This article examines the urban example of Batu Sawar which served as the capital of the Johor kingdom between 1587 and circa 1615. In the mid-eighteenth century European reference works continued to describe Batu Sawar as the capital of Johor, even though the city had long ceased to serve as a trading center, let alone as Johor’s capital, and almost certainly no longer existed. Such observations raise the question of urban impermanence – the transience of sizeable settlements with reference to the Malay Archipelago. Two overarching questions form the backbone of the investigation: First, why did Batu Sawar rise as a regional trading center, and second, what are the factors that contributed to its decline? Batu Sawar’s fate was sealed by a combination of factors that included poor defenses, multiple external shocks, destruction by fire, court politics and rivalry between the early colonial powers.
its supposed founding by the fugitive prince Parameswara around 1360–1400 until the
year 1528, when the two sons of the last Sultan of Melaka Mahmud I founded the successor polities of Perak and Johor. The key to understanding Melaka’s history is to focus on the synergies forged by the rulers and the grandees with local and foreign actors, and to appreciate the mutual but malleable relationships maintained by the ruler
(sultan) with his subjects and followers. In its heyday Melaka served as one of the crucial procurement, trans-shipment, and commercial centres in the maritime trading
world of the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. Its fame reached as far as North and East
Africa in the West, and China and Ryukyu in the East. At its height it exerted political,
economic and cultural influence over much of the Malay Peninsula, parts of Eastern
Sumatra and the Riau Archipelago
diplomacy and politics in the East Indies. The period under review covers
the beginning of his engagement on East Indian affairs around the year
1604 until his arrest and incarceration in August 1618. It focuses on
geographically present-day Southeast Asia, especially on the island world of Indonesia, but also areas of the Malay Peninsula and Thailand (Siam). The discussion is aimed at answering the following overarching questions: how and in what capacity did Grotius engage with East Indian affairs? When, from whom and under what circumstances did he acquire his working knowledge about the East Indies?
This chapter examines the history of Melaka from its legendary founding by Parameswara until the death of Sultan Mahmud II in 1528.
The chapter is now published as open access
https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/53810/9789004407671.pdf?sequence=1#page=274
Keywords
early globalization, capitalism, international trade, Europe–Asia relations, Asian studies, diplomacy, colonialism, international law
Wayan Jarrah Sastrawan: Raffles’ The History of Java and the evolution of Javanese historiography
Peter Cary: The first Singaporean: Raffles as man and myth
Mimi Savitri: The cultural strategy of Raffles to control the Javanese in Solo
Leonard Andaya The “Realm of the Straits (Negara Selat)” in the nineteenth century
In the context of Grotius’ writings, the Theses LVI assume an important position for several reasons: They raise questions about state formation, the duty of citizens to the state and the right of political resistance in far greater detail than in any other work of the celebrated Dutch humanist. The Theses LVI also feature important reading notes that yield priceless insights into the sources that Grotius directly consulted and their influence on his ideas. The manuscript grants modern scholars a unique glimpse into the working mind of its author. Evidence points not only to the ferocious haste with which Grotius wrote his works, but also the occasional sloppiness of his reading and research habits.
Download here: https://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/154747
The protracted negotiations were complicated by several factors, including ambiguous territorial definitions from previous agreements and controversial actions by British agents, notably Thomas Stamford Raffles in Singapore. Central to the dispute was the "Singapore question," which nearly derailed the treaty talks. However, a breakthrough occurred when Dutch negotiator A.R. Falck abandoned the precondition that Britain relinquish Singapore, shifting the focus toward a larger territorial swap, including the exchange of Melaka for British-held Bencoolen and Bangka-Belitung.
The legacy of the treaty is profound, solidifying British and Dutch spheres of influence that shaped the colonial landscape of the 19th century. Its implications extended well beyond the territorial rearrangements, setting a framework for future Anglo-Dutch cooperation and the political geography of modern Southeast Asia. The treaty also inadvertently shaped the political future of Singapore and influenced debates surrounding Borneo in later decade
My paper seriously challenges this view. If you attend my lecture, I want you to walk away knowing that Singapore has a longer and deeper history that predates 1819. Raffles did not discover either the location Singapore or its potential as a trading emporium: that had been recognized long before. As a second takeaway I want viewers to appreciate that Singapore was everything but a forgotten place before 1819 and that it fulfilled different functions at different times. So come along and learn more!
RGS posted a video teaser of this talk at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P52sZJzjyDY
https://www.singaporewritersfestival.com/nacswf/nacswf/programme-listing/festival-events/From-Temasek-to-Singapore--Uncovering-700-years.html
In this talk, Associate Professor Peter Borschberg introduces 16th century Singapore, another period that is widely assumed to be ‘missing’ in Singapore’s history. His research however reveals a turbulent world, where Singapore was both centre stage to numerous battles, alliances and defeats as well as being a part of a busy trade waterways in the region. The rise of Aceh and the arrival of the Dutch in the region during the 1590s changed the flow of trade and the balance of power in the Straits.
or http://www.seaceramic.org.sg/16-mar-2019-wwlecture/
About the speaker
Peter Borschberg is associate professor in the Department of History at the National University of Singapore. He has published several books and articles on topics relating to early colonial expansion and the origins of international law in Southeast Asia during the 16th and 17th centuries. These include The Singapore and Melaka Straits. Violence, Security and Diplomacy in the 17th Century (2010) and Hugo Grotius, the Portuguese and Free Trade in the East Indies (2011).
This lecture is free. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. No registration is required.
Re-reading Grotius in his 17th-century context is vital. It shows how strongly his perspectives clashed with ideas dominant in Southeast Asia at that time. It takes us back to a period before Western global domination when diplomacy had to come to terms with or confront - just as increasingly it has to do today - a range and a contest of foreign-relations perspectives.
Moving forward - building regional institutions, forging new forms of engagement between major powers, defining and mediating different national interests in the South China Sea - it may be fruitful to look backward as well as ahead. Doing so offers the architects of a new order a more inclusive - less narrowly-European - experience; and it is possible that we could also learn something valuable from the way international pluralities were navigated in an earlier era.
A video recording is accessible at the following site:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H6L04JtORs
https://www.straitstimes.com/life/arts/ordinary-lives-in-the-spotlight-on-nus-history-prize-shortlist
The article was also carried by the NUS Singapore Research Nexus at:
https://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/srn/archives/60828
3 Things About Singapore’s Past You Never Knew
0 comments / Readaholic / SingLit
Since it’s August and everyone is talking about all things Singapore, we thought it is timely to share some really interesting historical facts about our little red dot.
Before you yawn, sigh or complain about how you don’t really care for history, take a look at these juicy facts that we think deserve a spot in your brain.
This is the third of six weekly articles covering the Singapore History Series - Seven Centuries In Six Episodes, organised as part of the SkillsFuture Festival in collaboration with the Singapore Bicentennial Office. It was published in the Straits Times Singapore on 18 July, 2019.
http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/srn/archives/59837
https://www.istana.gov.sg/Newsroom/Speeches/2019/05/Speech-by-President-Halimah-Yacob-at-the-Launch-of-Singapore-Bicentennial-Experience
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapores-bicentennial-showcase-opens-at-fort-canning-park-book-and-website-launched
https://graphics.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/Interactives/2019/05/sgbicentennial-not-sleepy-village/index.html
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/revamped-history-book-gives-voice-to-orang-laut