The Making of the “Malay Pirate” in Early Modern European Thought
This article traces the long historical background of the nineteenth-century European notion of the Malay as a human “race” with an inherent addiction to piracy. For most of the early modern period, European observers of the Malay Archipelago associated the Malays with the people and diaspora of the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Humanities |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/9/3/91 |
| _version_ | 1797555955744899072 |
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| author | Stefan Eklöf Amirell |
| author_facet | Stefan Eklöf Amirell |
| author_sort | Stefan Eklöf Amirell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article traces the long historical background of the nineteenth-century European notion of the Malay as a human “race” with an inherent addiction to piracy. For most of the early modern period, European observers of the Malay Archipelago associated the Malays with the people and diaspora of the Sultanate of Melaka, who were seen as commercially and culturally accomplished. This image changed in the course of the eighteenth century. First, the European understanding of the Malay was expanded to encompass most of the indigenous population of maritime Southeast Asia. Second, more negative assessments gained influence after the mid-eighteenth century, and the Malays were increasingly associated with piracy, treachery, and rapaciousness. In part, the change was due to the rise in maritime raiding on the part of certain indigenous seafaring peoples of Southeast Asia combined with increasing European commercial interests in Southeast Asia, but it was also part of a generally more negative view in Europe of non-settled and non-agricultural populations. This development preceded the notion of the Malays as one of humanity’s principle races, which emerged toward the end of the eighteenth century. The idea that Malays were natural pirates also paved the way for several brutal colonial anti-piracy campaigns in the Malay Archipelago during the nineteenth century. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:55:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-74889b9e0d16418e9e913c04e4a05f89 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0787 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:55:00Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities |
| spelling | doaj.art-74889b9e0d16418e9e913c04e4a05f892023-11-20T11:10:39ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872020-08-01939110.3390/h9030091The Making of the “Malay Pirate” in Early Modern European ThoughtStefan Eklöf Amirell0Centre for Concurrences in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies, Linnaeus University, SE-351 95 Växjö, SwedenThis article traces the long historical background of the nineteenth-century European notion of the Malay as a human “race” with an inherent addiction to piracy. For most of the early modern period, European observers of the Malay Archipelago associated the Malays with the people and diaspora of the Sultanate of Melaka, who were seen as commercially and culturally accomplished. This image changed in the course of the eighteenth century. First, the European understanding of the Malay was expanded to encompass most of the indigenous population of maritime Southeast Asia. Second, more negative assessments gained influence after the mid-eighteenth century, and the Malays were increasingly associated with piracy, treachery, and rapaciousness. In part, the change was due to the rise in maritime raiding on the part of certain indigenous seafaring peoples of Southeast Asia combined with increasing European commercial interests in Southeast Asia, but it was also part of a generally more negative view in Europe of non-settled and non-agricultural populations. This development preceded the notion of the Malays as one of humanity’s principle races, which emerged toward the end of the eighteenth century. The idea that Malays were natural pirates also paved the way for several brutal colonial anti-piracy campaigns in the Malay Archipelago during the nineteenth century.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/9/3/91piracyracismmaritime historycolonialismMalay Archipelagohistory of Southeast Asia |
| spellingShingle | Stefan Eklöf Amirell The Making of the “Malay Pirate” in Early Modern European Thought Humanities piracy racism maritime history colonialism Malay Archipelago history of Southeast Asia |
| title | The Making of the “Malay Pirate” in Early Modern European Thought |
| title_full | The Making of the “Malay Pirate” in Early Modern European Thought |
| title_fullStr | The Making of the “Malay Pirate” in Early Modern European Thought |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Making of the “Malay Pirate” in Early Modern European Thought |
| title_short | The Making of the “Malay Pirate” in Early Modern European Thought |
| title_sort | making of the malay pirate in early modern european thought |
| topic | piracy racism maritime history colonialism Malay Archipelago history of Southeast Asia |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/9/3/91 |
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