Formation of Archipelago Network Through Trade
Archipelago integration centers take place through control of the sea. These integration centers were then determined by expertise and concern for the sea, resulting in new developments, at least in two respects, namely:
the growth of trade routes passing through strategic locations on the coast, the
ability to control (control) the politics and military of traditional rulers. (kings) in controlling the main routes and trade centers in the archipelago.
So, the prerequisites for being able to control trade routes and centers are determined by two important things, namely attention or perspective and the ability to control the seas.
The trade routes that developed in the archipelago were largely determined by economic interests at that time and the development of trade routes at different times.
If during the prehistoric period the dominant cultural hegemony came from supporters of the Austronesian culture from Mainland Southeast Asia.
During the period of Hindu-Buddhist development in the archipelago, there were two major civilizational forces, namely China in the north and India in the southwest.
Both of them were two super powers of their time and had a huge influence on the population of the Indonesian Archipelago. However, this shift in world trade routes has brought its own blessings to the people and ethnic groups in the archipelago.
They were directly integrated into the fabric of world trade at that time. The Malacca Strait became important as a gateway connecting Chinese traders and Indian traders.
At that time the Malacca Strait was an important route in shipping and trade for traders passing through important ports around the Indonesian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. The strait
is a sea route that connects Arabia and India in the northwest of the archipelago, and with China in the northeast of the archipelago.
This route is a shipping gateway
known as the "silk route". This naming was used from the 1st to the 16th century AD, with silk fabrics brought from China to be traded in other regions. The bustling of these shipping routes led to the emergence of important ports around the route, including Samudra Pasai, Malacca, and Kota Cina (present-day North Sumatra).
The positive impacts of the integration of the Malacca Strait into international trade routes are as follows:
The life of the people along the Malacca Strait has become more prosperous due to the process of integration of world trade through the sea route.
They have become more open socially and economically to establish trade relations with foreign traders who pass through that route.
In addition, the local community is also increasingly open to outside cultural influences.
Trade networks between nations and people in the Indonesian Archipelago also developed rapidly during the Hindu-Buddhist period.
The growth of international and inter-island trade networks has given rise to new political powers in the archipelago. The political map of Java and Sumatra in the 7th century, as shown by DGE Hall, was sourced from the records of Chinese visitors who came to Sumatra, the political forces were:
Two countries in Sumatra, namely Mo-lo-yeu (Malay) on the east coast, to be precise in present-day Jambi at the mouth of the Batanghari River and slightly to the south of it was Che-li-fo-che, the Chinese pronunciation of the Sanskrit word Criwijaya.
In Java there were three main kingdoms, namely in the western tip of Java, there was Tarumanegara, with its prominent king Purnawarman, in central Java there was Ho-ling (Kalingga), and in eastern Java there were Singhasari and Majapahit.
The power of political integration here means the ability of these traditional kingdoms to control large areas in the archipelago under loose political control and place their territory as political units under the supervision of these kingdoms.
Thus integration between islands gradually began to take shape. However, as a whole, the process of integration, which has gradually grown stronger and stronger, has strengthened the Archipelago as an archipelagic country united by political and trade forces.
Source: Eddy Strada