The Dutch East India Company (VOC, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie), founded in 1602 and liquidated in 1795, was the largest and most impressive of the early modern European trading companies operating in Asia. About twenty-five million pages of VOC records have survived in repositories in Jakarta, Colombo, Chennai, Cape Town, and The Hague. The VOC archives make up the most complete and extensive source on early modern world history anywhere with data relevant to the history of hundreds of Asia’s and Africa’s former local political and trade regions.

The Naxi people are the descendants of the ancient Qiang tribe, who inhabited the Huanghe and Huangshui valleys in northwest China. After constant nomadic migration, the early Naxis finally settled down in eastern and western areas along the upper reaches of the Jinsha river. Today approximately 300,000 Naxis live at the juncture of Yunnan province, Sichuan province and Tibet autonomous region.

The Sao Idefonso was a Portuguese flag vessel that sank in 1527 on the Etoile reef of southern Madagascar. Investigation missions have attested to the presence on the wreck site of various artifacts, copper ingots and cannons, so it appears to be one of the very few wrecks in the world bearing witness to the first decades of the Portuguese explorations of the Indian Ocean and of exchanges between Europe and the Far East.

The city of Tuban on the Javanese coast has a long history of seafaring and maritime trade. It was an entrepot and exported various goods such as salt, cotton, and tortoise shell. Tuban is mentioned in historic sources under the name of Kampang Putih from the 11^th century onwards. It prospered during the Majapahit Empire until the 15^th century, when it lost some of its importance due to the rise of the nearby harbour of Gresik.

Archaeological findings in Sumatra and Java have revealed that the Strait of Malacca, the Strait of Sunda and the Indian Ocean were zones of trade from the first centuries of our era onwards. From the 7^th to the 13^th century AD, the region was controlled by the rulers of Srivijaya. The power subsequently shifted to the Sultanates of Samudera-Pasai, Aceh, Malacca, and Banten. From the 7^th to the 16^th century, major harbours emerged and import and export monopolies were created.

The city of Old Banten, which is situated in Northwest Java close to the Strait of Sunda, prospered due to its connection to the maritime Silk Road. According to a 16^th-century report by Tome Pires, Banten was the most important port city of the Hinduist Kingdom of Sunda, and it conducted trade with Sumatra and the Maldives. The city was also described in the Javanese “Sejarah Banten” and in Dutch writings.