Overview

This book explores maritime Southeast Asia’s trade development during the long nineteenth century, with a focus on the role of Singapore as a regional trade hub. Classical literature attributes the trade growth in modern Southeast Asia to the progress of Western colonisation and assumed Singapore’s prosperity as a result of her status as a free port-city for British economic influence over Asia. Challenging this conventional historiography, this monograph sheds fresh light on the role of Singapore as a global entrepôt. A series of quantitative and qualitative analyses reveals that intra-Southeast Asian trade grew based on Singapore’s entrepôt functions, such as its ability to act as a financial hub for multilateral trade settlements. Drawing on Singapore’s foreign trade statistics, including statistics of monetary imports and exports, particularly of silver, and augmented with other quantitative and qualitative sources of newspapers, where available, the book provides readers with a new understanding of Singapore’s role in intra-regional trade. In addition to Southeast Asian economic historians, this book will appeal to those working on wider themes such as global history, maritime Asian trade, and colonialism.

Full Product Details

Author:   Atsushi Kobayashi
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Weight:   0.560kg
ISBN:  

9781041092230

ISBN 10:   1041092237
Pages:   200
Publication Date:   31 December 2025
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

Introduction: Modern Global Economy, Regional Trading System, and Entrepôt. Part I: Emergence of the Lion City and Intra-Regional Trade 1. Origins of Singapore’s Prosperity: Entrepôt for the Pre-1820 Intra-Asian Trade 2. Emerging Singapore: Quantification of Southeast Asian Trade, 1828–1873 3. Evolution of Intra-regional Trade Centred on Singapore, 1874–1913 Part II: Commodity Circulation, Merchants’ Businesses, and Market Integration 4. Formation of the Entrepôt System in Singapore: Trade of Cotton Goods and Southeast Asian Products, 1830–1870 5. Intra-Regional Market Integration via Singapore: Development of Rice Trade, 1828–1870 6. From Entrepôt to Staple Port: Macroeconomic Transformation and Mercantile Adaptation Part III: Money Flows, Settlement System, and Macroeconomic Adjustment 7. Entrepôt Settlement System: Development of Money Supply and Foreign Exchange in the Mid-Nineteenth Century 8. Bimetallic Exchange Rates in Singapore: Adjustment for the Balance of Payment and Bullion Market in the Mid-Nineteenth Century 9. Money, Price, and Gains of Intra-Regional Trade: Purchasing Power Parity and Terms of Trade. Conclusions: The Rise of Global Entrepôt

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Author Information

Atsushi Kobayashi is Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Economics, Nagoya University, Japan. His research into Asian economic history has been funded by a grant from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Suntory Foundation, and JFE 21st Century Foundation.

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