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CHAPTER 7 Edward L. Poelinggomang

The History of Maritime Networks and Cross-Cultural Contexts in Indonesia

Maritime Trade under Sriwijaya
Sriwijaya is one of the oldest kingdoms in Indonesia. It was very ambitious in overseeing
maritime trade between China and India and the western area of the archipelago. This
kingdom was successful in supervising maritime trade activities in the Strait of Malacca
and the Sunda Strait. The holders of political control of Sriwijaya had a special interest in
the world of maritime trade to build its economy and politics (Hall, 1985: 100).
To build their strength and power, the holders of political control of the Sriwijaya
Kingdom took five strategic steps (Hamid, 2013: 53-56). First, they diminished the influence
and power of other kingdoms along the coast of Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, and Java,
which were involved in maritime trade. The policy was implemented with a view to make
Sriwijaya the only commercial transit port for the commodity traded in that area.
Second, they supervised the sailing lanes and maritime trade to and from the
archipelago, China, and India. There were two main gates under their control, namely:
(1) The Malacca Strait, which was the path of commercial sailing from China to India
and vice versa, and (2) the Sunda Strait which connected Sumatra and Java, and was
the gateway of maritime trade activities to and from the west coast of Sumatra and the
various regions of the archipelago and to China. By controlling these two main lines, the
ruler of the kingdom could extract huge profits through import and export tax policy for
the kingdom’s prosperity.
The third strategic step was to establish commercial and political relations with the
countries that had been conquered to build a strong coordination of authority under its
hegemony. Sriwijaya relied not only on military power, but also on networks of political
relations, complex family relations, and maritime trade to strengthen and maintain
the unity of the national territory (Munoz, 2006). In political relations, the rulers of the
kingdoms of fiefs remained economically autonomous. Further, the policy on political
marriage had created family ties, politics, and religious bonds between the kingdom of
Sriwijaya and its vassal kingdoms.

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