This collection of essays places the Straits of Singapore and Melaka and their surrounding regions in a larger pattern of world trade and international diplomacy between of approximately 1500-1800. The contributions contained in this volume address a range of interdisciplinary issues pertaining to the presence and expansion of Portuguese and Spanish infl uence across the region. The authors draw on a wide range of source material in Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and Chinese, making some of them accessible to an English language readership for the fi rst time. From the table of contents (8 contributions): R. Ptak, Reconsidering Melaka and Central Guangdong: Portugal's and Fujian's Impact on Southeast Asian Trade (Early Sixteenth Century) M. Olle Rodriguez, Early Spanish Insertion into Southeast Asia: the Chinese Factor P. Borschberg, Security, VOC Penetration and Luso-Spanish Co-operation: The Armada of Philippine Governor Juan de Silva in the Straits of Singapore, 1616 K. McPherson, Staying on: Refl ections on the Survival of Portuguese Enterprise in the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia from the Seventeenth to the Eighteenth Century P. Borschberg, Remapping the Straits of Singapore? New Insights from Old Sources P.J. de Sous Pinto, Captains, Sultans and liaisons dangereuses: Melaka and Johor in the Late Sixteenth Century