European Colonial Forts in Maritime Southeast Asia

The region between continental China, mainland Southeast Asia, and Oceania (Maritime Southeast Asia), also including Taiwan and Sri Lanka, features a remarkable density of European forts, built from the 16th through 19th centuries. Information about these forts is fragmentary and scattered in historical syntheses that tend to present specific European national viewpoints. There is no holistic overview of European colonialism nor of these constructions. In this chapter, we systematize chronological, locational, material, and cultural data on European forts in the region. Our preliminary locational analysis allows us to offer insights into the development of the colonial system, as well as about local political dynamics. We conclude by offering some remarks about the national and country-specific perspectives that drive research on forts, the scarcity of this enterprise, and the pressing need for archaeological and material insights into this phenomenon.