Creolization and Diaspora in the Portuguese Indies (European Expansion and Indigenous Response)

This Book Provides An Original Study Of The Sizeable Portuguese Community In Ayutthaya, The Chief River-state In Siam, During A Period Of Apparent Decline (1640-1720). Portuguese Populations Were Displaced From Their Chief Settlements Like Melaka And Makassar, And Attracted To The River-states Of Mainland South-east Asia By A Protective Model Of Kingship, Hopes Of International Trade And The Opportunity To Harvest Souls. A Variety Of Sources Will Be Used To Shed Light On The Fortunes And Make-up Of This Displaced, Mixed-race 'tribe', Which Was Largely Independent Of The Matrices Of Portuguese Colonial Power, And Fared Poorly Alongside Other Foreign Communities In This Remarkably Open, Dynamic Environment. Circumstances Changed For The Better After The National Revolution Of 1688, When Portuguese Started To Fill Many Of The Jobs At Court And In Commerce Previously Occupied By Frenchmen And Northern Europeans.-- By Stefan Halikowski Smith. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [407]-439) And Index. "This book provides an original study of the sizeable Portuguese community in Ayutthaya, the chief river-state in Siam, during a period of apparent decline (1640-1720). Portuguese populations were displaced from their chief settlements like Melaka and Makassar, and attracted to the river-states of mainland South-East Asia by a protective model of kingship, hopes of international trade and the opportunity to harvest souls. A variety of sources will be used to shed light on the fortunes and make-up of this displaced, mixed-race 'tribe', which was largely independent of the matrices of Portuguese colonial power, and fared poorly alongside other foreign communities in this remarkably open, dynamic environment. Circumstances changed for the better after the National Revolution of 1688, when Portuguese started to fill many of the jobs at court and in commerce previously occupied by Frenchmen and northern Europeans."-- Back cover This book examines the sizeable Portuguese community in Ayutthaya, the chief river-state in Siam, during a period in which Portuguese power in the region declined. The analysis turns on the creolization and diaspora that affected this community, as well as problems with international trade, the Christian conversion process, and European rivalries.