抄録
The Malacca Strait figured as an entrepot for the international trade of Southeast Asia up until recent times because its location was suitable for the East-West trade covering Europe and the Arab and Indian worlds on one hand, and China and Japan on the other. Since trade was a significant economic basis for political power, it has been one of the major themes in the history of Southeast Asia. Historians have traditionally studied the international trade around the Malacca Strait focusing on the sea route and overseas trade. However, this approach is not sufficient to fully understand the structure of the international trade, particularly when we consider such problems as how commodities were brought to international ports, or how imported commodities were distributed from these ports. These questions are especially important for Central and South Sumatra where export goods were mainly produced inland and imported goods were also consumed inland.
This paper attempts to describe the trade structure in Central and South Sumatra, paying attention to rivers as trade routes, which so far have been studied very little. These rivers include the Siak, Kampar, Kuantan-Indragiri, Batang Hari, and Musi, all of which rise in the Barisan mountain range (stretching north to south parallel to the west coast of Sumatra), and empty into the east coast sea. Because they are navigable by boats (perahu ) almost up to their sources, they have been used as trade routes since ancient times. This paper covers the historical background, the navigation of boats, trade, and trade structure of these river routes. The author hopes that this study of river trade, and trade structure of these river routes. The author hopes that this study of river trade will broaden the scope of the economic and political history of Southeast Asia.
