The Straits Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia are a unique culture, a centuries-old blend of Chinese and Malay. One of their traditional...

I recently visited the Eurasian Heritage Gallery in Singapore, a museum at the Eurasian Association that commemorates the complex history...

Yesterday, June 10, was Portugal's national day and our Portuguese friends are enjoying a long weekend. The Portuguese ambassador to...

I recently went to the Singapore National Museum and came across this quote about what is now Singapore highlighted on a wall: Who is...

In the Chinese language, China is referred to as 中国 (zhōng guó), or 中國 in traditional script, meaning the middle kingdom. This wasn't...

When I visited Minas Gerais in Brazil more than ten years ago, I made it a point to go to the city of Ouro Preto to check out some of the...

Malay was the lingua franca of Southeast Asia, and after the Portuguese took control of the trading port of Malacca in 1511, many words...

The Portuguese made their appearance in Southeast Asia when they conquered Malacca on 24 August 1511. Their Iberian neighbours the...

A merchant, a pirate, a smuggler, an adventurer, a captain, and even an official representative of the Portuguese authorities: Bartolomeu...

The Codex Casanatense, or Códice Casanatense in Portuguese, is a set of 16th century Portuguese illustrations. Likely the work of an...

Vasco da Gama led the first Portuguese expedition to India, setting sail from Lisbon on July 8, 1497 and arriving in Calicut only on May...

Why pass so many storms, and life and times so sore, forever at death's door? I'd give up pepper without qualms. Par passar tanta...

Indian cuisine should perhaps be more accurately referred to in the plural: there are so many regional differences, from seafood-heavy...

The Portuguese introduced ingredients to the Asia palate that some would consider to be fundamental today. What would Thai food be like...

Although the Japanese became more deeply familiar with the Dutch language (Western knowledge was called 蘭学 rangaku or "Dutch studies"),...

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to make contact with the Kingdom of Siam more than 500 years ago in 1511. In 1518 was signed the...

Interesting as it may be, the influence that the Portuguese exerted in Asia so many centuries ago is often relegated to the introductory...

Portugal was united with Spain in 1580 by virtue of sharing the same king in the person of Philip (Filipe I in Portuguese). The Spanish...

Starting with the conquest of Malacca, the Portuguese finally found in Southeast Asia the source of the spices they were looking for.

I intend to explore this topic through four perspectives: What were the political drivers for what was a costly national undertaking? Was...