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Location: Fuzhou (Foochow) Fujian (Fukien) China

The history of the Malay-speaking world begins …

Years: 16 - 27

The history of the Malay-speaking world begins with the advent of Indian influence, which dates back to at least the third century BCE.

Indian traders come to the archipelago both for its abundant forest and maritime products and to trade with merchants from China, who had also discovered the Malay world at an early date.

Both Hinduism and Buddhism are well established in the southeastern Asian mainland by the beginning of the first century CE, and from here spreads across the vast arc of islands extending from Sumatra in the west to Sulawesi (Celebes) in the east.

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