THE FRAGMENTATION OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
•None of the great centresof the seventeenth century survived into modern times. By the early 1800s new dynasties ruled in Burma, Siam and Vietnam; in the island world Bantenand Makassar had both lost their status as independent entrepots, Mataramwas divided into two, and Aceh had been torn by two generations of civil strife.
•In tracing the reasons for these developments in mainland Southeast Asia, it could be argued that the very process of centralization contained within itself the seeds of fragmentation.
•Only a powerful centrecould maintain its position in the face of the cumulative tensions induced by continuing efforts to tighten supervision of people and resources. Whenever the dominance of the capital was questioned, it was reflected in the steady seepage of manpower away from royal control. In societies where the king was heavily reliant on his armies to maintain his own standing against potential opposition, this loss of manpower was serious, especially if it coincided with conflicts over succession or the sharing of power.