•The European conception of a state was also inappropriate in much of the archipelago where a type of political entity had evolved which enabled several kingdoms to join together and yet maintain a fundamentally equal status.THE CYCLE OF FRAGMENTATION AND UNITY
•1. One of the major reasons for the tendency to fragmentation in all Southeast Asian kingdoms was the difficulty of transferring political power from one generation to another. The potential for conflict was particularly great in larger states where kings were likely to have numerous children by several women and where the rewards for success were high. on the death of a king his brother should inherit the throne, rather than his son.A practice had also been introduced of appointing a secondary king, who would be regarded as heir.
•According to the Portuguese chronicler Joao de Barros, there were once twenty-nine kingdoms along the coasts of Sumatra, 'but since we became involved with these oriental states, favouringsome and suppressing others according to the way they received us . . . many have been absorbed to the territory of their most powerful neighbors