In island Southeast Asia during the sixteenth century
the expression of competition in religious terms was
accentuated by the spread of Christianity and the
importation of hostilities between Muslims and
Christians. Throughout the archipelago the Portuguese
goal of winning souls as well as gold meant many
Muslims perceived them as a danger to their religion as
well as a commercial challenge.
• Despite the recurring calls for a religious crusade,
however, relations between the Christian Portuguese
and local Muslim kings were always governed by
pragmatism. On the one side, Europeans needed to
buy and sell, while for their part native rulers often saw
a European connection as an important ingredient in
commercial success.