•it is important to emphasize that in the pre-modern period the experiences of the mainland and the islands diverged quite markedly.
•In the first place, European interest in the mainland was limited. It was not seen as a source of spices, and it was the aim of dominating this trade which had brought the Portuguese and Spanish to the region.
•Second, although Europeans actively frequented ports such as Peguand Ayutthaya, they never controlled a mainland centrethat could be compared with Melaka, and thus never exerted the same influence on established trading patterns.
•Third, the population and economic resources of the states on the mainland far outweighed those of the Europeans in the region.