<P> In the period between the 15th to late 17th centuries, advances in cartography, shipbuilding and navigational skills gave rise to what is now called the Age of Exploration . During this time, the Europeans made many sea voyages around the world in search of new trading routes and opportunities . An early European to visit Southeast Asia was Niccolò de' Conti, who travelled there in the early 15th century . </P> <P> The early Europeans were drawn to Southeast Asia by the spice trade . There was a great demand for oriental spices at the time in European markers . The spices from Southeast Asia included pepper, cloves, nutmeg, mace and cinnamon . The spice trade was extremely lucrative and the early Europeans were highly motivated to secure a direct trade route in spices between Europe and Asia . </P> <P> The spice trade was made possible by the maritime trade route . In 1498, the Portuguese navigator, Vasco da Gama, sailed round the Cape of Good Hope and opened up a sea route from Europe to India . Bringing home samples of exotic oriental products, da Gama greatly increased European interest in the new trade route and the new trade route quickly facilitated the expansion of trade . Eventually, the Dutch wrestled control of it from the Portuguese in the 17th century, and in the 18th century, the British gained control of it from the Dutch . Nevertheless, the spice route greatly increased trading activities, deepened the economic relations between Europe and Southeast Asia and as a result, more European merchants found their way to Southeast Asia . </P> <P> Portugal was the first European power to establish a bridgehead on the lucrative maritime Southeast Asia trade route, with the conquest of the Sultanate of Malacca in 1511 . The Netherlands and Spain followed and soon superseded Portugal as the main European powers in the region . In 1599, Spain began to colonise the Philippines . In 1619, acting through the Dutch East India Company, the Dutch took the city of Sunda Kelapa, renamed it Batavia (now Jakarta) as a base for trading and expansion into the other parts of Java and the surrounding territory . In 1641, the Dutch took Malacca from the Portuguese . Economic opportunities attracted Overseas Chinese to the region in great numbers . In 1775, the Lanfang Republic, possibly the first republic in the region, was established in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, as a tributary state of the Qing Empire; the republic lasted until 1884, when it fell under Dutch occupation as Qing influence waned . </P>

Where did the primary threat to portuguese control of southeast asia come from