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It is the 15th Century. Temasek is now a Vassal of Siam.

Look at the source on the right: What does it mean to be a vassal?

Sukothai - Kingdom of Siam.

Siam - Modern Day Thailand.

Sukothai Court - palace where all the Sukothai nobles are.

"...[Temasek's prosperity] drew negative attention from the rising regional powers in Maritime Southeast Asia...

...Temasek had, by the beginning of 15th Century, been brought under the influence of the Sukothai, and the revenue that Temasek generated from its maritime trade was forwarded to the Sukothai court
."  
- Singapore: a 700 year History (pg 31)

Siamese King Naresuan fighting the Burmese crown prince Mingyi Swa at the battle of Yuthahatthi in January 1593.

Tamagi, the current ruler of Temasek, is visited by a prince from Palembang. His name is Parameswara...

 Parameswara started a new trade port in Melaka which became far more popular than Temasek. 

 

 

Ming Court - Place where the Chinese nobles are. Almost like the Chinese Government.
Port-of-call - A port where ships come for repairs, ammuntion, resupplies and upgrades etc.
Ceded - gave away some Land or Country

Stipulated - agreed upon a fixed amount

 

"In 1405, a renegade prince from palembang, who had recently established a new port-settlement at the mouth of the Melaka River on the West coast of Malay Peninsula... ...declared allegiance to the Ming court. Overnight, Melaka became the key port of call in the Melaka straits for the chinese imperial navy, and became china's... [main] ...trade with southeast asia and the indian ocean...

Temasek's maritime economy became hollowed out by melaka, and merchants previously based at temasek began to relocate to Melaka. According to the Suma Oriental, the King of Sukothai, who had been concerned over the loss of revenue... ...eventually ceded to Melaka in return for an annual payment of a stipulated amount of gold."
- Singapore: a 700 year History (pg 32)

Look at the source on the right: Why did Melaka become more popular than Temasek?

At the point when the siamese ceded Temasek to the Melaka sultanate, the kingdoms looked like this:

Main SEA Kingdoms in 1453AD. (Peter Britton, Time Maps)
http://www.timemaps.com/ 

"For some centuries now, Thai tribes have been moving into northern South East Asia, from their homeland in southernChina. These incomers have been a large cause of the steep decline of the Khmer empire, and the Thai kingdom of Siam is now the dominant state in that area. With these political changes has come a rise in the influence of Buddhism.

To the south, in a development of the utmost importance for future history, Muslim merchants from Arabia and India have established a network of small sultanates along the coasts and in the islands of the region."

At this time, You and your group members have come to temasek to set up a settlement. Will your settlement stand the test of time?

An exhibit of Singapore's early settlers: Photo by Singapore Tourist Promotion Board, taken from National Archives of Singapore.

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