Historical Treaties of Southeast Asia

A research program in global diplomatic history

Historical Treaties of Southeast Asia is a collaborative research program in Global Diplomatic History financed by the Swedish Research Council and running from 2022 until the end of 2027.

A team of seven researchers based in Europe and Southeast Asia investigate the role of treaties and treaty-making in the imperial expansion and colonisation of Southeast Asia from the eighteenth to the early and twentieth century.

The researchers systematically analyse all bilateral treaties concluded between a European, American or Japanese imperial power and a Southeast Asian polity between the eighteenth and early twentieth century. In addition, a selected number of diplomatic treaty-making processes are studied in detail. In doing so, the project aims to bring about a new and more nuanced understanding modern imperialism of relevance not only to Southeast Asia but globally.

Presentation of the Historical Treaties of Southeast Asia Database

All Dates

2025-09-11 14:30 - 16:30

International Publication Award for Project members

Researchers affiliated with the Historical Treaties of Southeast Asia project have received an International Publication Award from the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of the Philippines for their article "Revisiting the Treaty between Spain and Sulu of 1836/37," published in Diplomatica: A Journal of Diplomacy and Society (vol. 6, 2024)

Entangled Archipelagos of Southeast Asia

Early modern Southeast Asia’s connections to European empires, including the often overlooked Swiss dimension, were the focus of a recent Zürich workshop that gathered scholars to discuss conflict, trade, migration and diplomacy across the archipelagos.