Besides, the burgeoning of Malacca was in conformity with the increasing role of Muslim traders who had a significant role along the maritime Silk Road between the Middle East and Southeast Asia. By embracing Islam, the authority of Malacca succeeded to pull political endorsement and economic support from Moslem traders. In short time Malacca became the centre of trade activities in Southeast Asia. This port immediately functioned as the transit point of commodities from the Indonesian archipelago that were distributed to the east and/or to the west.
In the meantime, Java also experienced an interesting development. Islam began to penetrate political and social life, making the maintenance of Majapahit’s overlordship in the Island of Java more difficult. Since the 15th century, the balance of power in the archipelago swung against the Majapahit kingdom and the north coast of Java ports were one by one converted to Islam and drawn into the commercial orbit of Malaccan entrepoˆ t. This was in line with the arrival of the Portuguese in the beginning of the 16th century when the Majapahit kingdom survived only as a small inland state in the eastern part of Java.