Although there had been elements of free trade in the Indonesian archipelago before the coming of the Westerners, the opening up of Singapore as the freest port in the world gave new vitality to the maritime world in Southeast Asia, although this was also meant to challenge Batavia, the centre of the Dutch maritime network. Moreover, the British authorities had succeeded in creating Singapore as the principal distributing centre of industrial products from Western countries. The British thus also succeeded in setting up both intense political and commercial connections with European industrial countries. This negatively affected Dutch efforts to make Java the centre of maritime networks in Southeast Asia. Even during the first half of the 19th century, the Dutch role in the maritime activities in Southeast Asia was marginal compared to the British. Hence, the Dutch tended to concentrate on their activities in Java, making it the main producer of cash crops for the international market, while the majority of the trade of the Outer Islands was under the influence of Singapore. The Dutch had passed up the opportunity to grasp the maritime network system in the Indonesian archipelago and in Southeast Asia when they had control over Malacca and Batavia.