Abstract
The impact of European commercial intrusion in China towards the end of the 18th century with the increased demand for tea had a significant bearing on the growth of the slave trade in Southeast Asia. The Iranun and Balangingi seafarers of the Sulu region raided from New Guinea in the east, as far west as the Bay of Bengal. Organized slave markets in the Sulu Archipelago and Borneo provided not only for the collection of valuable forest products, but also victims for ritual sacrifice.