What happens
The Pacific Story presents the history of Monsoon Asia, where for centuries peoples and empires have fought over rich lands. The episode follows the arrival of the Portuguese, Dutch and British in the spice trade, the Dutch rivalry with the British at Amboina, and the French bid for influence at the court of Siam. It then traces the British founding of Singapore under Stamford Raffles, the growth of the Malayan plantations and mines, and the Japanese advance through Asia. The program is part of the NBC Inter-American University of the Air and is narrated by Gain Whitman.
Monsoon Asia, including the Moluccas, Java, Siam, Malacca, Singapore and Malaya, from the 1500s to the Japanese conquest of 1942
Characters: Stamford Raffles, Lord Minto, Constantine Falcon, General Yamashita, Phra Narai
Listen for: The Dutch and British rivalry over the spice trade and the founding of Singapore
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.