Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia - Countries
Mainland countries
Island countries
Southeast Asia Physical Map
Southeast Asia - Vegetation
What types of vegetation zones are prominent in Southeast Asia?
Southeast Asia - Climate
What climate zones are evident in Southeast Asia?
How does this differ from the rest of Asia?
Mainland Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia - Islands
The Ring of Fire
Q: What is the impact of volcanic activity in southeast Asia?
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Q: What benefits can volcanic activity bring?
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Q: What drawbacks can volcanic activity bring?
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Borabudir, Indonesia
Golden Buddha
in Thailand
Early Southeast Asia
Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest people in Southeast Asia were around 30,000 years ago. They may be ancestors of Australians. They were an agricultural, bronze-using society by 3000BC.
By 500 BC they used iron objects, and by 200 BC there were beautiful bronze drums being produced in Vietnam. The Plain of Jars in Laos and Cambodia are at least 2000 years old.
At this time, the early Southeast Asians had contact with the Indians and Chinese. Malays were shipping to China as early as 300 BC; the cinnamon trade was beginning by 100 BC, and ships were eventually built to be as large as 400 tons.
In Malaysia and Indonesia, shipping is more than an economic piece of life; it is also part of daily life and art. Some people even live on their boats.
Society was more communal than other cultures as the people must work together to terrace wet rice farming.
The Philippines had amazing terraced rice farming; the Ifugao peoples built huge terraced farming that, when stretched out, is more than 12,000 miles! These farms required joint responsibility, which is why people need to work together.
Southeast Asia – Early History
Trends in Southeast Asia
The Pagan Kingdom of Burma
Shwezigon Paya (Pagoda, Stupa, Zedi)�Built under King Anawrata (1044-1077)
Vietnam
The Trung sisters, fighting the Chinese.
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Angkor
Angkor
An Island Empire
Some island kingdoms profited from the spice trade; the rulers of Srivijaya on the island of Sumatra controlled the Strait of Malacca, a vital waterway connecting the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. From there, they controlled a flourishing island empire.
An Island Empire
Another great Southeast Asian kingdom was Java, in modern Indonesia. At a time when Europe was still in the dark ages, the “Central Javanese Period“ was building religious structures and art, now recognized as being the oldest and highest level of art within South East Asia.��Central Javanese spirituality and artistic endeavors continues to exist side by side with the basics of every day life.
At the time in which these monuments were built, Indian pilgrims had spread Buddhist and Hindu teachings spread across Java, Indonesia. The proud ruling dynasties of Central Java built a seemingly endless number of structures, of all scales.
Buddhist and Hindu religions lived harmoniously side by side across Java, and as families of different religions married, even mixed religion temples were built.
The adaption of Indian religion and customs with the local artistry and traditions bred its own unique style; “Hindu-Java Art” .
Around 920 A.D. the power shifted from Central Java to West Java and the monuments including Borobudur, Prambanan, and Ratu Boko became neglected, exposed to ash from volcanic eruptions, and the ravages of the local vegetation.
After the 1200s, Arab and Indian Muslims introduced Islam, which most people throughout the region adopted. Muslims did not restore these Hindu and Buddhist monuments.
Current restoration sees these world relevant sites back on the map with millions of people visiting each year.
Borobudur and Prambanan are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Borabudur
Borabudur
Prambanan
The European Influence
European Influence → Exploration & Trade
Scramble for Colonies
During the Age of Imperialism, European countries scrambled for colonies throughout the world, including Southeast Asia. What are these European countries?
European Influence → Imperialism
European �Conquest
The Dutch in Southeast Asia
The Dutch were the second European group to sail to the East Indies. The Dutch pushed the Portuguese out and renamed the area the Dutch East Indies (modern day Indonesia). The Dutch set up large plantation-style farms under the Culture System. It demanded that villagers set aside 1/5 of their cash crops to sell to the Dutch at low cost. If they did not grow enough, they were forced to pay taxes or provide free labor.
The British
While the Dutch were in the Dutch East Indies, the British gained the Malay Peninsula. In 1786, a British trading company acquired Penang Island, and nine years later they took Malacca from the Dutch.
In 1824, the British bought Singapore from a sultan for only $8000!!! Britain gradually extended its power into Malaya, and by the 1890s they founded the Federated Malay States, which included Brunei.
The British
The French
The Spanish
Imperialism Review
Q: Why did European explorers / merchants initially seek to travel to Southeast Asia?
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Q: Ultimately, why did the European countries take a more active role in pursuing colonies in the region?
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Imperialism Review
World Colonial Map - 1870
The Impact of Colonial Rule
The Rise of Nationalism
Like many countries around the world (ex: India), many Southeast Asian nations wanted their independence from European powers after WWI. This did not happen at the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Many nationalist movements were formed in SE Asia to fight against European countries but were stopped by Japanese invasion. Most Southeastern Asian countries got their independence after WWII.
Modern Southeast Asia
Struggles of Independence
The Philippines
The Spanish made the Philippines a colony in the early 16th century. Spanish missionaries spread Catholicism throughout the islands. By the 1800s, Spanish power had declined even though Spanish priests were still very powerful. The Filipinos were angry with the power of Spanish priests and during the 1890s, the Filipinos rebelled under the leader Emilio Aguinaldo.
The Americans helped the Filipinos as we had our own agenda (to rid the Western hemisphere of Spanish colonies, specifically Cuba). With the Spanish American War in 1898, the United States sent help to the Filipino nationalists to fight against Spanish rule. When the Spanish were defeated, the Filipinos thought they would get their independence; instead, the United States placed the Philippines under U.S. rule.
The Philippines finally got their independence from the U.S. in 1946, peacefully, after WWII.
Myanmar (Burma)
After WWII, the British returned to Burma but they found Burmese nationalists armed and ready to fight. Aung San, a leader and general of Burma’s main political party, called for immediate independence. Already weakened by WWII, the British agreed, and in 1948 Burma got its independence. Unfortunately, Aung San was murdered
Malaysia
The British still controlled Malay after WWII, but in 1957, after a struggle between communist rebels and Malay supporters of British rule, Malay got its independence. It became Malaysia in 1963.
Malaysia had problems amongst its three major ethnic groups: the Malays, Indians, and Chinese.
Indonesia
After WWII, the Dutch returned to Indonesia to find that Sukarno had declared Indonesia’s independence. For four years a war took place, but in the end the Dutch were forced to leave most of Indonesia. In 1949, Sukarno became Indonesia’s first president.
Singapore
In 1963, Singapore achieved independence from Britain. Singapore was ruled by a dictator, Lee Kuan Yew; despite harsh rule, Singapore prospered economically. Singapore had a strict but stable government.
Singapore Caning
French Indochina
The French did not want to give up its colonies in French Indochina (today’s Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia). While it granted Laos limited independence in 1949, it fought to hold onto Vietnam and Cambodia. A young Vietnamese communist, Ho Chi Minh, was pushing for changes since the Treaty of Versailles. This did not take place after WWI, so after WWII, this was their chance.
During WWII, Ho Chi Minh and other Vietnamese nationalists used guerilla warfare against the Japanese, which they continued to use against the French after WWII. For eight years, from 1946-1954, the Vietnamese nationalists fought against the French. In 1954, the French fell at Dienbienphu.
The Vietnam War (1955 – 1976)
US involvement c. 1960 - 1974
War in Southeast Asia
Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) Vietnamese independence leader
President of North Vietnam, 1945 – 1969
Led Vietnam in conflict against the United States
Vietnam War
War in Southeast Asia
The Domino Theory
The Cold War (1948 – 1991)
The Vietnam War
North & South Vietnam
US-South Vietnam Relations
The Vietnam War
Vietnam War – The US Involvement
Gulf of Tonkin
The USS Maddox was engaged by North Vietnamese missile boats at sea in 1963. This led to:
Ho Chi Minh Trail
The Ho Chi Minh Trail was one method used by Ho Chi Minh and the North Vietnamese to counter attack American & South Vietnamese forces.
Vietnam War – The US Involvement
End of Vietnam War
Cambodia