Polynesia and South East Asia

SE Asia- Economy- Classical Time Period

Most regions were either based on agriculture or maritime trade.

Most of the agrarian economies were based around the Red River Delta.

Trade went extremely slow due to lack of technology and the wind of the time of the year.

Continue from last slideThe early SE Asians mastered bronze making by

1500 CE and iron making by 500 CE.

They also were able to build somewhat sophisticated ships for their time period so they could start the long economic system of maritime trade.

SE Asia became an important part of Maritime trade because they were somewhat in between everything and the archipelago made it easy for ships to stop and take rest.

Continue from last slideThe port of Melaka soon became a major economic and

political capital in SE Asia.

During the 1400s Melaka was a flourishing trading port attracting merchants from many lands including Chinese, Arabs, Persians, Vietnamese, Burmese, Jews, Indians, and even a few Swahilis from East Africa.

15,000 merchants came to this port for free trade and a stable govt.

Soon Melaka became the southeastern terminus for the great Indian Ocean maritime trading network and one of the major commercial centers in the world, very much a rival to Calicut, Cambay, Canton, Hormuz, Kilwa, Aleppo, Alexandria, Genoa and Venice.

SE Asia/Polynesia- Politics- Classical Time Period

First true dominant power was Srivijaya in Sumatra during the 5th and 6th centuries

From the 7th to 15th century, Sumatra was ruled by many different Buddhist kingdoms

Some major kingdoms from the classical era are: Angkor (7th-13th), Pagan (11th-13th), Dai-Viet/Vietnam (since 200 CE), Srivijaya/Malaysia (since 7th century), Majapahit/Indonesia (since late 13th)

China had colonized Vietnam around 250 c.e. and ruled there for over 1000 years.

The largest inland state, Angkor, built a large empire that flourished for around 500 years.

Continue from last slide Major concentration on expansion of wet-rice agriculture,

which brought surpluses, larger populations, hence more people for armies, labor, and for taxation

Khmer Empire (802-1369)

Capital was Angkor

highest cultural achievement in the region

Temple at Angkor Wat celebrated king as incarnation of Hindu god Vishnu.

Srivijaya (700-1250)

Center of trade; established monopoly over trade from China to India ...which gave kings lots of wealth

SE Asia/Polynesia- Religion- Classical Time Period

Islam and Buddhism were introduced in these areas as the new main religions.

Buddhism was introduced through maritime trade at port cities such as Langasuka on the eastern coast and Kedah on the western coast.

These port towns were soon ruled by Buddhist and Hindu officials to be there own kingdoms of this religion.

Islam was brought in by Muslim traders from Arab Kingdoms and India.

Culture- Classical PeriodMostly influenced by India and China.

Not much art was made besides art for religion such as temples for Buddhism and shrines to gods for Hinduism.

Interactions with Other Countries- Classical PeriodMany regions influenced SE Asia such as China

and India

Referred to as “indianization”

This meant that SE Asia was greatly influenced by India’s religion, govt., and culture.

Maritime trade brought in lots of influence from different regions in Asia.

SE Asia/Polynesia Politics- Post Classical Era

Ambitious rulers in mainland Southeast Asia and Java sought power through combining rice surplus and foreign trade, hence attention to control of interior and coast.

Vietnam gained independence from China in 983. Generally, Chinese influence will remain heavy with the Vietnamese elite & not with the common folk.

Continue from last slideTwo rival kingdoms

Annam – north. Similar geography/agriculture to southern China, very tied to China beginning w/Tang.

Champa – south. Part of Indian Ocean trade, heavily influenced by India/Malaya.

Both tributary states to the Song

SE Asia/Polynesia- Econ- Post Classical

Still primarily focused on agriculture and maritime trade.

Over did it on temples and worship spots to the gods of the different religions of SE Asia.

This caused many social and economic problems.

However, an increase in the quality of agricultural techniques caused a rise in population.

SE Asia/Polynesia-Religion-Post Classical

Islam first came in late 13th c. via Muslim traders to Indonesia and then to southern Philippines.

Muslim leader founded Malacca which became powerful center for international trade (as seen in earlier slides). It was the 1st powerful Islamic state in SE Asia. Ultimately destroyed by the Portuguese in 16th c.

Sumatra & Java were too led by Islamic kings.

Continue from last slidebefore other faiths came, local traditions

characterized by animism, ancestor worship, & strong ritual magic element.

New religions gained a unique SE Asian flavor as they incorporated some of these elements

Patronized by elites but common people continued traditional religions under a veneer of Indian ideas & practices

SE Asia/Polynesia-Culture-Post Classical

Art best seen in numerous, large temple complexes.

Buddhist stupas with various stories from Buddhist scriptures

Srivijaya center for Buddhist & Sanskrit culture with large university & library; attracted pilgrims & students from East Asia.

Interactions w/ other countries-Post Classical

The Italian traveler Marco Polo had passed through in 1292 on his way home from a long China journey; his writings praised the wealth and sophistication of Indochina, Java, and Sumatra, fostering European interest in the lands he thought were beautiful.

The Moroccan Ibn Battuta stopped by on his way to China in his tour of the Dar al-Islam in the 14th century.

Vietnam and the Siamese kingdom of Ayuthia were two of the powerful and prosperous states that stretched across Asia from Ottoman Turkey to Tokugawa Japan in the 1600s.

Politics- Early Modern Time Period

Island Southeast Asia moved in different trajectory because of strong presence of Europeans.

Spanish colony in Philippines, Dutch East India Company control in Malay Peninsula, Java and few other areas in Indonesia

 The Portuguese conquest of Melaka in 1511 and the Spice Islands of Eastern Indonesia a few years later marked the beginning of a turning point for the region

Continue from last slideBy the beginning of the 20th century, all of SE

Asia was colonized.

The Philippines were divided into the Spanish Philippines under a colonial administration, the southern islands of Mindanao and Sulu, and the highlands of central Luzon kept their independence

Econ- Early Modern Time Period

Just as Europe was in transition from feudalism to capitalism during this period, with profound consequences in all phases of life, the 15th through 17th centuries was a time of transformation for Southeast Asia toward somewhat more economically dynamic systems.

Southeast Asia became an even more important part of the developing world economy, with the Portuguese, Dutch and Spanish exporting luxury items like Indonesian spices but also bulk products like tin, sugar, and rice from their newly-colonized possessions.

Religion- Early Modern Time Period

By this time, over half the total population of SE Asia had converted to either Islam, Christianity or a differentiating form of Buddhism.

Then, Theravada BuddhismPenetrated daily lives, beliefs & practices of commoners Became state religion under Thai & Burmese leaders in 11th c.

And, IslamMerchants & sufis introduced in 13th c.In general, conversion to Islam was slow & quiet

Ruling elites converted in cities

Rural residents retained traditionsIslam was NOT an exclusive faith in Southeast Asia

Last, Christianity- Introduced by Portuguese in 1511 with their capture of Malacca. Christian missionaries made little headway though.

Culture- Early Modern Time Period

Transportation technologies supported imperialism

Steam-powered gunboats reached inland waters of Africa and Asia

Railroads organized local economies to serve imperial power

Western military technologies increasingly powerful

Firearms: from muskets to rifles to machines guns

In Battle of Omdurman 1898, British troops killed eleven thousand Sudanese in five hours

Communication technologies linked imperial lands with colonies

Oceangoing steamships cut travel time from Britain to India from years to weeks

Telegraph invented in 1830s, global reach by 1900

Interactions with Other Countries – Early Modern

Classic misunderstanding between concepts of sovereignty and territory

British wanted a demarcated border with sovereign control on their side

Burmese envisioned zone of overlapping influences

Both perceived intransigence and ignorance

EIC incensed at treatment of British merchants in Rangoon. King’s officials saw merchants as threat to royal monopoly

Burmese could not understand British ideas of frontiers, extradition, tradeEccentric deviations from system of interstate relations

Burmese insulted by GG’s insistence on being treated as equal to Burmese king

Politics- Modern Time Period

Cambodia and Laos gained independence at time of withdrawal of French from Vietnam in 1954

Burma gained independence from Britain in January 1948 but civil war ensued among the various ethnic communities; military under Ne Win gained upperhand in 1951 though pockets of resistance; military functioned as parallel government

Philippines suffered during Japanese Occupation but achieved independence from US as promised in 1946, leaving old elites in power

Malaya gained independence in a peaceful transition in 1957, incorporated British Borneo (excluding Brunei) and Singapore in 1963 in new unity, Malaysia; Singapore expelled and became self-governing in 1965

Economics-Modern Time Period

Opium was exchanged through Dutch

Crow bar crops

Free trade imperialism