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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.

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The 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.

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The 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- PoliticsClassical 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) there for over 1000 years.

China had colonized Vietnam around 250 c.e. and ruled The largest inland state, Angkor, built a large empire that
flourished for around 500 years.

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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- ReligionClassical 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 Period


Mostly 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 Period


Many regions influenced SE Asia such as China and
India

Referred to as indianization This meant that SE Asia was greatly influenced by


Indias 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.

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Two 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.

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before 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 countriesPost 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

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By 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 Buddhism


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

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

Ruling elites converted in cities Rural residents retained traditions


Islam 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. Kings officials
saw merchants as threat to royal monopoly

Burmese could not understand British ideas of frontiers, extradition, trade


Eccentric deviations from system of interstate relations

Burmese insulted by GGs 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 achieved independence from US as promised in 1946, leaving old elites in power

Philippines suffered during Japanese Occupation but

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

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