Transcript Polynesia, South East Asia, and Oceania

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)
 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.
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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
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.
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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
religion under Thai & Burmese leaders in 11th c.
Became state
 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. King’s 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 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