Geography and early History Southeast Asia Geography and early History

Interesting Geographical Facts? Southeast Asia is located on the equator, which means almost the entire region falls within the humid tropics. WHOA

Southeast Asia is conventionally divided into two cultural, linguistic, and geographic REGIONS: a. Mainland Southeast Asia Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam - Main Religion: Buddhism b. Insular Southeast Asia the island or peninsular countries of Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea - Main Religion: Islam

Run North to South across mainland SE Asia like the fingers of a hand Geography of Mainland Mountains and plateaus cover most of the mainland, which separates Southeast Asia from the rest of Asia. Run North to South across mainland SE Asia like the fingers of a hand Divided people – result = increased cultural diversity - many different tribes & cultures, languages Barrier to trade & communication

Between the mountains are 4 main river systems on the Mainland: Irrawaddy, Salween, Mekong, and Red -These rivers deposit silt across the valleys, create fertile farmland, bring fresh water, and irrigation for fields & terraces

Tower / cone karsts Tower / Cone Karsts

Terrace Farming

Resources The most important crop of Southeast Asia is rice. About 1/3 of the world’s rice is grown in the fertile river deltas of the mainland. Minerals: ½ world’s Tin, and Aluminum, Nickel, Gold Cash Crops: Coffee Tea Nuts Spices Rubber Woods: Especially rare woods - mahogany & teak *logging > deforestation

Geography of the Islands Indonesia and the Philippines are made up of archipelagos. (chains of islands, in this case thousands) Indonesia – 13,677 islands Philippines – more than 7,000 islands Greenland - (840,004 sq. miles) (2,175,600 sq. ... New Guinea - (303,381 sq. miles) (785,753 sq. ... Borneo - (288,869 sq. miles) (748,168 sq. ... Madagascar - (226,917 sq. miles) (587,713 sq. ... Baffin - (194,574 sq. miles) (503,944 sq. ... Sumatra - (171,069 sq. ... Honshu - (88,982 sq. ... Great Britain - (88,787 sq.

These Islands are located in the Ring of Fire: Area along the Pacific Rim where the Earth’s crust is weak and earthquakes & volcanoes are common - can cause real danger However, volcanic ash from volcanoes provides the region with good soil for crops and valuable minerals used in industry

Krakatoa The loudest possible sound on earth is 194 decibels. Any louder, and it would create a shockwave. You see, sound energy travels through the atmosphere—at 194 decibels, the sound is so powerful it just shoves all that damn air out of the way. Should you find yourself exposed to such noise, you wouldn't be able to hear it; human hearing tissue dies at 180dB. You would feel it, however, and it would hurt like the bejesus. The loudest sound in recorded history happened on August 27, 1883, when a volcano erupted on Krakatoa, an island in the strait between South Sumatra and Jakarta. The explosion was so extraordinary, it shot ash at an estimated 1,600 mph and smoke rose 17 miles into the sky. 100 miles away, a barometer recorded a mercury spike of 2.5 inches, which, when converted retroactively, comes to about 172 decibels of sound. The eruption was so loud, people 3,000 miles away on the island of Rodrigues reported noise “coming from the eastward, like the distant roar of heavy guns.” 18 hours after the initial explosion, barometers in New York City and Washington, DC showed spikes in pressure. Four subsequent barometric jolts were recorded every 34 hours. The sound of the explosion had traveled around the world four times. After the eruption, two-thirds of Krakatoa disappeared into the sea.

Volcano Lightning: Ring of fire 2015 found that the particles of ash manage to charge each other through friction, just rubbing against each other during the 'eruption eruptions that look an awful lot like a supervillain's lair. But in this case, it's not science fiction, just science friction.

Tsunamis Underwater earthquake activity – plate shifts – cause large tidal waves that can cause tremendous death & destruction in the region. ex. Dec. 2004 off Indonesia – over 150,000 died

Southeast Asian Climate Monsoons: seasonal wet/dry winds that last for several months - Traders created lateen sails to take advantage of the seasonal winds - Farmers depend on wet monsoons for drinking water and for their crops Typhoons: fierce tropical storms that strike with little warning. Often kill many people and cause massive damage. The Lateen Sail Crab-Claw Sail Allows boats to sail upwind Also an Arab Indian ocean invention

Early History of SEAsia: Impact of Trade Central location between China and Indian Ocean world encouraged trade Trade brought Indian, Chinese, and Arabic cultural influences to the area. Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam have all spread or influenced the people and culture of Southeast Asia For example: Khmer Empire Most muslims than any other country in the worl d- indonesia

Khmer Empire – 800-1350CE capital city Angkor Built the Angkor Wat – Cambodia - largest temple in the world Indian influence – writing, mathematics, architecture & art Religions: Hinduism and later, Buddhism from extensive trade Accomplishments: successful farmers, engineers, systems of canals and reservoirs to prevent floods and control water Hundreds of carved figures tell Hindu myths and includes images of Vishnu, Shiva and Buddha

Ancient Hindu/Buddhist Temples in Myanmar (aka Burma)

Strait of Malacca These countries control seaways vital to the Indian Ocean Trade Network

European Contact & Colonialism Southeast Asia European Contact & Colonialism

Hit Refresh: Straits of Malacca Point of exchange for goods & ideas traveling from Southeast Asia west & for western goods & ideas traveling to Southeast Asia An area of tremendous cultural diffusion & diversity ex. tea, spices, silk, pearls & silver (to the west) ex. Islam, Buddhism, manufactured goods (to the east)

European Arrival Although Arabs, Indians, Persians & Africans had been trading at Malacca for centuries… Ship-based European trade began in 1498 w/ the arrival of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama The Portuguese under – Alphonse de Albequerque captured Malacca in 1511

Colonization? Europeans wanted to control Southeast Asia for… 1. SPICES = $$$ - tremendous demand in Europe and tremendous profits to be made Tea, silk, coffee, sugar and pepper Spices: nutmeg, clove, cinnamon 2. As European population grew, so did demand 3. The Industrial Revolution increased need for raw materials, land, cheap labor and markets for surplus goods

The Dutch East Indies / Indonesia 1596 – Set up a trading post on Java – (coffee esp.!) 1641 – seized Malacca from the Portuguese & took control Controlled every aspect of colonial culture to ensure a steady supply of cash crops: 1/5 of all land was required to be cultivated for cash crops Farmers had to meet quotas for cash crops or pay fines or provide free labor

The British The British also began colonizing SE Asia – Singapore, Burma, Malaya Cash crops, resources such as rubber & tin Strategic location – to protect trade routes and project British influence Remember this phrase… “The sun never sets on the British Empire” The British imported hundreds of thousands of Indian & Chinese laborers into Malaysia to work plantations – forever altering the regions cultural diversity Has the sun set on the british empire - https://what-if.xkcd.com/48/

The French 1700’s – French arrive in “Indo-China” = Laos, Cambodia & Vietnam Why? Oh, the usual suspects… Markets for manufactured goods Raw materials Power Projection Spread Catholicism

The Philippines Claimed for Spain by Ferdinand Magellan – 1521 – before he lost his head to a local chief Spanish rule was harsh & lasted until 1898 (S.A.War) Directly ruled by Spain – forced Spanish language & Catholicism Followed the Encomienda System - land given to Spanish nobles who could force labor & taxes from their laborers (~Feudalism)

Recap: who was where again Recap: who was where again? Also, look at Siam … predict how King Mongkut of Siam used Siam’s location to his advantage?