1. Southeast Asia Includes Vietnam and Vietnam War

2. Overview SE Asia includes five independent nations: Myanmar (mee uhn mahr), Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. SE Asia also includes small island nations: Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Mountains cover much of mainland SE Asia, run north and south. Inland SE Asia is located along a line of volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean Soil is very fertile

3. Southeast Asia Map

4. European Influence European powers wanted to set up colonies in SE Asia to establish trading posts and to gain a share of the huge profits in spice trade. Portuguese built trading posts in 1511 in region known as East Indies. Dutch next, trading post on island of Java Dutch eventually took control over almost all of modern day Indonesia. 200 years-the main European traders in SE Asia. BIG IDEA

5. European Influence Dutch set up a culture system on Java to meet the demand for coffee and other crops during the 1800s. Forced villages to set aside one fifth of their land to grow cash crops. Culture system benefited the Dutch government. Local farmers suffered (taxed, free labor if harvest fell short). British by late 1700s and early 1800s gained control of Malay peninsula, acquired Penang Island, and bought Singapore. Promoted production of tin and rubber- imported hundreds of thousands of Indian and Chinese workers. This is why coffee is often referred to as Java!

6. Scramble for Colonies Vietnam: French carved out empire known as French Indochina. It included what is today Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Since 1600s French missionaries traveled to Vietnam to convert people to Catholicism. One French missionary developed a western alphabet for Vietnamese-still in use today. Vietnamese rulers viewed missionaries as threat to their authority. 1840’s Emperor Thieu Tri expelled most – number of missionaries and Vietnamese Christians executed. French response? French forces invade Vietnam in 1858, 1884 French made Vietnam part of its empire.

7. Thailand escapes European Rule Thailand’s (previously Siam) land resting between British Imperialists to the West (Burma) and French Imperialists to the East (Indochina). King Mongkut made treaties with British and French, both sides accepted-saw it as a buffer. Mongkut hired European experts to help Thailand modernize-kept Thai independence.

8. Philippines Philippines claimed by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, made into Spanish colony. Spanish missionaries spread Catholicism throughout the islands. Catholic wealth and power grew. During the 1890s Filipino’s rebel against Spanish rule. 1898 U.S. declares war on Spain, Spanish surrender in short time to Americans. U.S. signs treaty with Spain- islands placed under U.S. control. Filipino’s nationalists disappointed, rebel against U.S. About 100,000 Filipino’s die as Americans crush the rebellion in 1901.

9. Philippines U.S. allowed Filipinos to hold government office-Americans built roads, hospitals, schools. Christianity continues and grows. Wealth unevenly distributed, most Filipinos lived in poverty. 1934 U.S. promises to give Philippines their independence in 10 years. July 4, 1946 Philippines gain their Independence.

10. Impact of Colonial Rule Altered the economy Economies of SE Asian countries depended on European markets to sell their cash crops. Also dependent on the industrialized nations for manufactured goods. Positives? Foreign rulers built transportation systems, schools, and, universities. Colonial rule little impact on cultures of SE Asia-most did not become Christians (exception being in the Philippines and Vietnam).

11. Growth of nationalism By early 1900s nationalists movements spent across SE Asia. Nationalists took pride in their history and traditions of their people! Organized forces to win Independence. And they did! 1946: Philippines (from U.S.) 1947: Indonesia (from Dutch) 1948: Burma (from British, became Myanmar 1990) 1957: Malaysia (from British) 1963: Singapore (from British-prosperous economy)

12. Vietnam Vietnam features mountains to the north and west and jungles to the east by seas and to the south. Vietnam was a colony of France, from 1858 to 1945. During the years after WWI, Vietnamese nationalists pushed for changes, France responded with force, crushing attempts at reform. Ho Chi Minh emerged as a leader of the independence movement in Vietnam. He found the Communist party in France shortly after WWI. When he returned to Vietnam he had two goals-build communist movement & win independence. Ho Chi Minh: His name means, “He Who Enlightens.”

13. Ho Chi Minh Vietnamese Marxist- Leninist revolutionary leader. President (1945– 69) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam). He was a key figure in the foundation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945, as well as the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Việt Cộng (NLF or VC) during the Vietnam War. Nov. 22, 1954

14. Vietnam’s Independence? During WWII Ho Chi Minh and other Vietnamese nationalists formed the Viet Minh By 1945, the Viet Minh occupied parts of northern Vietnam, including the city of Hanoi. Ho wrote a declaration of independence for Vietnam that echoed the American Declaration of Independence, “All men are created equal. The creator has given us certain inviolable Rights: the right to Life, the right to be Free and the right to achieve Happiness.” 1954: Vietnam divided into two countries: North Vietnam and South Vietnam. Communists led by Ho Chi Minh (North).

15. South Vietnamese S. Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem, blocked elections in 1956, feared communists would win, BY 1960 Communists in the south formed underground army known as Viet Cong (VC). Viet Cong fought guerrilla war to overthrow Diem. Diem supported by U.S., lost support, Diem cracked down on protesters, which increased support for Viet Cong and led to his assassination in 1963.

16. Vietnam War/American Involvement Vietnam: a Cold War issue as Soviet Union and China backed North Vietnam. U.S. backed South Vietnamese. U.S. leaders believed in the Domino theory as foreign policy Domino theory stated that if one nation fell to communist forces, neighboring nations would also become communist, like dominos. **In short didn’t want Vietnam to be a Communist nation**

17. American Involvement Viet Cong expanded power in South Vietnam 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave President Lyndon Johnson the power, “to take all necessary steps including the use of force” to help South Vietnam. 1965, Johnson sent American combat forces to South Vietnam and began bombing towns and cities in the north. By 1968, over 500,000 American troops were fighting in Vietnam.

18. U.S. forces in Vietnam

19. Vietnamese Children in front of U.S. Soldiers

20. A South Vietnamese Army officer, acting as judge-and-jury, executed a Viet Cong soldier on the streets of Saigon. This iconic photo by Eddie Adams captured the murder and helped to tilt the national mindset about the war. (My Lai Massacre March, 16, 1968).

21. Tet Offensive-1968 Viet Cong launched a surprise attack on U.S. and South Vietnamese. Purpose was to utilize the element of surprise and strike military and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam, during a period when no attacks were supposed to take place. Although the offensive was a military defeat for the communists, It had a profound effect on the US government and shocked the US public. Which had been led to believe by its political and military leaders that the communists were, due to previous defeats, incapable of launching such a massive effort.

22. Laos and Cambodia Bombings In 1964, U.S. bombed the supply route along the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos, despite heavy bombing, remained open. 1969, U.S. began bombing campaigns in Cambodia, where North Vietnamese and Viet Cong had bases.

23. End of American Involvement The War sparked loud protests in the United States. Anti-war demonstrators called for withdrawal from the War. 1969, President Nixon began to withdraw troops. Four years later, in 1973, peace treaty signed. More than one million people in North and South Vietnam died in the conflict. For the United States, the Vietnam War was the longest war in its history.

24. Vietnam reunited U.S. involvement in Vietnam lasted over 20 years, from the 1960s to the 1970s. After the Americans left, South Vietnam was unable to hold back the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese. In 1975, communist forces surrounded Saigon, the government surrendered. Vietnam was finally united. Saigon renamed Ho Chi Minh City (Ho died in 1969). Communist government took over private businesses and farmlands in South. U.S. placed trade ban on Vietnam, lifted it in 1994. Today Vietnam remains a Communist nation with a single party-state.

25. Singapore The U.S. profits from Singapore’s dynamic economy, reliable work force, and prevalent use of English. It’s lucrative trade policies allow Singapore to boast the highest standard of living in SE Asia 1990, Singapore imported $9.7 billion worth of goods from the U.S. and it’s exports to U.S. totaled $11.2 billion. 80% of it’s people own their own homes.

26. Indonesia Ethnic differences, language barriers, and geography make it difficult to unify Nation of over 300 different ethnic groups, speak over 200 different languages Dominant ethnic group is Javanese. Over 13,500 islands, most live on Java and Bali Unified through Islam and strong leadership. 90% Muslim-one of largest in the world.