1. Geography and early History
Southeast Asia
Geography and early History

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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

7. Tower / cone karsts
Tower / Cone Karsts

10. Terrace Farming

11. 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

12. 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.

15. 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

16. 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.

17. 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.

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

19. 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

25. 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

26. 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

32. Ancient Hindu/Buddhist Temples in Myanmar (aka Burma)

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

37. European Contact & Colonialism
Southeast Asia
European Contact & Colonialism

39. 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)

40. 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

41. 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

42. 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

43. 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 -

44. 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

45. The Philippines
Claimed for Spain by Ferdinand Magellan – – 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)

46. 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?