Cultural Geography of Southeast Asia

Mainland Southeast Asia Influenced by India,

Chinese, Islamic, European and American cultures over 2,500 of years

520 million people live in region

2,500 years ago groups from China moved into region

Khmers- Cambodia, Vietnam

Mons- Myanmar Malays- Malay Peninsula

and Indonesia Developed agricultural

civilizations

Mainland SE Asia

Population densities vary across region

Laos lowest population densityVietnam highestPopulation concentrated along fertile

coastal plainReady supply of water,

transportation, fertile landMany moving to cities for economic

opportunity

Mainland Southeast Asia

Cities For centuries majority lived in

rural villages Many today moving to urban

areas Cities provide greater

opportunities and access 11 cities of more than 1 million Some countries have primate

city, economic center, major port, often the capital

Bangkok- 650% growth over 50 year period (1950-1998)

Public services not adequate, government trying offer incentives to have industry and cities return to rural areas

Outward Migration

Since 1970’s because of political and economic troubles many SE Asians left region

US has large numbers of immigrants from the region

Causes countries to lose skilled labor force needed for economic growth

Mainland SE Asia

Early Civilizations- agricultural, based on rice production, domesticated cattle and pigs

Funan- first empire in SE Asia, adopted Hinduism, Indian model of centralized government

Khmer Empire- surplus agriculture brought wealth to mainland

1100’s-1200’s Khmer Empire, based in present day Cambodia

Advanced irrigation and agriculture allowed them to feed huge population and diversify society

Angkor Wat architectural achievement, designed to resemble home of Hindu gods

Mainland SE Asia

Srivijaya Empire- based on island of Sumatra

Maritime empire controlled trade in the region 600-1300

Used navy to control Straits of Malacca

Vietnam- struggled against Chinese

China conquered region 111 B.C.

Introduced ideas about religion, government and philosophy

Mainland SE Asia

Western Colonization- 1500’s Europeans begin to control trade Siam (Thailand) was a buffer state

separating British and French controlled areas, only southeast Asian area to remain free from European control

Europeans brought change to region Built roads, railroads, improved harbors,

expanded mining, established commercial plantations

All profits went to westerners Increased tension and conflict in region Asians received low wages Plantation owners imported workers to meet

growing demand for goods, contributed to ethnic diversity of region

Mainland SE Asia

Post WWII- after war countries struggle to regain control of region, SE Asians wanted independence, after two decades all countries were independent of European powers

Communism divided Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia Vietnam- US unsuccessfully intervened in the 1960’s

and 1970’s to stop spread of communism Ethnic conflicts across region have resulted in militant

terrorist groups emerging (many anti- western) Some countries have recently moved toward

democracy, some are still communist (Laos, Vietnam), Myanmar is a military dictatorship

Cambodia: Population Decline

Since 1970’s population growth slow in Cambodia

1975-1979 lost 38% of population due to harsh rule by Khmer Rouge communist government

Forced people out of cities to countryside to become farmers

More than 1 million died Starvation, torture, execution

of people considered intellectuals (doctors, teachers)

Mainland SE Asia

Cultures in region reflect ethnic diversity China and India shaped much of the cultural development of the region Since 1945 literacy has increased in parts of region where there are

resources Health care is inadequate in many countries, mostly in rural areas Many different languages spoken Come from 2 major language families- Sino-Tibetan, Mon-Khmer Many languages reflect colonial power French (Vietnam) All major religions of the world are represented Buddhism is the predominant religion

Island SE Asia

Includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, East Timor, Philippines

Spices attracted outsiders to region Merchants from India came for spices

and introduced Hinduism and Buddhism

Chinese influenced cultures of Brunei and Singapore where more than 70% of population has Chinese ancestry

Around 800 A.D. Arab traders came and introduced Islam

1500’s Europeans arrive to take advantage of trade and natural resources

Island SE Asia

People live mostly along coastal plain, mountainous interiors are sparsely populated

Population growing faster than global average

Some islands have high population densities

Java has over 2,300 people per square mile

Singapore is the most densely populated country

People migrate to cities for economic and educational opportunities

Jakarta has over 10 million people, the government is trying to reduce overcrowding by relocating population to smaller islands

Island SE Asia

History of region is connected to control of trade routes

Different empires have profited from control of Straits of Malacca

Today Singapore owes its prosperity to these same trade routes

Europeans brought physical improvements After WWII many countries won their

independence from European powers 2002 East Timor, a Catholic country gained its

independence from largely Muslim Indonesia 1998 Indonesia moved toward democracy after

years of a dictatorship Philippines, East Timor and Singapore are

democracies Brunei and Malaysia are constitutional

monarchies

Island SE Asia

Since independence education and health care and quality of life have improved

Literacy rates are high Health care is better than mainland SE

Asia Indonesia has government sponsored

health care and Singapore has health care as good as developed countries

Indonesia has over 300 ethnic groups and 250 distinct languages, makes it hard to unify country

Other regional languages reflect colonialism; Philippines, Malaysia (English),

Islam is wide spread across the region, Indonesia is the largest Islamic country in the world

The Philippines are mostly Roman Catholic

Island SE Asia

Architecture- religious structures influenced by religion

Borobudur Temple- Indonesia, built of volcanic stone, stages of shrines represent Buddha's journey to enlightenment

Catholic Churches built by Spanish

Mosques found in Muslim countries