© T. M. Whitmore

Today

•SE AsiaPhysical environmentsCultural historyPopulation

© T. M. Whitmore

Last time – Questions?•South Asia

CulturePopulationDevelopment & industry

© T. M. Whitmore

Southeast Asia

•Plate tectonics in SE Asia

•Earthquakes & Volcanoes

Banda Aceh before

Banda Aceh after

Tambora

© T. M. Whitmore

Southeast Asian environments II

•Other land formsIndochina (mainland) mountainsHighlands of Borneo and New Guinea

Coastal mangrove swamps of E Sumatra and parts of N Guinea and Borneo

Major rivers of Indochina

Mainland mountains

Mainland mountains

Mainland mountains

Red R.

Mekong R.

Cho Phraya

Irrawaddy

Salween

Mainland lowlands

Mainland lowlands

Mainland lowlands

Life on the water in mainland SE Asia

Life on the water in mainland SE Asia

Life on the water in mainland SE Asia

© T. M. Whitmore

Southeast Asian Climates

•Climate regimes Tropical wet/dry and equatorial climates (Af, Am) — warm and moist year around

Mainland highlands- Aw; more seasonal wet-dry

© T. M. Whitmore

Vegetation and soils•Highlands in Indochina •Lowland equatorial rainforest

Much of the most moist area under “classical” tropical rainforest

Huge trees; much biodiversity; high biomass/area

Yet — all this on poor soils mostly — how?— high temperatures and rainfall

Commercial threats to tropical rainforests increasing

•Volcanic Soils

Volcanoes in insular SE Asia produce fertile soils but also natural hazards.

Volcanoes in insular SE Asia produce fertile soils but also natural hazards.

Volcanoes in insular SE Asia produce fertile soils but also natural hazards.

© T. M. Whitmore

Agriculture in SE Asian soils

•1st Strategy: SwiddenMainland highlands

•2nd Strategy: Modification of Landscapes (paddy rice)Volcanic islands & river deltas

•3rd Strategy: PlantationsMalaysian peninsula

© 2002 Manfred Leiter

Rice terraces, Java

© 2002 Manfred LeiterRice terraces, Java

© 2002 Manfred LeiterRice harvest, Java

© 2002 Manfred LeiterTea plantation, Malaysia

Export-oriented plantations

Export-oriented plantations

Oil Palm plantation in Malaysia © 2002 Manfred Leiter

© T. M. Whitmore

Mineral Resources

•“Tin Belt”

•Gas and OilS. China Sea (Spratly Islands)EEZ: Exclusive Economic Zones

© T. M. Whitmore

Pre-Colonial History•Early Cultural Groups

•Chinese InfluencesAncientModern Chinese Diaspora

•Indian Influences Buddhist & Hindu

•Islamic Influences

SE Asia is linguistically and culturally diverse. 737 languages are spoken in Indonesia alone.

© T. M. Whitmore

Southeast Asia by 1500s(pre-colonization)

•Buddhist KingdomsThai, Shan, Vietnamese, Lao, Burma, Cambodia (Khmer)

•Muslim AreasMalaccan in S. Malay peninsulaIndonesian Archipelago

•AnimistPhilippine Archipelago

© 2002 Manfred Leiter

Buddhist influence, SE Asia

© 2002 Manfred LeiterBuddhist influence

© 2002 Manfred LeiterHindu influenced Angkor Wat

© 2002 Manfred Leiter

Islamic influence, Malaysia

© 2002 Manfred Leiter

Chinese influence, Malaysia

© T. M. Whitmore

Colonization•European

PortugueseSpainBritishFrench

•Japanese

•USPhilippines

Japanese Empire in WW II

© T. M. Whitmore

The Vietnam War•The civil war ending French colonial rule

of Vietnam led to the division of the country between the Communist north and the Western-allied south.

•Beginning in 1963, the US sent troops to assist the south

•600,000 US troops, 60,000 US casualties, and millions of Vietnamese casualties.

•By 1973 the US was forced to withdraw and the south was later captured by the north.

Herbicides such as Agent Orange were used by US forces to defoliate large areas of South Vietnam. This released chemicals known as dioxins, leading to health effects and birth defects for US soldiers and Vietnamese.

Hundreds of thousands fled South Vietnam after the arrival of northern forces, many in small boats who became known as “boat people”.

© T. M. Whitmore

Current Population Issues

•Uneven Spatial Distribution

•Primate CitiesRangoon (Burma)Bangkok (Thailand)Manilla (Philippines)

•Chinese Minority Populations

© 2002 Manfred Leiter

China town in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

© T. M. Whitmore

Population Growth•Religion NOT a major factor•Higher Rates (~2 %/year)

Cambodia - BuddhistBrunei - MuslimMalaysia - MuslimPhilippines – Roman Catholic & Muslim

•Lower RatesVietnam - BuddhistSingapore – Muslim Thailand - BuddhistIndonesia - Muslim