Southeast Asia

Cultures and History

Objectives
1. Find out why Southeast Asia is a culturally diverse region.

2. Learn how colonial powers affected Southeast Asia.

3. Understand how years of conflict affected Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.

Key Terms

Khmer Empire Nationalist Khmer Rouge

Khmer Empire
An empire that included much of present-day Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and part of Laos.

Nationalist
A person who is devoted to the interests of his or her country.

Khmer Rouge
The Cambodian Communist Party

Southeast Asia
The Khmer Empire was one of the many kingdoms of South Asia. At its greatest extent, the Khmer Empire included much of present-day Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and part of Laos. The was at its height from about A.D. 800 to 1434.

Khmer Empire

A Region of Diversity
Southeast Asias mountains kept groups of people apart from one another, and as a result, each group developed its own way of life. When outside influences did come to Southeast Asia, many of them came from India and China.

Southeast Asian Mountains

The Impact of India and China

India affected Southeast Asian cultures through trade as its merchants sailed across the Indian Ocean to Southeast Asia nearly 2,000 years ago. Indians introduced the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam to the region. In 111 B.C., China conquered Vietnam and ruled the country for more than 1,000 years. During that time, the Vietnamese began using Chinese ways of farming and adopted some of the teachings of Confucius.

The Impact of India and China

India in Southeast Asia China in Southeast Asia

Major Religions in Southeast Asia

Hindu Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia. Buddhist Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia, Singapore. Muslim Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia. Christian - Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia.

Major Religions in Southeast Asia

Reading Check 1
1. Which two countries affected Southeast Asian culture? 2. What are the major religions in Southeast Asia?

Colonial Rule in Southeast Asia

In the 1500s traders from Europe came to the region and wanted to gain control of the rich trade in silks, iron, silver, pearls, and spices.

European nations such as Portugal and the Netherlands built small trading posts in Southeast Asia that became the bases from which they eventually gained control of the region.
By the 1800s, European nations had gained control of most of Southeast Asia.

Colonial Rule in Southeast Asia

Map Master: Colonial Rule in Southeast Asia 1914 (Web Code lcp6611)

1. What is the topic of this map?

2. What two kinds of borders are shown on this map?

3. Name two colonies that were controlled by France in 1914 and today have a different name.

4. Which country controlled the most land in Southeast Asia in 1914? Which country controlled the least amount of land then?

Effects of Colonial Rule

Because good transportation was essential for the economic success of the colonies, colonial rulers built a network of roads, bridges, ports and railroads in Southeast Asia. The colonial powers also built schools that helped produce skilled workers for their industries, including teachers, doctors, and government workers.

The Road to Independence

By the early 1900s, nationalists (someone who is devoted to the interests of his or her country) were organizing independence movements throughout the countries of Southeast Asia. Beginning in 1939, however, the Japanese began to move into Southeast Asia, and soon drove out the European colonial powers from the mainland.

The Road to Independence

After the Japanese were defeated in WWII, Western nations hoped to regain power in Southeast Asia, but Southeast Asians wanted independence. Some Southeast Asian countries won independence peacefully (the Philippines and Burma or Myanmar), while others had to fight for it (Lao, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia)

Reading Check 2
1. Why did Europeans begin traveling to Southeast Asia in the 1500s?

Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos

Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos were formerly controlled by France and were known as French Indochina.

When WWII ended in 1945, France tried to take back Indochina from Japan, but Nationalist forces in Vietnam fought back against the French.
In 1954, they forced France to give up power and leave.

French Indochina

The Vietnam War

The Vietnamese forces that defeated France declared Vietnams independence and wanted to make Vietnam a Communist country.

This concerned leaders in the US who had been trying to stop the spread of Communism, while the US main rival, the Soviet Union, was trying to expand Communism by bringing other countries under its control.
In 1954, Vietnam was divided into two parts: Communist North, and non-Communist South.

The Vietnam War

Communist leaders in North Vietnam used force to try and unite the country under a Communist government, but the US helped South Vietnam fight back. Initially, the US only sent advisors and supplies to help South Vietnam, later on however, it sent hundreds of thousands of American solders to Vietnam. After years of fighting, the US withdrew its forces, and in 1975 North Vietnam took over South Vietnam and reunited the country under a Communist government.

The Vietnam War

Cambodia and Laos

Cambodia and Laos had gained independence from France in 1953, but they were pulled into the conflict with Vietnam.

Both countries went through years of violence as Communists and non-Communists struggled for power. During this time, the US bombed Cambodia and Laos to destroy Communist North Vietnamese forces there.

Cambodia and Laos

In 1975, the Cambodian Communist party called the Khmer Rouge took over the government of Cambodia.

The Khmer Rouge was opposed to western ways of life killed over one million Cambodians
The Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot was driven out in 1979 and died in 1998. After his death, the Khmer Rouge surrendered power, and the country became more stable.

Reading Check 3
What present-day countries made up French Indochina?

Which country did the United States support with troops during the Vietnam War?