South East Asia History Part 1

South East Asia History Part 1

Brunei, Burma, (Myanmar), Cambodia, Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam

History Vocabulary

• Sultan - the ruler of a Muslim country

• Plantation - a large farm

• Absolute monarchy - a system of government in which the ruler has complete control

• Constitutional monarchy - a government in which a monarch is head of state but elected officials run the government.

Open Ended

What role do you think trade has played in Southeast Asia’s history?

Kingdoms and Empires

• Southeast Asia is known as “the Crossroads of the World” because it is located along important sea trade routes.

• Trade has led to the spread of many cultural influences.

• It has also made the region attractive to foreign powers hoping to gain riches and power through control of the trade routes.

Kingdoms and Empires

• People have lived in Southeast Asia for at least 40,000 years.

• During the ice age, sea levels were much lower.

• As the ice age waned, seas began to rise.  They reached their current levels about 8,000 years ago.

  
  

Multiple Choice

About how long have people lived in Southeast Asia?

• 1,000 years

• 5,000 years

• 40,000 years

• 100,000 years

Kingdoms and Empires

• People in Southeast Asia survived by hunting and gathering their food.

• About 6,000 years ago, people living in the fertile river valleys and deltas began growing rice.

Kingdoms and Empires

Eventually early metalworking societies arose in Southeast Asia. These people produced bronze tools and weapons. The most famous of these cultures was the Dong Son.

Multiple Choice

The Dong Son culture started producing tools and weapons out of what metal?

• Gold

• Silver

• Bronze

• Copper

Kingdoms and Empires

• By the middle of the 100s B.C., China and India had become powerful. 

• China conquered the Red River delta and made Vietnam part of the Han empire.

• Vietnam remained under Chinese control for the next 1,000 years.

• Missionaries and traders from India travelled to Southeast Asia.  These travelers spread India’s culture and its religions, Hinduism and Buddhism, into Southeast Asia.

  
  

Kingdoms and Empires

• Several trade-based societies arose in the region.  Funan was established in the A.D. 100s. 

• It covered parts of what are now Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

• Srivijaya arose on the island of Sumatra around the A.D. 600s. 

• This kingdom controlled the Strait of Malacca, an important trade route connecting the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Kingdoms and Empires

• Agricultural societies arose where rice could be grown. 

• The Pagan kingdom sprang up in Myanmar’s Irrawaddy delta.

• The Khmer empire was centered near a large lake in Cambodia.  The Khmer empire is known for architecture

  
  

Kingdoms and Empires

• Islam was brought by traders from Southwest Asia or western India who travelled the sea route to China.

• By the 1400s, other Islamic kingdoms were established near port cities along the main trade routes.

Kingdoms and Empires

• The most important Islamic kingdom was located at the port of Malacca on the Malay Peninsula.

• Its sultans, or kings, ruled over most of the peninsula and the island of Sumatra.