I.

ASIA & SOUTHEAST ASIA

ASIA AS A PHYSICAL & CULTURAL

IDENTITY

● Geography – land & sea

● Economy, society - influenced by
geographical features, topography
● Divided into geographical & culture
areas:
○ East Asia
○ South Asia
○ West Asia
○ Southeast Asia

SOUTHEAST ASIA - A UNIQUE REGION

● Rice as staple
● Wet-rice cultivation, “sawah”
method
● Society emerged out of this system INDIANIZATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIA
○ landowner- tenant system ● Spread of Hinduism in Southeast
● Sea: strength and weakness Asia thorugh trade
● Rise of agrarian and maritime
empires
○ Angkor (802-1220 AD):
Cambodia
○ Srivijaya (7th-13th
AD):Palembang,Sumatra
○ Majapahit (13th-16thc AD):
Java

PRE-COLONIAL SOUTHEAST ASIA

● Srivajaya empire
● Central power and capital:
Palembang ISLAMIZATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIA
● Broken lines: routes ● From the Indian Subcontinent
● Red lines: spheres of influence of ● Blue lines: Spread of Islam
the empire ● Blue lines: routes of Islamization
● Malacca strat: important sea route
○ Reaches the South China
sea and Europe