Lesson Objectives:

If there is one thing that all major Southeast Asian countries have in common, it is surely the importance of
rice. Political, economic, social, and cultural life in many areas of the region is, in fact, dominated by the production
of rice. Rice cultivation has a large share in the economy and in the diet of the populations.
In many areas of Southeast Asia rice production was more predominant in the past than it is now, as most
economies have now become diversified. However, regionally, the growing of rice is now found in places where it
was rare or absent before; a process sometimes called “rizification.” On balance, economic life of the region is now
much less dependent on the rice harvest than it was around 1950. It can be argued, therefore, that rice was one of
the resources to have shaped Southeast Asian history at least during the past five centuries.
The foreign travelers wrote about how fertile the lands were and how abundant rice harvests were in the
region. One traveler wrote “this island of Java is famed to be the most fruitful island in the world.” Another
mentioned that Bengal was a very fertile country, particularly in producing large quantities of rice, of which there is
more than in the entire Orient.
One gets the following broad idea after looking at these and similar descriptions from the 16 and
seventeenth centuries. There are numerous locations in and around Southeast Asia that include vast, fertile plains
and densely inhabited deltas that are completely covered in wet rice. These regions export a lot of rice for
affordable prices, and the cost of food items including fish, meat, vegetables, fruit, and cooking oil is typically low.
They frequently also export slaves and (cheap) textiles.
Interestingly enough, only few reports dating from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries pay attention to
the downside of the high population densities of these fertile rice plains—poverty.
A quick dive into the history of growing wet rice to dry and back again. Wet rice is older than dry rice.
Strangely enough, the shift in paradigm from dry to wet rice as the original crop does not appear to have led to a
major rethinking of the why and how of “artificial” wet rice cultivation. However, it is conceivable that growing
populations, faced with a lack of naturally occurring habitats for wet rice, switched to rice grown on artificially
bunded fields that could hold onto water throughout the plant's growing season. Dry rice cultivation was created by
swidden farmers who lived in highly wooded upland areas and modified the existing rice varieties to suit their
demands.
Growing dry rice (ladang type cultivation) was much less labor-intensive than growing wet rice. Swiddeners
produced the same amount of rice (and, often of a better quality) with far fewer hours of labor input than
smallholders with sawahs (rice fields wet rice).
So the question “why people would be willing to work much harder with little to show for it” can be raised.
Boomgaard believes there are more than 2 factors affecting this decision. First factor is the role of the indigenous
(early) state. Rulers encouraged the laying out of irrigation works and bunded fields by giving tax exemptions (sima)
to religious (Hindu and/or Buddhist) institutions, provided they would take it upon themselves to convert wasteland
or swiddens to sawahs. Rulers were interested in the creation of densely settled wet-rice areas, as its people were
easier to tax and to conscript for war. As the religious institutions amassed fortunes from money to livestock to
slaves, they had the required manpower for the laying out of wet rice fields, and put them to good use.
The next factor is that a switch to wet rice may have been stimulated by a combination of (export) trade,
markets, and (moderate) taxation, particularly in regions that were easily accessible to (long-distance) shipping.
Finally, there is evidence that during uncertain times, people tended to group together, which would make
slash-and-burn farming less appealing since after a few years, when the nearby fields needed to be fallowed,
people would have a long walk to their ladangs. Construction of irrigation systems and the layout of bunded fields
would have been sensible under those conditions.
 Prior to the fourteenth century, there were no significant cities on Java, which by this time was the most
densely populated territory of its size in Southeast Asia. Java was also covered in wet rice fields, which were the
main source of income in many of its central and eastern parts well before 1500. Although the most of them were
quite minor, there were more cities between 1500 and 1600. This means that the relationship between rice and
cities was far from unambiguous. Examples from central and eastern Java suggest that trade-flows, religious
connections, political links, and the presence of a good natural harbor are all factors that appear to have been more
important than the presence or absence of a rice-rich immediate hinterland.
factors that led to the adoption of wet-rice agriculture in Southeast Asia in promoting the laying out of irrigation works
and bunded fields by giving tax exemptions to religious institutions who would convert wasteland or swiddens to
sawahs. Rulers were interested in the creation of densely settled wet-rice areas, as its people were easier to tax
and conscript for war. Additionally, trade, markets, taxation, and uncertain times may have stimulated the switch to
wet rice. Finally, the author suggests that people tended to group together during uncertain times, which made
slash-and-burn farming less appealing, and the construction of irrigation systems and the layout of bunded fields
more sensible.

technological innovation has affected the provision of rice in Southeast Asia. In 1750, buffalo-drawn rice mills were
introduced, reducing the cost of transit from the hinterland regions and stimulating both the demand for and supply
of rice from those regions. European rice millers emerged in the region around 1780, bringing more powerful and
larger water-powered rice mills. Restrictions on rice prices were lifted after 1811, which raised prices and increased
supplies. However, the application of outside capital and technology did not lead to structural changes in the size of
the units of production. The incidence of tenancy increased due to indebtedness and land hunger among
smallholders, which may have played a role in the impoverishment of rice growers prior to 1850.
limited opportunities for working outside agriculture in Southeast Asia until about 1850, due to limited urbanization. As
population growth began to outpace land clearing, the fertile rice fields became increasingly occupied by
impoverished wet-rice growers, with increased proportions of landless laborers. In some cases, the only option to
eliminate a surplus population was by selling it into slavery. The industrialization of the region after 1950 would be
fueled by the migration of landless laborers, either on a temporary or long-term basis.
Southeast Asia, temperatures remain constantly high throughout the year, with small differences between daily
maximum and minimum temperatures. However, at higher elevations, temperatures drop, and frost can occur on
the highest mountain peaks, such as in New Guinea. As a result, in addition to the typical tropical crops, it is
possible to grow crops from the temperate zone in the uplands of many areas in Southeast Asia.
In 1750, when buffalo-drawn rice mills were introduced by Chinese businessmen, technological innovation
has played a role in the provision of rice. This reduced the cost of transit from the hinterland regions, stimulating
both the demand for and supply of rice from those regions. European rice millers first emerged in the region around
1780, bringing with them more powerful, larger, and water-powered rice mills. After 1811, the restrictions on rice's
price were finally lifted, which raised prices and thus increased supplies.
In the case of Java, rice exports seem to have been stable from around 1500 to 1800, while its population
was likely growing. However, Java was, increasingly growing new food crops, in addition to new (or at least more)
commercial crops, such as coffee, all of which suggests that its GDP per capita may have been stable.
Rice production in mainland Southeast Asia truly started to rise around 1850. This development was aided
by several interconnected variables, most of which were made feasible by the entry of foreign capital, including the
easing of price controls, the employment of contemporary irrigation, drainage, and transportation technologies, and
the advent of contemporary rice mills.
 Although we see that the application of outside capital and technology did not lead to structural changes in
the size of the units of production. What did seem to change though is that the incidence of tenancy increased,
owing to indebtedness and land hunger among smallholders. It is reasonable to assume that tenancy arrangements
played a role in the impoverishment of rice growers prior to 1850 as well.
A decrease in per capita production and consumption of rice was eventually caused by high population
growth and had to be made up for by increased production of other food crops (such as sweet potatoes, cassava,
and maize) as well as crops for the international market and by people leaving the agricultural industry.
As urbanization had been limited, the opportunity to work outside agriculture was until about 1850 and
sometimes the only option to eliminate a surplus population appears to have been by selling it into slavery.
As population growth started to outstrip land clearing, the fertile rice bowls became increasingly populated by
impoverished wet-rice growers, with growing proportions of landless laborers. After 1950, the landless laborers
would fuel the industrialization of these areas as temporary or permanent migrants.

The geographic features of the region, including its rich soil, abundant water sources, and diverse ecosystems, have
played a crucial role in determining the natural resources available for exploitation by the region's inhabitants.
1. Analyze how the geographic features of Southeast Asia determined what natural resources were available for
exploitation by the inhabitants of the region
 M
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2. Appraise how the exploitation of the natural resources influenced the pattern of historical and economic development
of the region
 Rice prices and income and the production of rice growing peasant cultivators are closely monitored by national
governments, and subsidies and tariffs regarding rice production and trade are important items in their
economic policy toolkits.
 In many areas the beginning of the rice planting or sowing season and the start of the rice harvest are both
occasions for festivities and feasts.
 In many areas of Southeast Asia rice production was more predominant in the past than it is now, as most
economies have now become diversified. However, regionally, the growing of rice is now found in places where
it was rare or absent before; a process sometimes called “rizification.” On balance, economic life of the region is
now much less dependent on the rice harvest than it was around 1950, while at that date the economy was in
turn more diversified than it had been ca. 1850, implying an even greater dependence on rice at the earlier
date.
 During the twentieth century, the share of Southeast Asia in world rice production was remarkably stable at
around 20 percent. However, its share in 9781403977366ts11.qxd 27-6-07 07:43 PM Page 185 the world rice
trade dropped from almost 90 percent at the beginning of the century to 20 percent in the early 1970s, after
which it recovered slightly, reaching the 40 percent mark prior to 1990 (Van der Eng 1992, 3). These shifts no
doubt reflect high rates of population growth in the period 1950–75, and the effects of the Green Revolution
combined with family planning measures after 1975