THE PEOPLE of SOUTHEAST ASIA

THE PEOPLE of SOUTHEAST ASIA

Pages 561-564

Essential Question: #2

Great crossroads of India and China + southern and eastern ASIA:

ü Consists of many peninsulas and archipelagoes

ü Ten countries: Brunei

Myanmar

Cambodia

Indonesia

Laos

Malaysia

Philippines

Singapore

Thailand

Vietnam

Nearby Influences;

ü Thousands of years ago, first settlers came from Australia and the Pacific

ü The Malays from China and India

ü Merchants from India introduced soil irrigation and building harbors

ü Largest and strongest ethnic groups lived along river deltas

European influences:

ü They came in the 1500’s in search of spices, stayed to build colonies, only Thailand remained free

ü Colonialism: The control of country as a colony by another country.

ü Dutch: Indonesia: canals like the Netherlands

ü Spanish: Philippines: Roman Catholicism

Continuing Migration:

ü 55% pop. Malays

ü 33% pop. Chinese

ü 10% pop. Indian

ü Hundreds of different languages

ü 4 official languages: English, Chinese, Malay,

Tamil (Indian)

Religion:

ü 1500 years ago monks and merchants spread Buddhism from India became the major religion of: Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos

ü Islam became 2nd major religion of Indonesia and Malaysia, brought to coastal towns by Indian and Arab traders

c. 1300’s

ü Many traditional beliefs still exist and have been influenced by Confucianism, Daoism, and Hinduism (Bali)

The Importance of Cooperation:

ü Extended families, strong family loyalties

ü Women hold respected positions in family, inherit property and manage family income.

ü Southeast Asian families care about the well being of all ethnic groups, neighbors helping neighbors, help build schools, roads, and irrigation canals

ü Promote modernization.

Essential Question:

Why has Southeast Asia always been a great crossroads?

Southeast Asia has always been a great crossroad between India and China because of its location. Over thousands of years many different peoples, ideas, and ways of life have been introduced from regions far and near, including the influence of European colonialization, helping to create a mix of different cultures, languages and religions.

THE ECONOMY

Pg: 565-567

EQ: #2

Booming Economies:

ü Singapore: a major financial, industrial, and communications center, world’s 2nd busiest port

ü Why? Location: goods from east and west enter their port

ü Malaysia: rich in natural resources (petroleum, natural gas, and tin), farm and forest products

ü Brunei: large deposits of oil

ü Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines: not as industrialized, have similar natural resources to Malaysia; foreign companies have increased trade with them.

ü Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines want a free trade area to lower tariffs (taxes) on each other’s goods.

GNP: gross national products = total value of goods and services produced by a country during a year

ü Southeast Asia = rich in natural resources: 80% of the world’s natural rubber, 60% of the world’s copper and tin

ü Sell Oil and natural gas

ü $$$$ are used to finance industrialization

Impoverished by War:

ü Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia are very poor.

ü Torn apart by wars since WWII

ü Lack of skilled workers

ü Laos and Vietnam have Communist economies

ü Myanmar is a poor country because of civil unrest, poor planning and harmful economic policies

Changing Ways of Life:

ü Remote villages have radios, tape players, use money instead of bartering (trading) and they have to pay taxes.

ü Most people live on rural farms

ü Children of farmers move to cities to earn money in newly established industries

ü Cities become overcrowded

Paddy Rice and Plantations:

ü Lowlands of Southeast Asia large/small rice plantations

ü Planted by hand, grown in seedbeds, transplanted into flooded paddy fields

ü Wet rice has higher yield

ü Owned by families and companies

ü Plantation crops exported: tea, coffee, bamboo, and sugarcane

EQ:

Why are the economies of some Southeast Asian countries booming while others are developing slowly?

The economies of the “Four Little Tigers” are booming because of their natural resources, their location for trade between East Asia, Europe, Africa and the U.S. Outside investment opportunities have created new industries. Other countries have developed more slowly because their economies are based on farming, mining, and forestry. Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar have experienced political and civil war, some are still under communist controlled economies and they have few skilled workers.