Download Southeast Asia Notes

Feb. 8, 2011
Good Morning
HOW DOES THE GEOGRAPHY
OF SE ASIA AFFECT THE
LIVES OF THE PEOPLE WHO
LIVE THERE?
Southeast Asia
Notes
Countries…











Brunei
Cambodia
East Timor
Indonesia
Laos
Malaysia
Myanmar
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Vietnam
Mainland & Island…
• Mainland SE Asia
– Myanmar, Thailand, Laos,
Vietnam, Cambodia
– To the east forms the
Indochina Peninsula
– To the south forms the Malay
Peninsula
• Island SE Asia
– Malaysia
– Brunei
– East Timor
– Singapore
– Indonesia
• Over 17,000 islands
– Philippines
• Over 7,000 islands
Peninsula & Island…
• Formed by the collision of the Eurasian, Philippine,
and Indo-Australian tectonic plates millions of years
ago
• Earthquake activity made a number of archipelagoes
- chains of islands
• Tectonic activity is one of the physical processes
that shaped island Southeast Asia
– 15,000 years ago, many of the islands were
connected because sea levels were lower
– With the melting of the last Ice Age, the seas rose
and separated the land into separate islands
Bodies of Water…
•
•
•
•
Gulf of Tonkin
Bay of Bengal
South China Sea
Tonle Sap
– SE Asia’s largest
freshwater lake
Rivers…
• Irrawaddy River
(Myanmar)
• Chao Praya River
(Thailand)
• Mekong River
(Indochina)
– 2600 miles long
– Deposits silt and
sediment along the
shore
• Hong (Red) River
(Vietnam)
Mekong River
• Region is one of
world’s most
tectonically active
areas
• Many mountains on
the islands are part
of the Ring of Fire the area of volcano
and earthquake
activity that rims
the Pacific Ocean
• Most famous
volcano of the
region is Krakatoa
– Erupted in 1883
– Blacked out the sky
for two days
Mountains…
Mountains…
• Mount Pinatubo
– Volcano in the Philippines
– Erupted in 1991
– Damage caused by lava
and volcanic ash
• Volcanoes are destructive
but also help the region
– Lahars – volcanic
mudflows
• Rush down steep volcanic
slopes
• Bury valleys and towns
– Volcanic ash
• Full of nutrients
• Enriches the soils
What are the benefits and
consequences of living in the
Ring of Fire?
Climate…
• Much of the region is located in tropical humid
climate
– Hot and damp year round
– Heavy rainfall most months
• Some of region experiences tropical wet & dry
climate
– Wet monsoon winds blow in from Pacific
– Dry monsoon winds blow in from Australia
• Typhoons sweep in from Pacific Ocean
– Bring heavy rains and powerful winds
– Strike between August & October when temperatures
are warmest
– Can raise sea levels to dangerous heights
Climate…
– Cyclone – storm with heavy rains and high
winds that blow in a circular pattern around an
area of low atmospheric pressure (like a
hurricane)
– Naming typhoons
• Asians do not name typhoons like we name
hurricanes in the United States
– In the US, we name hurricanes people’s names starting
with A and going to W, alternating between men and
women’s names
– In Asia, they use numbers
» Example- 0108 means the first storm in 2008, 0208
means the second storm in 2008
» Disadvantage of this is that numbers are harder to
remember than names
Natural Resources…
• Minerals and gems
–
–
–
–
Nickel
Iron
Copper
Tin (world’s largest
in deposits)
– Sapphires
– “Burma Rubies” are
very valuable and
found in Myanmar
– Pearls
• Largest pearl found
in Palawan,
Philippines and
weighed 14 pounds
Natural Resources…
• Forestry
– Important industry
– Many countries
have strict laws to
prevent
deforestation
(limits timber
exports)
• Oil
– Brunei – has
become very rich
from oil and natural
gas
– Indonesia –
member of OPEC,
largest producer
of petroleum in
Southeast Asia
• Flora (plants)
– Logging
•
•
•
•
Mahogany
Teak
Rubber
Many nations now have
restrictions due to
deforestation
• Forest provides
pharmaceuticals
– 10% of prescription drugs
are made from products in
tropical rain forests
• Fauna (animals)
• Endemic species – those
species native to a certain
area
–
–
–
–
–
Asian elephant
Komodo dragon
Tiger
Rhinoceros
Orangutan
Flora & Fauna…
What areas have the highest
population density in SE Asia?
Population…
• 543 million
people
• Brunei smallest
population 400,000
• Indonesia largest
population 220 million
• Population density
– Densely populated
regions
•
•
•
•
River valleys
Coastal plains
Fertile land
Urban areas
– Sparsely populated
regions
• Highlands
• Mountains
• Rural areas
– Population density
varies from country to
country
• Indonesia 283 people
per square mile
• Singapore 12,000
people per square
mile (very small land
area)
Population Density…
Population Growth…
– Cambodia
• Low population growth rate due to the Communist Khmer
Rouge government:
– Starvation due to food shortages
– Torture
– Executions
– Malaysia
• High population growth rate because the government wants
to increase the population
– Indonesia
• The government has tried to limit the size of families in
heavily populated areas
– Singapore
• Has a campaign to slow population growth rate
• Government has cut child care payments to parents with
more than three kids
Rural & Urban Populations…
– The Mainland has more arable
land than the islands
– 75% of the Mainland population
lives in rural areas
– Singapore – small island (almost
all urban)
– In almost every city in Southeast
Asia, the largest city is the
primate city – the capital city of
a country and also the largest
city and manufacturing center
for the country
– Kampongs – villages built on
stilts to keep houses safe from
floods
History…
• Many empires developed around strategic ports
• People migrated to region from China and
other areas in Asia
• 1500s – Europeans arrived in region
– Portuguese were first to arrive – looking for Spice
Islands
– Traders introduced Hinduism and Buddhism to
region
– Islam is brought by Arab traders
– Chinese set up maritime (sea) trade routes
• Countries outside the region wanted to control the
region for 2 reasons:
– Natural resources
– Useful location
History…
• Most of the region came
under control of European
colonial powers
• By the mid 1900s, areas
claimed by the West
– Great Britain – Brunei,
Myanmar, Malaysia,
Singapore
– France – Cambodia, Vietnam,
Laos (Indochina)
– Netherlands – Indonesia
– Spain – Philippines
• 1898 – U.S. took control of
Philippines after SpanishAmerican War
• Only Thailand was never
colonized by Europeans
History…
– Western Powers:
• Expanded mining
• Turned small farms into large plantations to
grow cash crops
• Built roads, plantations and schools
• Imported machinery
• Built transportation systems linking road and
railways to ports
• Boosted economic production in these regions
for their own benefit, not to help the Southeast
Asians
– During World
War II, Japan
forced the
Western
powers out of
Southeast Asia
– Japanese
wanted control of
natural
resources
– After Japan’s
defeat in 1945,
the Western
powers tried to
regain control
History…
History…
– By 1965, all
Southeast Asian
countries were
independent
• 1954 - French
Indochina was split
– Vietnam,
Cambodia, Laos
• 1989 – Burma
changes name to
Myanmar
• Independence did
not come easy
• 1975-1979 – Cambodia
fell under brutal rule of
Communist group, Khmer
Rouge
– Wanted to transform
Cambodia into a rural
peasant society
– Forced all citizens to work
as field laborers
– Executed intelligent &
skilled workers
• Vietnamese forces
invaded
• Millions of land mines left
throughout the country
History…
History…
• Vietnam – internal conflict led to civil war
involving U.S.
– U.S. wanted to stop spread of communism in Asia
– Domino theory – idea that if one country fell to
communism, neighboring countries would fall like
dominoes
– http://www.vietnamwar.com/
Feb. 10, 2011
Good Morning
How has the culture of SE Asia
influenced the types of
government that exist in the
countries today?
Government…
• 3 types of government in Southeast Asia
• Republic
– Type of government where people vote for officials to make
decisions and laws
• Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore,
• Constitutional Monarchy
– Type of government with a king or queen but their power is
restricted by a constitution
• Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia
• Socialist Republic
– Type of government where people vote for officials to make
decisions and laws and the government provides a lot of
services
• Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar
Language…
• Hundreds of languages and dialects
–
–
–
–
Malay
Chinese
Pilipino
English
• Many languages are the result of migration and colonization
• Usually one of the languages spoken is that of the country
that colonized it
Malay
Written
Language
Religion…
• Many religions because
different groups of people
migrated to the region
– Indochina Peninsula – most
practice Buddhism
• Wats – Buddhist temples that
serve as monasteries
• Buddhism is most common
religion practiced in SE Asia
– Malay Peninsula and
Indonesia – most practice
Islam
• Indonesia is the world’s most
populous Islamic country
– Philippines – most practice
Catholicism
• Due to Spanish colonization
in the 1500s
– Many people with Chinese
ancestry – practice Daoism
and Confucianism
Economy…
• Agriculture
– 65% of people in Southeast Asia are farmers
– Rice is the main food crop grown
– 50% of the farmland is used for growing rice
– Rice grows well in Southeast Asia because the
region has:
• Fertile soil
• Abundant water supply
• Warm, wet climate
Economy…
– Most farmers do not use modern machinery
– Rice is planted at the beginning of the rainy season
in May and harvested in October
– 3 types of rice cultivation:
• Paddy cultivation
• Dry-rice cultivation
• Slash-and-burn agriculture
Economy…
– During the dry
season, other cash
crops are grown
– Cash crops:
• Sugar cane
• Rubber (Thailand is
the world’s leading
producer of natural
rubber)
• Pineapples
• Coconuts
• Coffee
• Opium
Industrialization…
• Many foreign companies
have built factories in
Southeast Asia because of
the large supply of
inexpensive labor
– Industrializing Countries
• “Asian Tigers”
• Malaysia, Singapore, South
Korea, Taiwan, Thailand
– Less Industrialized
Countries
• Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam
• Not many people work in
manufacturing due to:
Nike factory worker in Indonesia
– Wars and political change
– Communist governments
Industrialization…
• All countries of SE
Asia are members
of Association of
Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN)
– Promotes economic
development among
members
– Formed a free trade
region in the 1990s
Environment…
• Southeast Asia is
becoming more
urbanized (people
moving to cities) and
industrialized (factories)
• Problems caused by this:
– Air, water, noise pollution
– Lack of housing
– Increase in industrial
waste
• Volcanoes
– Most people live in Ring
of Fire
– Worry about threat of
volcanic activity
Quiz #5
• Formation of SE Asia
• Rivers of SE Asia
• Famous mountains and
volcanoes of region
• Identifying typhoons
• Burma Rubies
• SE Asia member of
OPEC
• Flora vs. fauna
• Countries of French
Indochina
• Only nation in SE Asia
never controlled by west
• Khmer Rouge
• Wats
• Country with highest
Muslim population
• Roman Catholicism in SE
Asia
• Religion of Malay
Peninsula
• Reasons rice grows well
in region
• Cash crops
• ASEAN