Studied by 12 people
Maritime Orientation
The island nations of Southeast Asia have this. Their entire society is based off of the ocean. This include the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
Equatorial Climate
There are very high temperatures in these areas (80’s-100’s year round.) They get 60-100” of rain per year. Agricultural patterns are highly affected by monsoon predictions. In the winter for 4-5 months, Southeast Asia experiences a dry season. It rains so much due to the heat. The land heats faster than the water. Eventually, that heat rises, turning into clouds, which eventually lead to rain.
Slash and Burn
Issue occurring in Southeast Asia. To combat leaching, people cut down trees and burn them, creating nutrients. This is an issue because the nutrients are used up very quickly, causing more of this ecological disaster to occur.
Leaching
Process by which soil becomes infertile. Rain constantly occurs in Southeast Asia, which pushes nutrients low in the soil.
Forest Farming
Process by which shade-dependent crops are grown under tree canopies. Practiced in Southeast Asia.
Shifting Agriculture
Process by which a plot of land that has been so heavily worked is temporarily abandoned so nutrients can return to the soil. This occurred in Southeast Asia along with slash and burn agriculture.
Cash cropping
Another term for plantation agriculture. It is a highly efficient form of agriculture that leads to massive profits. This was used by the French in Vietnam.
Java Man
Hominid that walked upright. He lived about 1 million years ago, and was found on the island of Java. It was found in 1891. Southeast Asia was one of the starting points of civilization and agriculture. Agriculture was developed there very early.
Hoabinhian Culture
Culture of Southeast Asian people with similar traits, ethnicities, and traditions. They made their way through using similar tools, techniques, and lifestyles. The people of this culture lived in Vietnam, Thailand, and western Malaysia. It was named for a village site in Vietnam, Hoa Binh. It is one of Southeast Asia’s oldest cultures, and one of the first in the world to develop agriculture. Animals were domesticated, and rice production was dominant. Pottery was also developed. It is evidence of Southeast Asia’s early development.
Indian Layer (1st)
First layer that passed through Southeast Asia. It is the deepest layer. They came to Southeast Asia as traders on the sea through the Indian Ocean. They arrived at various points all over Southeast Asia. It began as early as the 6th century BCE. They created trading ports all over Southeast Asia, spreading Indian culture to Southeast Asia. They were mostly found in Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Slash and burn agriculture began during this layer. Wet rice agriculture also began. Their arrival in Southeast Asia had to do with the spice trade, which included spices, gold, gems, and ivory. Spices were very desirable in Southeast Asia. There was also an abundance of spices in Southeast Asia. Indian merchants took these spices and brought them to the Mediterranean. Their culture was adopted in Southeast Asia. Architecture, legal systems, government, and writing systems were adopted, as well as Buddhism and Hinduism. However, they were largely an adaptation of pure Indian culture. This layer did not come with force or conquest. It was accepted as non-threatening and it did not replace any cultures - it enhanced them. Various civilizations developed in Southeast Asia during this layer.
Chinese Layer (2nd)
During the Han Dynasty, this layer invaded Southeast Asia. It brought its writing system, government administration, spiritual beliefs and traditions, including buddhism, Confucianism, which was a huge part of Vietnamese culture, and an education system, including an examination system. A second wave of this layer came to Vietnam in the late 18th and 19th centuries during the Qing Dynasty. People from this country were attempting to flee famine, overpopulation, and violence from rebellions. They filled many needs for labor, and became merchants and retailers. Cholon was the section of this layer of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The Chinese people became very successful, which made Vietnamese people very unhappy, which brought discrimination.
Islam Layer (3rd)
It was carried by Arab merchants in the 9th century CE. It became particularly strong in Malaysia and Indonesia. They didn’t typically take political control, but they made strong trade ties with Southeast Asia. They left their faith and some cultural traditions, but they were not conquerors. Today, Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world. While Islam was adopted, it was adapted to existing Southeast Asian culture.
European Layer (4th)
They arrived as traders wanting to get involved in the spice trade after 1500 CE. They found minerals, and the land was good for agriculture. Mercantilism was also established throughout Southeast Asia, placing the region in firm European control.
Funan
Indian civilization that began at the Mekong Delta and expanded all throughout Southern Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, spreading into the Isthmus of Kra. It was extremely rich in natural resources. They had strong agriculture, and their wealth came from trade due to their strategic location. It lasted for about 600 years until alternative trade routes were found.
Srivijaya
Covered western Indonesia and Malaysia. Their wealth was based on trade because it controlled the strait of Malacca. It charged a toll for the use of the strait. It was centered on the island of sumatra. It lasted about 600 years. Their capital was at Palembang.
Champa
Early Southeast Asian kingdom. It lasted for 1000 years, frequently at war with the Northern Vietnamese. It was located in South-Central Vietnam.
Annam
Region of Northern Vietnam. Invaded and became a tributary state to China for 1000 years. Because of this, extreme hatred for the Chinese grew in Vietnam.
Khmer Kingdom
Land based civilization. Their development was focused around the Tonle Sap, a lake in Cambodia. It was based on agriculture rather than trade. They were heavily impacted by the Hindu faith. They believed that there was a god king on earth. It was an extremely strong kingdom. Constructed the Angkor Wat temple.
Magellan
Spanish explorer who claimed the Philippines for the Spanish. He established a system of mercantilism there.
Dutch East India Company
Established to help the Dutch conduct trade with Southeast Asia. Claimed the island of Java.
British East India Company
Established to help the British conduct trade with Southeast Asia. Claimed the Malay Peninsula.
Culture System
When the Dutch regained control of Java, they established a this. This was a system of tribute to the Dutch. Peasants were assigned quotas. However, the system gradually became more strict.
French Indochina
The French took Cochin China and Laos, establishing this. Plantation farming was practiced there, and they used direct control.
Mercantilism
System by which raw goods are harvested from a colony and returned to the colonizing country to be processed into finished goods.
Insular
Term used to describe the island countries of Southeast Asia.
Lac Long Quan and Au Co
Vietnam’s creation story. The former was a male who came from the sea. The latter was a female from the mountains. The latter hatched 100 eggs, and they were all male. They were known as the sons of Vietnam. Half of them went to the mountains, while half went to the sea. This was the origin of Vietnamese history. It is a story of unification.
Trung Sisters
Led a revolt in Vietnam in 43 CE and briefly won independence for 2 years. When China retook Vietnam, they committed ritual suicide by drowning. Glorified in Vietnamese history.
Alexandre de Rhodes
Leader of the Jesuits that came to Vietnam. He landed in Da Nang towards the South. He spent 4 decades there, and converted many Vietnamese to Catholicism. He converted many more people in the South than in the North, which led to more disunity. He developed Quoc-Ngu.
Quoc Ngu
Language of Vietnam introduced by Alexandre de Rhodes. It is the romanization of Chinese characters.
Cochin China
Southern portion of Vietnam. Ceded to the French due to the fact that it had the largest population of Catholics.
Tonkin
Northernmost region of Vietnam.
Napoleon III
Ruler of France. Conquered Vietnam in an effort to save missionaries who were being persecuted. It was a combined force of French and Spanish. Gained control of Cochin China.
“Mandarins”
Vietnamese elite. People that had established positions of merit. They were typically fluent in a European language and had converted to Catholicism. The French used these people for indirect rule sometimes. They were the only participants in government, as mandated by the French.
Corvee System
Oppressive forced labor system. All of the modern innovations in Vietnam were built by the people of Vietnam through this system. While it was a slave system, individuals didn’t “own” landless peasants. All it required from the people was work for a certain amount of time. Rubber was one of the most important innovations that came from this system.
Village notables
In the Vietnamese legal systems, when someone broke a law, the wise elders, these, would deal with the criminal. In addition, the family name wasn’t said in court trials in order to save honor for the family. In the French system, people were sent off to a formal, larger system, which was counter to the Vietnamese system. It was highly insulting to Vietnamese people.
Absentee Landlords
People that didn’t live on land but owned it. This was practiced in Vietnam. Many people became tenants during this time
Direct Rule
Method by which people from a colonizing country are used to rule a colony. Used in Vietnam, but used all over Southeast Asia.
Ho Chi Minh
Spent 30 years abroad starting in 1911. He was exposed to Western ideals. During WW1, he drafted a statement of self-determination based on Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points. In 1924, he went to the USSR. He was heavily influenced by communism there. As a result, he formed the Indochinese Communist Party in 1929. During WWII, he aligned with the US, expecting that they would defeat Japan and attain Vietnamese independence. Formed the Vietminh. He worked with the OSS, now the CIA. The US saw this as an opportunity to get a capitalist foothold in Southeast Asia. They wanted to convert him into a capitalist. Sent two letters to two American presidents through the CIA asking for assistance. After WWII, he spoke in Hanoi asking for democracy and US aid. Led the August Revolution. Many Vietnamese followed him because he was humble and looked like a commoner. He helped needy people in times of hardship, most notably during the second world war. He was seen as a Communist, not a nationalist, which is one of the reasons America supported France. Led the Communist North during the Vietnam War.
August Revolution (1945)
War led by Ho Chi Minh during which he gained control of Northern Vietnam.
First Indochina War (1945-1954)
Vietnamese war of independence against the French. Won by the French, leading to the withdrawal of the French.
Vietminh
Militia group formed by Ho Chi Minh to resist Japanese invasion during WWII.
Geneva Conference (1954)
Meeting of various European countries that determined the division of Southeast Asia after the end of French colonization.
Second Indochina War (1965-1973)
AKA Vietnam War. The US invested billions of dollars in containing communism. The US lost because the North knew the land better and were more willing to sacrifice people to win the war.
Containment
Motivation of the US during the Vietnam War. The US wanted to contain Communism by establishing a Capitalist foothold in Southeast Asia.
Domino Theory
States that if Vietnam becomes Communist, it might trigger a chain reaction of Southeast Asian countries falling to Communism.
British colonial possessions in Southeast Asia
Burma, Southern Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, and Southern Papua New Guinea.
French colonial possessions in Southeast Asia
Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos
Spanish colonial possessions in Southeast Asia
Philippines
Dutch colonial possessions in Southeast Asia
Indonesia
Portugeuse colonial possessions in Southeast Asia
East Timor
German colonial possessions in Southeast Asia
Northern Papua New Guinea
Escarpment
Valley created by the convergence of tectonic plates. Reason for many of Africa’s lakes.
Great Rift Valley
Largest escarpment in Africa, located down the Eastern coast of Africa. Olduvai Gorge is located here.
Benguela Current
Affects the Western coast of Southern Africa. It comes up from Antarctica, and heavily affects the climate of southwest Africa. Since the ocean current is cold, it makes the climate extremely dry. As a result, there is a coastal desert in southwest Africa.
Tribal Marks
Markings on the faces of tribespeople in Africa, most notably in the Yoruba groups. They denoted social status and tribal membership.
Nilotic Peoples
Tall and lean peoples that live in the horn of Africa, around the Nile.
Nok Culture (Jos Plateau)
Iron working culture developed on the Jos Plateau in Nigeria. It developed around 250 BCE. They traded with the North across the Sahara in the Mediterranean and Egypt. They spoke Bantu.
“Sudan”
Region in Western Africa on which various civilizations such as Ghana, Mali, and Songhai developed. These civilizations developed around the Niger and Senegal Rivers. They were strategically placed between the Arab world, the Mediterranean, and southern Africa. These kingdoms flourished for 600 to 800 years. They flourished due to their control of the Trans-Saharan trade. They were the middlemen of the coast between the Northern Arabs and the Southern Africans. They also had many resources such as Gold, Ivory, Kola nuts, enslaved people, salt, silk, cartoon, and jewelry. They also settled agriculture. They also had a strong central government and a strong military. They also had iron. They were the middlemen of trade. They faced weather, robbers, and a lack of water while trading. The government solved this by charging tolls for people coming into the empire and providing protection in return. One way they provided protection was by providing camels. They also had huge militaries. They introduced Islam to Africa in a big way. They also introduced sophisticated cities and structures that are still in existence today. Cultural influence entered these kingdoms and African culture was diffused throughout the world. They also had developed sophisticated trade and goods.
Kush
Southern part of the Nile. One of Africa’s first civilizations was formed here during the stone age. Agriculture was practiced. Though written records are limited, it has been determined that it had an urban culture. There were luxury goods for the wealthy, and there was a substantial merchant class.
Olduvai Gorge
Archaeological site located in Tanzania in the Great Rift Valley. In 1959, a human life form was discovered. The human life form was 1.75 million years old.
Axum
Civilization developed in Ethiopia. It was adjacent to the Red Sea. It is considered the oldest Christian civilization on earth. It began to take from around 1000 BCE. King Solomon, an Israeli King, and the Queen of Sheba were semites, or ethnic Jews. They lived in Syria, but they fled down across the Red Sea and formed this kingdom. They conquered Kush. They built a civilization with advanced agriculture. They were rich with luxury goods such as ivory, gold, spices, ebony, and animal skins. Frankincense and Myrrh also derived from here, which means that the three kings in the Christian faith may have come from this kingdom. It was successful due to its placement on the Mediterranean trade route to India. They were traders. They traded with Mediterraneans, Egyptians, and Indians. In 330 CE, they became a Christian kingdom. In the early 600s, Islam came to this kingdom, but they ended up ignoring them. By the end of the 500s, this kingdom was declining as it moved away from international trade and moved inland. However, in the 1100s, the Muslims began moving into this kingdom, starting a holy war in which this kingdom was at a disadvantage due to internal instability.
Trans-Saharan Trade
Vast network of trade that extended all throughout Northern Africa, the Sahara, and Nok civilization. Salt, gold, copper, skins, and various agricultural products were traded. It led to cultural exchange and the expansion of metallurgy. The Sudanic Kingdoms, particularly Ghana, participated in and controlled this.
Ghana
Early Sudanic Kingdom. The people believed in a supreme deity known as Nyame. It lasted from about 300 CE - 1200 CE. It developed on the Sudan in the upper Niger River. They were iron age farmers who lived under the authority of a local chieftain. They had a massive supply of gold, which allowed them to have great participation in the Trans-Saharan trade. They were also extremely wealthy. Part of this came from their huge tolls and taxes. They also had a massive military. This kingdom didn’t get its gold from the Sudan. They controlled the gold flow from the kingdoms to the South. Tribute was also paid to this kingdom. Eventually, this kingdom began exporting ivory, ostrich feathers, hides, leather goods, and eventually slaves in return for metal goods, textiles, horses, and salt. When Arab merchants arrived, they took over the trade of this kingdom. The king taxed these merchants. The king ruled by divine right, but allowed people to convert to Islam when the Arabs arrived as traders.
Mali
Initially small trading kindom that replaced Ghana. This kingdom expanded and was the greatest of all the new trading kingdoms. It lasted from around 1000 CE - 1400 CE. It extended Ghanian civilization even further through similar leadership. This kingdom grew many crops due to their greater access to agriculture, and had access to the gold deposits of the south. It was ruled by a Mansa, who was a religious and administrative leader who controlled tax revenue. Cities were the main centers of wealth. This kingdom reached about 8 million people. Many cities were created during this time that are still in existence today, such as Jenne, Timbuktu, and Gao. It is arguably the wealthiest empire in African history.
Songhai
Lasted from about 1400-1600. It was a purely Islamic kingdom, and the rulers used Islam to unify the kingdom. It expanded very far to the East. It was about the size of the Continental US, and it was the largest empire in African history.
Al-Bakri
Arab historian who illuminated many of the facts of Ghana.
Sundiata
Malian ruled from 1230-1255. He was a wealthy ruler and expanded the empire greatly. He captured some of the gold fields down in Southern Africa.
Mansa Musa
One of the most wealthy and powerful leaders of the kingdom. He ruled from about 1312-1337. He was chronicled by Arab historians. He was a strong proponent of the Muslim faith, and strongly encouraged the construction of mosques and the study of Islam. He also adopted Islam as the full imperial faith of the empire. This was proven by the Hajj performed by him. His wealth was demonstrated to the Saharan world and the middle east due to the lavishness with which he traveled.
Kilwa/Mogadishu (Swahili Coast)
Along the coast of Tanzania and Kenya, various important city-states developed. They developed around the 1st century CE, and they were similar to the city-states of ancient Greece and Rome. They were initially Bantu speakers. Around 900 CE, the Arabs began stopping here, engaging in trade on their route to Europe. The Arabs controlled trade, but they did not make the city-states into colonies. They created vast trading ports such as Mogadishu and Kilwa. Arab traveler Ibn Battuta described Kilwa as one of the most magnificent cities in the world. They traded cotton, copper, brass, iron tools, spices, precious woods, and slavery. Slaves from here were traded all throughout the Arab, Mediterranean, Indian, and Southeast Asian world. They also had many gold deposits. They declined in the 16th century due to the arrival of the Portuguese.
Great Zimbabwe
Major early civilization. Historians aren’t sure when the civilization started, but many believe it began around 1200 CE. Various archaeological sites have been found. There were no written records, however. The people there spoke Shona, a subdivision of Bantu. The houses of this kingdom were made of stone, proving they are sophisticated. They were created from dry masonry, or without mortar. They had stone-cutting technology. They traded, and had advanced agriculture. They also had gold and raised cattle. They supplied gold to the Swahili. It eventually declined around 1450 CE, but it is unclear why. It eventually became a colony known as Rhodesia. One theory suggests that the British forced the empire into decline in order to exploit them for gold. It is also one of the world’s biggest exporters of diamonds.
Swahili
Major language group. It is a mixture of Bantu and Arabic. It is mainly spoken in eastern Africa in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
Khosian
Language group. When they speak, they make clicking sounds. They are mainly located in Angola, Namibia, and South Africa. This is where the ancient civilization of these speakers developed.
Middle Passage
Movement of Africans across the Atlantic. African people were tightly packed into the hull of a ship for upwards of two months. Their treatment was extremely inhumane. Death occurred frequently. Excrement wasn’t removed, they were barely given enough food to survive, and it took many lives. Disease was the most significant cause of death for enslaved people.
Senegambia
Major source of enslaved people. Sierra Leone was also a major source. Another large source was from Western Africa in “bights.” This was in the rainforest area of Africa. The Ashanti and Yoruba were a few major tribes in this area who conquered people and sold them into slavery.
Gold Coast
Large are in Ghana from which many slaves were taken.
Dahomey/Togo and Benin/Slave Coast
Major area from which slaves were derived around Togo and Benin.
Factory Forts
Produced enslaved peoples. Slaves were brought to these places and kept in cells until a ship came. This was more efficient, as the ships could fill up their ship in one stop. In addition, less enslaved people died.
Shore method
Main way enslaved people were taken from Africa. Trade occurred on the shore. Enslaved people were brought to the shore by other Africans. Europeans did not go into Africa, they merely stayed on the coast and waited for Africans to bring slaves to them. This saved financial resources. Ships were always filled completely in order to save financial resources. This sometimes required multiple stops. Africans sometimes died because of their staying in the ship for so long.
Triangle Trade
System by which Africans were brought to the New World. Raw materials would be harvested by these slaves and then taken to Europe. These goods would then be processed in Europe and brought down to Africa to trade for more slaves.
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