Description

From the early Christian era in Europe, Southeast Asia was known as the Land of Gold. It is a region blessed with a rich diversity of cultures, peoples, and scenery. A Travellers History of Southeast Asia is a lucid and concise introduction to the histories of the modern states of Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, and East Timor, providing an essential guide for both tourists and the general reader. It spans the history of the region from Java Man some one million years ago, to the development of the high-tech, skyscraper cities of the new millennium, all the way to the present time. Following chapters on the physical environment and the earliest human history of Southeast Asia, the authors carry the reader through the classical kingdoms that produced such architectural marvels as Borobudur in Java and Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The book further explores Southeast Asias growing trade with the outside world from 1500 culminating in colonization by the European imperial powers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The struggles for independence in the last centurywhich made the modern nations of the regionare discussed in detail, as are the dramatic and tragic events of the post-independence era such as the Vietnam War and the Cambodia genocide. The remarkable successes and failings of the regions recent economic development are highlighted in the final chapter. Above all, A Travellers History of Southeast Asia shows how the regions soul has been preserved against tremendous external pressures.

Author: J. M. Barwise, N. J. White
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Interlink Books
Published: 06/20/2015
Series: Interlink Travellers Histories
Pages: 352
Weight: 0.7lbs
Size: 7.78h x 5.12w x 0.77d
ISBN: 9781566564397
Language: English

This title is only available via back order