The last century of the exuberantly diverse independence of Asia's smaller states, before the colonial embrace of 1860-1900, has been dismissed as a doomed period of stagnation and reaction by colonial, nationalist and Marxist historians alike. But the newest writing, represented here by 17 leading specialists on the different states of Southeast Asia and Choson Korea, has discovered in these states an astonishing laboratory of autonomous attempts to grapple with the pressures of modernity.
This book presents a case study of Europe's impact on an old and distinctive non-European civilisation. Part One deals with the elements in Europe's strength, technological, political and intellectual. It also uses Wallerstein's world-systems perspective to give an economic dimension to this picture of the new world of Europe, and then looks at the important question of the changing place of the Dutch in the new economic order from the seventeenth to the eighteenth century. This is followed by a brief account of the history of the Dutch East-India Company in Java, and its political effects. Part Two deals with the nature of the Javanese ancien regime, both in court and in provincial circles, with a focus on society and civilisation, rather than those staples of Javanese historiography to date, political events and economic statistics. Part Three deals with the overall pattern set by the VOC's changing economic imperatives and with the impact of the successive tides of capitalism on three regional societies of Java. Part Four deals with intellectual shifts that took place in this period, and argues that these shifts were less conservative than the socio-economic ones described in Part Three and, though more fragile and vulnerable, were crucial for the future. The conclusion attempts to show the significance of these developments for modern Indonesia and the way in which some of the dynamics begun in this period are being played out in the contemporary world.
This volume deals with the sultanate of Banten from the outbreak of the rebellion of 1750-52 to the launching of the Cultivation System in 1830. After the suppression of the rebellion by the Dutch East India Company (VOC), local society showed considerable vitality. The introduction by the VOC of forced exploitation of the pepper cultivation did not lead to a significant increase in production, but enabled the local elites to augment their power. In the late 18th century Asian traders (many Bugis and Chinese) and English country traders integrated Banten and its Sumatran territory Lampung into a vibrant inter-regional trading network. This trade pattern, which involved the exchange of pepper and the maritime and forest products demanded by the China market for opium, contributed to the emergence of a new economic order in insular South-East Asia. This study shows how the the society of Banten was in a state of constant transformation in reaction to the Western presence and the shifts of the world economy during the period from 1750 to 1830.
This study compares Melaka and Penang in the context of overall trends - policy, geographical position, nature and direction of trade, and morphology and sociology - and how these factors were influenced by trade and policies. Conclusions are drawn concerning where and how Melaka and Penang fit in the urban traditions of Southeast Asia and the significance of the fact that the period under study coincided with the shift from the height of the "Age of Commerce" towards a period of heightened imperialist activities.
The Japanese Occupation of Southeast Asia between 1941 and 1945 brought with it severe food shortages, largely arising from organizational failures and inadequate transportation. the nine essays in this volume examine the situation in food exporting countries such as Burma, Thailand and Vietnam, in food deficit areas such as Malaya, the Philippines and Java, and in Sarawak which was largely self-sufficient. Two essays examine in detail the famine that struck the Tonkin area of northern Vietnam in 1945.
2016 PROSE Award Honorable Mention for Textbook in the Humanities A History of Southeast Asia: Critical Crossroads presents a comprehensive history of Southeast Asia from our earliest knowledge of its civilizations and religious patterns up to the present day. Incorporates environmental, social, economic, and gender issues to tell a multi-dimensional story of Southeast Asian history from earliest times to the present Argues that while the region remains a highly diverse mix of religions, ethnicities, and political systems, it demands more attention for how it manages such diversity while being receptive to new ideas and technologies Demonstrates how Southeast Asia can offer alternatives to state-centric models of history more broadly Part of The Blackwell History of the World Series The goal of this ambitious series is to provide an accessible source of knowledge about the entire human past, for every curious person in every part of the world. It will comprise some two dozen volumes, of which some provide synoptic views of the history of particular regions while others consider the world as a whole during a particular period of time. The volumes are narrative in form, giving balanced attention to social and cultural history (in the broadest sense) as well as to institutional development and political change. Each provides a systematic account of a very large subject, but they are also both imaginative and interpretative. The Series is intended to be accessible to the widest possible readership, and the accessibility of its volumes is matched by the style of presentation and production.
At the heart of the on-going armed conflict in southern Thailand is a fundamental disagreement about the history of relations between the Patani Malays and the Thai kingdom. While the Thai royalist-nationalist version of history regards Patani as part of that kingdom "since time immemorial," Patani Malay nationalists look back to a golden age when the Sultanate of Patani was an independent, prosperous trading state and a renowned center for Islamic education and scholarship in Southeast Asia — a time before it was defeated, broken up, and brought under the control of the Thai state. While still influential, in recent years these diametrically opposed views of the past have begun to make way for more nuanced and varied interpretations. Patani scholars, intellectuals and students now explore their history more freely and confidently than in the past, while the once-rigid Thai nationalist narrative is open to more pluralistic interpretations. There is growing interaction and dialogue between historians writing in Thai, Malay and English, and engagement with sources and scholarship in other languages, including Chinese and Arabic. In The Ghosts of the Past in Southern Thailand, 13 scholars who have worked on this sensitive region evaluate the current state of current historical writing about the Patani Malays of southern Thailand. The essays in this book demonstrate that an understanding of the conflict must take into account the historical dimensions of relations between Patani and the Thai kingdom, and the ongoing influence of these perceptions on Thai state officials, militants, and the local population.
This collection contributes to key theoretical debates about women workers in Asia and breaks new ground by focussing on issues that have been little documented in other studies in the area. It provides new information and insights into labour systems associated with labour intensive export manufactures and state-labour relations in a comparative context. The contributors present a range of unique and varied perspectives from which they consider aspects of the increasing integration of Asian economies, exploring implications for their labour markets.
Amarjit Kaur examines wage labour's role in economic growth and change in Southeast Asia since 1840. Her study focuses on globalization; the international division of labour and how transnational economic processes shaped and continue to shape labour systems. There are five main themes - labour processes, migration and labour systems; labour circulation or mobility; the gendered nature of labour relations; and, class consciousness, worker organization and labour standards. A wide-ranging study which will be of great interest to historians, economists and Asia specialists.
