Early Southeast Asian states did not have set borders. Instead, they were mandalas; states organized as a ring of power around a central court. In the 1100s and 1200s, the Khmer set up an empire along the Mekong River that eventually covered most of the Indochina Peninsula. They are noted for their magnificent architecture, especially the Temple of Angkor Wat.

Southeast Asians traded with merchants from Arabia and India. Arab merchants brought Islam to the region. Large numbers of Europeans began to arrive in Advanced business methods helped them take over much of the region’s trade. By the 1900s, Europeans had colonized all of the region except Siam (now Thailand).

Colonial rulers set up centralized governments. They forced the colonies to produce commodities that would help Europe’s economy. They expanded mining and set up large commercial plantations. Little of the resulting wealth benefited Southeast Asians. The Netherlands controlled Indonesia. Great Britain ruled Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei. France governed territories in Indochina (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam). Spain controlled the Philippines until the United States won control in 1898.

Japan took over the region during World War II. Southeast Asians soon realized that Japan was exploiting the region for its own benefits. After World War II ended, Southeast Asian leaders sought independence. Several nations gained freedom peacefully. Indonesia had to fight the Dutch. Indochina (Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam) had to fight France to gain independence. In 1954, communist forces defeated the French in Vietnam, which then divided into communist and non-communist areas. The United States became involved in South Vietnam to prevent its takeover by Communist North Vietnam. This conflict was the Vietnam War.

Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore are democratic republics. The military government in Myanmar has tried to crush the opposition that wants to bring democracy to the country. Brunei, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Thailand are constitutional monarchies. Laos and Vietnam have communist governments.

People in the region speak hundreds of languages and dialects, most belonging to three major language families–Malayo-Polynesian, Sino-Tibetan, and Mon-Khmer. Many of the languages spoken in Southeast Asia are the result of migration or colonization. For example, Singapore has a large Chinese population and was ruled for many years by Great Britain, so Chinese and English are commonly spoken there. English is one of the Philippines official languages. Many Filipino words and names were adopted during Spanish occupation. The country its self was named to honor King Phillip the Second of Spain. The most common surname in the Philippines is Santos.

Many Southeast Asians are descended from migrants who came to the region from China and Tibet about 2,500 years ago. Buddhism is widespread in the region. The Philippines is mostly Catholic. Indonesia and Brunei are mostly Muslim. Some Southeast Asians practice Hinduism; others follow traditional local beliefs.

Many of Southeast Asia’s fertile valleys and coastal areas are densely populated. Indonesia has the 4 th largest population after China, India, and the United States. While Indonesia’s population is close to the United State’s, it five times smaller. Indonesia’s 236 million people are packed densely on more than 13,500 scattered islands Singapore, the region’s smallest country in land area, has the greatest population density–7,526 people per square mile.

In many Southeast Asian villages, people live in wood houses built on stilts for protection from floods. Roofs are usually made of thatch. Wealthy families may have a tin roof. Urban Southeast Asians generally live in high-rise apartments or in brick or wooden houses. There is a shortage of housing for the large number of people migrating to the cities for jobs. In urban areas public services have not kept up with growth.

From the 1970s to the 1990s, thousands of people left Southeast Asia to escape economic distress and political oppression. Many of those Southeast Asian migrants came to the United States.

The people of Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam depend mostly on agriculture for income. Rice is the chief food crop. Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand have more advanced economies. These countries have long been members of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (promotes economic growth and cultural exchange). Indonesia and Brunei produce oil, natural gas, and petroleum products. Indonesia is one of the top 10 producers in OPEC. Singapore has the region’s most developed economy. Its location and harbors make it a major port and manufacturing center. Singapore’s government has followed policies favoring economic growth. Malaysia has strengthened their economy through the growth of industry. Exports include products such as electronics, chemicals, cement, and processed foods.

Southeast Asia’s landforms, islands, long coastlines, and many rivers make water transportation the most common way to move people and goods in the region. South East Asia is home to many large ports.

The Indonesian Buddhist shrine of Borobudur is larger than Europe’s cathedrals and was built around 800 A.D. Today South East Asia is home to striking modern architecture like the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

Traditional dances are based on works of classic literature or on religious ceremonies. Sports, such as soccer, basketball, and badminton, are popular in the region.

Oceania is the groupings of islands in the pacific that have populations who share a common cultural background. The large islands in South East Asia are not part of Oceania, since they have not experienced the same amount of isolation and as a result share a closer bond with the rest of Asia. Oceania is divided into three regions: Micronesia, meaning “tiny islands,” Melanesia, meaning “black islands,” and Polynesia, meaning “many islands.”

In Oceania, people settled in kinship groups on island coasts. They built outrigger canoes that allowed them to travel and to trade with other islands. Between the A.D. 900s and 1300s, the Maori left Polynesia and settled New Zealand.

Beginning in the 1500s, many Europeans explored the Pacific. British sailor James Cook was the most famous European explorer of the region. Between 1768 and 1779, Cook claimed eastern Australia for Britain, visited Oceania, circled Antarctica, and made accurate maps of the area. In the 1800s, missionaries, traders, and sailors hunting whales began to arrive. Settlers started plantations to grow coconuts, coffee, pineapples, or sugar.

When Europeans arrived in Australia, there were an estimated 500 Aboriginal groups. In New Zealand the encountered the Maori, who migrated from Polynesia In 1788, Britain founded Sydney, Australia as a penal colony, (Prison Colony). New Zealand was colonized by hunters and whalers from Europe, America, and Australia. Gold was discovered in Australia in 1851 and in New Zealand in People flocked to these countries to seek gold.

European diseases and weapons greatly reduced the indigenous population. In Australia British immigrants forced Aborigines off their ancestral lands and denied them basic rights. In New Zealand, in 1840, the British and Maori signed the Treaty of Waitangi. This gave Britain control over New Zealand.

During World War II, the Allies and the Japanese fought intense battles in Oceania to gain control of the Pacific. Gradually, the inhabitants of many of the islands moved toward self rule. Since 1962, 12 different nations have gained independence. Many other islands are still ruled by foreigners.

In 1901, Australia’s colonies joined into a single, independent nation. New Zealand became self-governing in Both Australia and New Zealand remained in the British Commonwealth. Many Australians now want to cut ties to the British monarchy and elect a president. In 1893, New Zealand had become the first country to recognize women’s right to vote; it was also among the first to provide government assistance to the elderly, the sick, and the unemployed. The Aborigines and Maori began regaining some of their rights, and immigrants made populations more and more diverse.

Antarctica was discovered in Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was the first to reach the South Pole in Antarctica remains unsettled. Twelve countries have scientific research stations there. In 1959, they drafted a treaty preserving the continent for research. Antarctica is a part-time home to between 1,000 and 10,000 researchers and scientists, depending on the season. The climate is too cold to support permanent human habitation.

The first people in Oceania probably came from Asia more than 30,000 years ago. Australia’s indigenous people are called Aborigines. New Zealand’s indigenous people are called the Maori. Most of the population of Australia and New Zealand is of European, mainly British descent. Some of Oceania’s population is also of European descent.

Isolation led to the development of more than 1,200 languages in Oceania. European languages were brought by colonization. English is the chief language of Australia and New Zealand, although Australian English features special local idioms and words. Indigenous religions in the South Pacific region focus on the relationship between human beings and nature. Followers of these religions believe that all natural things have spirits and are interrelated. Christianity, brought by Europeans, is the most widely practiced faith in the region today.

The region of Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica is home to only 0.5 percent of the world’s population because much of the land is uninhabitable. Most people live near the coast.

Literacy rates are high in Australia and New Zealand, where free education is compulsory to age 15. Both countries provide quality medical care. People who live in remote areas can take advantage of Australia’s Flying Doctor Service and its mobile clinics. Most Pacific Islanders still live in small villages. Generally, a chief leads each village. Usually, each extended family has a house or cluster of houses in the village. Village economies center on farming and fishing. Oceania has few cities, but those that exist have been growing.

Most of Oceania has an economy in which people work not for wages, but at subsistence activities. These are activities in which a family produces only the food, clothing, and shelter they themselves need. Agriculture and Tourism are the regions main economic activities. New Zealand earns much of its income by selling butter, cheese, meat, and wool to other countries, and is the world’s largest producer of kiwi fruit. Australia is the largest exporter of wool in the world. Much of Australia is arid, so only about ten percent of the land is used to grow crops. Australia earns much of its income from mining. Many mineral deposits lie in the outback. It is expensive to build roads and equip mines in these areas, so Australia has had to rely on foreign investors.

People in the South Pacific region enjoy a variety of traditional and European sports and leisure activities. Temperate or warm climates encourage people to enjoy many outdoor activities. Many islanders produce arts and crafts, such as baskets and mats woven from the leaves of palm trees or other plants. Carved wooden masks and utensils are also common.