8.2: Indigenous Worlds- Migration and Ancient Civilizations

Learning Objectives

• Identify the earliest migration trends of regional human inhabitants and development over time
• Explain how indigenous culture created a foundation for regional identity
• Describe the rise and fall of ancient civilizations as it relates to trade, conquest, development, and migration
• Explain the impact of colonialism upon the region and its continued impact

East and Southeast Asia Uniformed or Distinguished?

Could it be that society outside of Asia tend to have a collective understanding that Asia is one large synonymous cultural and physical region? Despite the overwhelming reality of diversity and societal complexity stemming from Asia's massive landscape, feudal perceptions still remain evident in an evolving world that continues to have influences of a lazy desire for bias categorization. Meanwhile, many people within various aspects of Asian society, seemingly appears to have some understanding of how some non-Asians perceive the Asian population and landscape without factual context. One of the most differentiating components of understanding Asian roots and current society can be distinguished between east and southeast Asia. Historically and now, various connections between both regions that makeup around 50% of the world's population are apparent, but there are stark differences that make both sub-regions within the larger region, distinguished. Some examples of diversity and complexity include climate, religious practice, genetic makeup, and migration trends to name a few. A constant in understanding the realm is that despite perceptions, the region continues to move pace forward at an unmatched rate in which outer perceptions do not define the collective region.

Southeast Asian Migration and Inhabitance

Southeast Asia is a region with immense natural landform complexity. Some of the world’s most unique endemic species, and a variation of tropical climate elements was a shared home to the Hoabinhian culture of modern-day Indonesia dating back to the timeframe of 13,000-4000 BCE. Although, the earliest fossil remains of Homo sapiens carbon date back in the region to approximately 40,000 years ago. Hoabinhian culture was believed to have earliest settlements and interactions with nearby inhabitants across the Makassar Strait. Between the narrow straight body of water is where indigenous communities from the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi Indonesia is where cultural exchange and inter-regional migration would occur. Evidence of ancient stone tools that shared similarities in design and crafting, were found throughout various regions of modern day Indonesia during the Hoabinhian era. Due to the combination of climate factors and geophysical regional dynamics, Southeast Asia's cultural settlements did not develop uniformly. As the human adaptation to the environment continued throughout both the island and mainland areas in ancient times, the mastery of subsistence agrarianism stabilized the existence of numerous tribal communities with practices that currently exist in the 21st century. Labor intensive and highly skilled trades in bronze molding and rice cultivation were being practiced by the 3rd century BCE in Thailand and Vietnam. Original technology in constructing sailing vessels along with navigational skills were in widespread use amongst the indigenous people of the area during the same timeframe. Settlement, migration, development, and cultural connections through seafaring practices of the time made it possible for the widespread of the Austronesian Languages to occur within the last 5,000 years.^[1] Migration from the west ensued, then inter-regional migration began to circulate more commonly as various early tribes established lasting roots within the region. As the region continues to evolve and work diligently toward economic stability, a common goal of future sovereignty, partnerships, and prosperity is on the horizon for the region. Creative efforts like the 21st century regional governmental collective (excluding Timor-Leste) known as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), have set an ambitious goal to "bring together desperate neighbors to address economic and security issues" according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

The collective of 11 southeast Asian nations is a landscape that highlights a region of remarkable and distinguishable environmental attributes within a tropical setting. The subregion and the emergence of one's own distinctive geopolitical landmass is wedged between two “Goliath” like nations with India to the west and China to the east. Peninsulas and island nations like the 17,000 collective chain archipelago of Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Malaysia, 7,100 island chains of the Philippines, Singapore, and Brunei help makeup the region. Countries like Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia are positioned on the mainland Eurasian continent. The region in its entirety shares similarities in plant and animal species, in addition to having a warmer climate with historical development connections based in its tropical setting. Regional nations have collective proximity to maritime seafaring industries, with the nearby or surrounding seas that has historically and continues to play a major role in the development of the region. The region in its entirety is surrounded by the Indian and Pacific Ocean, with an abundance of seas, bays, and straits that creates collective political borders of Southeast Asia. The Gulf of Thailand, South China Sea, Philippine Sea, and the Java Sea are a few of several water bodies that aid the natural development of the region’s landscape while also continuing to influence regional human settlement.

\(\PageIndex{1}\): This map shows the landmass of central Indonesia with the Makassar Strait at the center of the image. The Islands of Borneo and Sulawesi were areas originally settled by the Indigenous Hoabinhian culture between 13,000-4000 BCE (CC-BY-3.0; Roregan via Wikimedia Commons).

East Asian Migration and Inhabitance

In East Asia, evidence of modern humans can be found in the region dating back to over 80,000 years ago. Around 10,000 years ago, several cultural groups emerged in China during the Neolithic Period, also known as the New Stone Age. This was a time of key developments in early human technology, such as farming, the domestication of plants and animals, and the use of pottery. Along China’s Yangtze River, humans first domesticated rice around 6500 BCE. Villages, walled cities, and great dynasties, or families of rulers, emerged later. Chinese dynasties dominated the political landscape for much of the region’s history. They established trade routes, a strong military, and forged connections with Korea and Japan. China became a unified state under the Han dynasty, which ruled from 206 BCE to 220 CE, and this long period of stability is viewed as a golden age in Chinese history. The dominant ethnic group in China, the Han, take their name from this ruling family. It was also during this time that Confucianism became the state religion. Confucianism takes its name from the influential Chinese philosopher and teacher Kong Fuzi (551-479 BCE), often referred to by the Latinized version of his name, Confucius. One of Confucius’ key teachings was the importance of relationships, both within the family and within society as a whole and the religion emphasizes human goodness and self-reflection rather than the worship of a divine being. Confucius also emphasized education and his teachings have dominated Chinese culture for centuries. In general, the Chinese dynasties were largely isolationist. China has a number of physical barriers that separate it from the rest of Asia, such as the Himalayas, the rugged western highlands, and the Gobi Desert. The only region where it was vulnerable to invasion was its northeastern region. Here, the ruling families of China built a series of walls, known today as simply the Great Wall of China.

Mainland Southeast Asian Migration and Andamanese Negrito

It is believed that the earliest inhabitants of mainland southeast Asia arrived in the region around 60,000 years ago, originating from migration trails out of Africa moving eastward. Evidence to support the earliest migration claims for the region are based in DNA studies funded by the National 973 project of China, where DNA samples of over 5,000 males across 73 regional communities within the region indicate that the earliest human ancestry of the mainland area was an indigenous group known as the Andamanese. The highest concentration of genetic lineage for the Andamanese can be found in the Andaman Islands which is located between the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal partial wedged between India, Myanmar, and Thailand. The migration imprint of the region's "first" settlers has the oldest lineage tracing of the Andamanese in Tibet and as far away as Japan.^[1] The Andamanese Negrito population currently are scattered throughout parts of southern India, the Andaman Islands, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The genetic lineage and cultural traits of the region's earliest settlers have been disappearing for centuries due to assimilation via mixing populations and due to the generational loss of land/resources.^[2] Historical events related to the diminishing presence of the region's indigenous population's is an ongoing occurrences that can be observed throughout various indigenous communities globally. Although, the cultural practices and influences of the Andamanese have greatly contributed to the development of the region's collective of ethnic groups that inhabit southeast Asia currently.

Indigenous Migration in the Pacific: Taiwanese, Filipino Negrito and Polynesia

As migration continued eastward towards the periphery of the region, it was around 4,000 BCE when Taiwan began to become populated with inhabitants from the Asian mainland by crossing the Taiwan Strait by water vessels. Although, the earliest inhabitants of Taiwan may have arrived on the island more than 10,000 ago from southern China or Polynesia, based on DNA evidence and 21st century studies. Within the last 1,000 years, the Hoklo and Hakka people arrived in Taiwan from the Chinese provinces of Fujian and Guangdong. Currently, almost 2% of Taiwan's current population is considered to be indigenous and is recognized by the Taiwanese government as a part of 16 distinctive aboriginal tribes. The Ami People is the largest group of aboriginal Taiwanese, making up 40% of the remaining indigenous population. The Hoklo or commonly referred to as Fukien Taiwanese ethnic group, make up the majority of the nation's inhabitants at 65% of the population. Migration from Taiwan continued southward into the Philippines by 3,000 BCE and eastward throughout the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. Human migration throughout the Philippines has been widespread for several centuries aside from early Chinese and Taiwanese migration. The nation is an archipelago collective of over 7,000 islands with numerous ethnic groups that inhabited the region from various directions within the Asian mainland, Indian and Pacific Ocean. In present times, there are over 100 distinctive ethnic groups that are indigenous to the Philippines. The earliest inhabitants of the islands are a group of people known as the Negrito, that make up less than 1% of the current population. The term Negrito refers to a collective of ethnic groups that have dark skin and are of smaller stature as represented by the Aeta, Ita, Agta people. The term was given to the Indigenous population by 16th century colonial Spain and has remained a common term of identification for the Filipino public in reference to indigenous peoples. 10th century mixing of indigenous Negritos with Chinese migrants resulted in a group of mixed Filipino-Chinese descent people that make up a large portion of the nation's modern nation population. The Negrito population declined significantly during the 1600s upon Spanish colonialism in the area. The population continues to decline due to outsider encroachment, deforestation, loss of wildlife species, poverty, and disease as it is estimated that only 15,000 distinctively indigenous Negritos remain in the Philippines.

Considering the passing of generational settlement and development, migration onward to farther but evermore connecting regions like the Polynesian realm would become evident by 1,000 BCE. Voyages led by various ethnic groups from Taiwan and Indonesia reached as far as the Hawaiian Islands to the east and New Zealand to the south. Eventually the Malay people would reach the island of Madagascar between 500 and 700 ACE, despite pre-existing indigenous communities having already settled the island. The Malay people brought a variety of tropical fruits, languages, cultural customs, and distinctively core southeast Asian tools for development to the outer-periphery Pacific Ocean landmasses.^[1] Ethnic groups like the Malay are one of many settlers that has contributed to the development of the region's cultural identity that extends beyond the periphery into the core mainland and islands southeast Asia.

Neighboring Influences: Chinese Conquest and India's Impact

With a mature settlement of various ethnic groups inhabiting the region, how did it come to past for China and India to leave its imprint on southeast Asian society that has carried on into current times? Around 2,000 years ago, present day China began to visit the region with larger groups with the intent for long-term settlement. During the early 100 BCE-200 CE brought the descendants of China's Qin Dynasty and the long reigning Han dynasty to southeast Asia. It is worth noting that descendants of the Han Dynasty make up of over 90% of China's current population as their impact upon region settlement became significant over the past two millenniums. Chinese migration extended over into northern Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia early on before moving southward and westward more fluidly throughout the region. Prior to Chinese migration, southeast Asia had already established itself as an integral center for trade and communication that extended to the Red Sea and the western shores of the Pacific Ocean. The port establishments of the region connected outer-regions to exotic items and endemic spices that we exclusive to Indonesia. In the efforts of expanding China's empire, the Qin Dynasty led conquests throughout the region with motivations to take over Vietnamese ports before conquering other regional ports.^[3] After the Qin Dynasty fell in just a 15 year spanning era, the Han Dynasty rose to power out of China and continued migration into Vietnam and maintained colonial rule over the area until Vietnam gained its independence in 939 CE. The Han ethnic group would go on to rapidly migrate throughout the outer edges of the region in both the islands and mainland southeast Asia over the course of several centuries.

India's 3rd century onward trail through the region left behind a different legacy of settlement behavior than that of the mentioned ancient Chinese dynasties history in southeast Asia. There is no significant evidence available to suggest that conquests, colonization, or even any periods of extensive migration into the region had occurred from India compared to China. With India being a trade partner of the region and having some settlement roots, some customs carried over in writing systems, literature, social hierarchies, and religious customs deriving from the Indus and Ganges River valleys of India. Although, some values from India and China regarding the social views and practices of legal inferiority towards women were rejected throughout the region. A lasting India custom in the region that carried on into the 19th century was the establishment of mandalas by various groups of indigenous peoples. Mandalas in Sanskrit mean 'circle', which established territorial units of power in concentric circles organized upon the landscape. The construction of mandalas were the first form of semi-urbanized settlements within the region that allowed for a more organized state of rendering political authority and international trade. By the 6th century CE, a number of larger circular mandala states of kingdoms and empires emerged in areas like Cambodia, Myanmar, Sumatra, and Java.

Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): [left] Map of the Han Dynasty's initial spread into southeast Asia's Vietnam in 30 BCE. (Public Domain; via Time Maps).

 

Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): [right] Ancient southeast Asian concentric settlement circular patterns known as mandalas that derived from India. (CC-BY-SA-3.0; Gunkarta via Wikimedia Commons)

Ancient Civilizations

When looking at southeast Asia's current political boundaries, the mainland region that make up Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam appear to have a clustered and asymmetrical shape. The boundary formation of the region has divisions of water bodies like the renown Mekong River that connects all four nations, but the Mekong may not be the region's only connection. Given how the region of nations are established now, is there a relationship between the nations that can be explored and provide historical insight as to how they may be connected? The ancient kingdoms of Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar of the region's mainland highlights a history of ethnic clustering in a shared space along the southeast mainland area. Historical conflict over borders, southeast shifting terrain, and a will for regional newcomers to establish lasting roots over area's like the Thailand in the later years, all continue to play a major role in shaping the region's mainland identity. First, let's observe the history of some of the mainland region's earliest civilizations with that of ancient Cambodia. Ancient Cambodia provided a blueprint of lasting settlements along the Mekong River in the tropical southernmost area of the region prior to the incoming of future regional civilizations that would eventually reign throughout.

Ancient East Asia and Confucianism

In East Asia, the Chinese dynasties dominated the political landscape for much of the region’s history. They established trade routes, a strong military, and forged connections with Korea and Japan. China became a unified state under the Han dynasty, which ruled from 206 BCE to 220 CE, and this long period of stability is viewed as a golden age in Chinese history. The dominant ethnic group in China, the Han, take their name from this ruling family. It was also during this time that Confucianism became the state religion. Confucianism takes its name from the influential Chinese philosopher and teacher Kong Fuzi (551-479 BCE), often referred to by the Latinized version of his name, Confucius. One of Confucius’ key teachings was the importance of relationships, both within the family and within society as a whole and the religion emphasizes human goodness and self-reflection rather than the worship of a divine being. Confucius also emphasized education and his teachings have dominated Chinese culture for centuries. In general, the Chinese dynasties were largely isolationist. China has a number of physical barriers that separate it from the rest of Asia, such as the Himalayas, the rugged western highlands, and the Gobi Desert. The only region where it was vulnerable to invasion was its northeastern region. Here, the ruling families of China built a series of walls, known today as simply the Great Wall of China. However, the term “the” Great Wall of China is a misnomer. In fact, there is a series of overlapping walled fortifications that began being constructed by early dynasties in the 5th century BCE and continued through to the 17th century CE. Walls are a defensive military structure and are thus an expression of a civilization that wished to be left alone. Emperors generally disregarded China’s extensive coastline, and where port cities did emerge, they were primarily used for local trade.

The Angkor Civilization (Khmer Empire) of Cambodia

During the 3rd millennium BCE, ancestors of the Angkor civilization migrated to Cambodia along the Mekong River before establishing their cultural center at Lake Tonle Sap around the timeframe of 1,000 BCE. Tonle Sap is currently located in the center of modern-day Cambodia and is the largest lake in the southeast mainland area. The significance of the lake regarding the Khmer Empire's reign and sustainability was of the utmost importance for regional transportation, agriculture, settlement, and marine life consumption. The enormous size of the lake along with local ingenuity influenced the creation of sophisticated irrigation systems that allowed the spread of civilization to reach far into the countryside away from the lake. A time span of 800-1300 ACE was the Angkor civilization's golden era before the eventual collapse of the society due to several components of internal strife, shifting governing philosophies, and external encroachment by neighboring groups. At the Khmer empire's peak, the practice of Hindu and predominantly Buddhism belief systems were prevalent throughout along with extensive trade connections to Rome, India, and China that lasted for several centuries. Cambodian society was fluid in operation as its citizens maintained the nations with various duties as religious nobles, artisans, fisherman, rice farmers, soldiers, and as elephant keepers in which elephants were used as protection by the military. Khmer cities would trade rare woods, elephant tusks, wax, gold, silver, silk, and spices with China for centuries prior to it's collapse. Numerous Buddhist temples, also known as a wat, have inscriptions that detailed a bartering system for ancient goods that date back to the earliest times of Khmer settlement in the region. The most renowned temple in the region is Angkor Wat (constructed 1110-1150), which is located in the Thai named province of Siam Reap Cambodia. The name of the Siam Reap province in Cambodia has stuck due to land disputes and Thailand's prior reign over the region within the last century. The end of the Angkor civilization came in the 14th century as a swift change in syncretic Hinduism and contemporary Buddhism practices got replaced by a more democratic and newly structured form of Buddhist practices.^[4]

Angkor Wat: World's largest religious temple

The Angkor Wat (Temple City) Buddhist temple located in northern Cambodia, is the world's largest religious monument that is four times larger than the Vatican City in Europe. The monument was constructed in the 12th century originally as a Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Spreading across over 400 acres of land, Khmer Emperor Suryavarman II is crediting with having the temple city built as it served as a political center for his empire. In the 1970s during the Khmer Rouge regime sparked a civil war in which the temple sustained noticeable but minimal damage. The temple is no longer active for traditional or political practices but serves as an important tourist attraction. The city of Siem Reap, where Angkor is located, has an inhabiting population of 200,000 people. In 1992, Angkor Wat was named a UNESCO World Heritage site and receives over 500,000 visitors every year. [5] 

 

Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\): Aerial photo of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia constructed in the 12th century. (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0; Nick M. via Flickr).

Ancient Myanmar (Burma): Pyu and Mon Kingdoms

Re-named Myanmar in 1989, is the entry point to southeast Asia from the west as the nation borders India with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in close proximity. Partly due to proximity and migration trends, for centuries Myanmar has been influenced by India culturally as it related to merchant shipping, trade, linguistics, and religious practices notably. Prior to 1989, the nation was officially known as Burma in which its name came from the predominate ethnic group of people known as the Burman.^[6] The history of Burma's for first human settlers who arrived 11,000 years ago, gives insight to early developments that distinguish it from the nation's classic era that is more interconnected with South Asia. Between the 100 BCE and 800 ACE, the Pyu established kingdoms in Myanmar at Binnaka, Mongamo, Shri Kshetra, and Halingyi. During the time of the Pyu, trade routes between China and India passed through the northern areas of the country across the Chindwin River valley. The Pyu had established sovereignty over 18 kingdoms throughout Myanmar, according to ancient Chinese written records of the area. Life throughout the Pyu states was vibrant as the men wore blue with gold head pieces. The women wore jewels in their hair and criminal behavior was treated with humane practice. Chinese records indicate that prisons did not exist in the area and criminals were disregarded without brutal intent. Mon people and kingdom once occupied the area of western Thailand but now parts of the eastern delta region and south of Myanmar is their home where they have lived for over 1,200 years now. The Mon city of Thaton was conquered by the Burmans in 1057 and they were forced south. A lasting and notable attribute of the Mon that remains is that they are first the people in mainland southeast Asia to adopt Buddhism. By the 11th century, Myanmar had become the center of the Theravada Buddhist practice that adhered to the preserved teachings of Gautama.

Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\): [left] Map of Mon State and settlement on the eastern region of Myanmar CC BY 2.0; Dany via Flickr.

 

Figure \(\PageIndex{6}\): [right] Contemporary Mon girls in Mawlamyaing Myanmar. (CC-BY-4.0; Anagoria via Wikimedia Commons).

Thai Civilization Amongst the Mon and Khmer

As development to the west in Myanmar continued, development to the east in Cambodia continued as well and wedged Thailand into a pressured state of emergence. Around the time of 1,000 CE, the Tai people moved into mainland Southeast Asia where they came in contact with Mon and Khmer groups that were already settled in the land area of modern-day Thailand. As the Tai began to settle throughout different areas within the Mon-Khmer land areas, they adopted various practices of Indian culture that were observed with royal ceremonies, dance, and literature influences. By the 13th century, the Tai began to apply pressure onto both the Mon and Khmer empires for territorial expansion as the Kingdom of Sukhothai came into power by the mid-13th century. A local Tai ruler led a revolt against a Khmer outpost and established the upper Chao Phraya basin. Ramkhamhaeng came to power for the Tai towards the end of the 13th century and expanded the Sukhothai south to the Indian coast. Several generations of war, consolidation, and retreating of land with the Khmer would ensue all the way until the 20th century as the descendants of the Tai fought to maintain its current land area. Religious temples and settlement remain of Thailand's ancient culture are well preserved throughout the nation as millions of tourists visit country annually.

Ancient Vietnam: Phung-Nguyen, Dong Son and The Kingdom of Van Lang

A coastal land front with a direct neighboring border to China is where the nation of Vietnam can be found. The development of Vietnam's society and landscape highlights an important transition area into southeast Asia from the northeast and surrounding areas where cultures have converged. It is believed that the first Vietnamese people known as the Phung-nguyen settled the area sometime between 2000-1400 BCE with rice farming being the predominately activity that created sustainability within the region. The evolution of the Phung-nguyen in the area led to the eventual rise of the Dong Son culture which brought in advance bronze work, weapons, arts, and sophisticated tools that were exclusive to the area. Commonly throughout Vietnamese culture, stories of the semi-mythical kingdom of Van Lang was the original kingdom of the area but scholars believe the Van Lang is a mixture of accounts from the Phung-nguyen and eventual Dong Son cultures. By the 3rd century BCE, the Vang Lang were overthrown by a rival kingdom called the Thuc. The name Viet was given to the region by the colonial Chinese after the fall of Qin Dynasty, as Viet meant 'south' being that the area was south of China. Over the same timeframe, the kingdom became known as Nam Viet and several centuries later became globally known as Vietnam. Vietnam has remarkable cultural makeup with a noticeable mix of ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese cultures with intertwining imprints throughout the nation. Also, the role of western appeal due to historical conflict has become a part of the nation's outer identity. Figure 8.2.7 below shows the inside of Chinese Buddhist temple in the capital city of Ho Chi Minh where westerners commonly take part in the area's religious customs.

Figure \(\PageIndex{7}\): [left] Thien Hau Pagoda Chinese Buddhist temple located in Zone 5 of Ho Chi Minh City that dates back to the 1830s. Source: co-author Jason Scott.

China's Periphery and Indigenous Classification

On east Asia's mainland, the Communist Party of China reigns over vast territories within a diverse landscape that inhabits distinguished groups of people. Regions like Tibet and Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regions inhabit the southwestern area of China's political border in an area that is rurally populated by comparison to China's eastern region. Eastern China is where of over 90% of its population reside and is a predominately makeup of people from the Han ethnic group. With the expansion of the country's territory within the two hundred years, China came to occupy and accumulate the southwest region by force. In modern times, referring to the southwest area of the nation by province name, with the omission of recognizing China continues to be viewed as a method of undermining the CPC's rule over by the Chinese government. The same sentiment of undermining is shared by the Chinese government regarding diplomatic affairs and media rhetoric towards Taiwan as well. China's expansion and ruling power over various groups of Indigenous people has historically disregarded inhabitants' ambition to be sovereign and independent of China's influence. It is worth noting that China did sign a UN Declaration of Rights for Indigenous People, that "clarified" China has no Indigenous people, primarily because western colonization did not breach China's interior landscape. China's declaration can be viewed as an attempt to assimilate the Indigenous people into Chinese society with unequal minority designations, despite longstanding roots within China's borders. The Chinese Communist Party does recognize that 55 different ethnic minority groups inhabit the nation’s territory, with the Han ethnic group representing over 90% of the China’s population. Interesting enough, China has voted in favor of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples but has yet to implement a plan within China to recognize its own like the Hmong and Miao that inhabit the south, central and western parts of the nation. 

Mongolia and Buffer Zone Position

The semi-remote interior nation of Mongolia has a population of over three million people, that includes at least four primary ethnic groups with ancient cultural influences that stretches as far as North America. Global observations of the country insight reference to ancient expansionists rulers like Attila the Hun of the Mongol ethnic group, in which various Mongol sub-groups such as the Durvud, Buriad, and Dariganga continue to inhabit the country. Although, the collective Mongols makeup over 90% of the country's ethnic identity. After the fall of the Mongol Empire in the 1400s, cultural influences and migration activity within the country became more active with spread of Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and traditional Lamaism remaining apart of the nation's identity according to the Minority Rights Organization. Interesting enough in modern times, almost 40% of the population claim to have no religious identity. Part of the Mongolia's modern intrigue is not only the nation's rich historical past, but its physical position wedged between powerhouse governments like China and Russia. Mongolia's position has created a relationship between both nations that has Mongolia serving as a buffer zone, that illustrates a sovereign nation being compelled to allowing more powerful neighboring countries like China and Russia to have concessions, infrastructure, and political free will within its nation. A reliance for energy and resources has been created within Mongolia based on its relationship with China, that especially impacts the nation's non-traditional population. Although, tension between China to the south of its border has not created significant hostility despite ideal ambitions of not wanting a dependence or potential intimidating force operating within their sovereign borders. 

Colonialism in East and Southeast Asia

Throughout the history of human settlement and migration, the ability to maintain a defined space on Earth has always been challenged by various factors that include the natural occurrences of region, resource sustainability, climate, societal implosion, and conquest to list a few. As human existence moved forward into the 16th century onward, most of the world began to experience the ails of European colonialism across every human habitable region on Earth. Despite the complexity of a tropical climate setting, natural dangers, semi-remoteness, and a variation of "harsh" landforms did not shield Southeast Asia the experience of European colonialism by the mid-18th century. Colonialism of the southeast islands and mainland altered the future of regional borders, development, and ethnic relations of southeast Asian collective nations. Ongoing turmoil from sustained generational acts of brutality, colonial ambitions, and philosophy continue to have a lasting impact upon the region. Conquests and ethnic tensions have always been a part of regional dynamics but western colonialism brought in an age of dissolving cultural traits, intensified destruction of regional societies, and unstable sovereignty unlike any other known observed time periods in southeast Asian history. Although, an outlier of colonialism distinguished from the west, came in the form of Japanese colonialism towards the beginning of the 19th century as Japan rose into power and began to establish a lasting reign over mainland and island areas of southeast Asia.

Mainland and Islands Colonialism Impact

In 1799, the Dutch government began to rule over various parts of the Indonesian archipelago until the entirety of the archipelago that included Sumatra and Bali had completely come under Dutch control within 100 years. The colonial era of control over the region shaped Indonesia's current pollical borders. The British at the time had become well known for their efforts in seizing territories, extracting resources, and establishing ports in foreign lands. By 1824, Britain began to war with Burma over control of its land before eventually taking over the nation and incorporating it into its Indian empire by 1886. Gradually over time, the British also took over the Malaya peninsula that became modern-day Malaysia by 1874 in which more fluid trade was established in the region from Malaysia to Europe. France colonized Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia to eventually proclaim the French Indochina Union in 1887. Thailand was an outlier in which the nation remained free from colonial rule due to its stable monarchy that successfully resisted outside forces during the region's colonial era. The impact of regional colonialism caused a great deal of ethnic divide and tensions across the mainland and islands due to preferential policies implemented by western nations. For instance, the British preferred Chinese and Indian immigrants to "work" in skilled positions in Malaysia and dismissed the Malaysian population as peasantry. The French favored Vietnamese people for educational policies over the Cambodian public as Vietnamese people were brought into Cambodia. The British also encouraged widespread immigration of Indians and Chinese into Burma as its longstanding subsistence farming industry began to shift into large-scale exports that benefited Britain. Policies like the cultuurstelsel, applied in Indonesia, forced farmers to grow export crops in which poverty and famine ensued throughout the region. Despite the societal disruption that was caused by colonialism within the region, ancient text and sites were preserved, and the resilience of the region's inhabitants remained relatively immune to the westernization.

During the colonial era, majority of the island region's population was a combination of Muslim, Buddhist, or Christian, but the islands were home to numerous diverse groups of indigenous peoples who share aspects of cultural identity with nearby Polynesians and other Pacific Islander groups. Many of the indigenous groups lived in isolated enclaves often separated by thousands of miles of each other and had shared beliefs in the supernational will provide safety and prosperity to the various communities. By the mid-19th century, Christian missionaries began to convert indigenous peoples from their local religions and traditional arts, textiles, and sculptures creations began to decline. Historically, Christian missionaries converging success has been tied to force, coercion, and exploitation of impoverished people. Although, it is worth noting that various isolated communities throughout, continue to practice ancient traditions in religion, art, and village community sustainability.

Ambitions of Independence and Responses to Colonialism

Southeast Asia faced a severe crisis of disintegration and overall failure of numerous states due to the impact of western colonialism during the 18th century onward. European control over the region redirecting predating trade, caused forced migration, and the displacement of various groups of people throughout the region and beyond. Often, colonialism is portrayed as a phenomena that happens and the actions of the colonizers is highlighted in boastful manner that portrayed an image of vulnerable and defeated victims. In most cases, submission to the efforts of colonialism without resistance is false, as the accounts of rebellions will be highlighted. Despite the exertion of control that was implemented upon the region, resistance was constant by numerous groups and nations within the realm. 

Due to Europe's inability to adequately be in the same place at one time to control all of its colonies and the will of regional inhabitants to be independent, rebellions like the Tay Son rebellion by the Vietnamese raged from 1771 to 1802. The rebellion was based in a struggle to sweep the region of longstanding Confucian ideals that governed the public in societal philosophies of livelihood. In the mainland, the three great ruling eras of Myanmar (1782-1819), Thailand (1782-1809), and Vietnam (1802-1820) were fully aware of the dangers internal and external dynamics posed regarding the stability of its societies. Therefore, the rulers of the region began to implement a hybrid of new age policies while carefully choosing to maintain certain traditional practices to address issues of the evolving times and to strengthen the collective realm from both internal and external forces. By 1820, mainland nations stood at the height of their powers before collective European efforts against the sustainability of the area's societies came to past towards the later of the century. On the island of Java, the Dutch ruled over the area beginning in the mid-1750s but by 1825, the Java War ensued and last for five years until the region was defeated. Difficulties in expelling European forces became increasingly difficult as the allegiance of western nations became more invasive after the year 1850. By 1886, Britain, Spain, France, Belgium, and eventually the United States would solidify control over the various nations well into the 1920s until the west began to use more "peaceful", or imperialistic approaches at encroachment against regional sovereignty that was gaining by then.^[7]

Japan's Colonial Ambitions in Asia

Japan took note of these imperial pursuits. In 1868 CE, the Japanese Emperor Meiji ended the shogunate and began a series of reforms known as the Meiji Restoration. As part of the reform, the government sought to increase Japan’s modernization and industrialization and began a systematic study of the developed world. Why were some countries more powerful and more industrialized than others? Britain, for example, was an island nation like Japan and yet was considered to be the most powerful country in the world. Education was critical, as was industrial technology, but Japanese leaders believed that Britain’s colonial ambitions, its direct control over the resources of other areas, was key to its success. By the beginning of World War II, Japan had built up an impressive military and had colonized much of East and Southeast Asia including northeastern China, the Korean peninsula, Taiwan, French Indochina, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. In 1941, Japanese military forces attacked the US base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Following the attack, the US declared war on Japan and entered World War II. Following Japan’s loss in World War II, the countries of East and Southeast Asia were able to acquire independence. Some countries, like the Philippines and Burma, achieved independence through a peaceful turnover of control, while others such as Indonesia won independence only after a violent period of opposition. The end of World War II reshaped not only the political map of East and Southeast Asia but development in the region as well.

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References:

[1] Timing the First Human Migration into Eastern Asia. National Library of Medicine. Negritos of Southeast Asia.

[2] Unique origin of Andaman Islanders: Insight from Autosomal Loci. Indigenous Andamanese.

[3] Archaeology of Early Chinese Settlement in Southeast Asia, Old World. Journal of Ancient Africa and Eurasia. Chinese Migration into Southeast Asia.

[4] Ankgor Civilization, the Khmer Empire in Southeast Asia. Thought Co. Khmer Kingdom of Cambodia.

[5] Angkor Wat. History.com Editors. Wat (temples) of Cambodia.

[6] Explainer: Myanmar, Burma and Why the Different Names Matter. AP NEWS. Burma or Myanmar?.

[7] Southeast Asia, 1800-1900 A.D. In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art. Colonialism in 19th Century Southeast Asia.

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Attributions:

“East Asian Settlements and Confucianism” is adapted from East and Southeast Asia by Caitlin Finlayson, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

“Japan's Colonial Ambitions in Asia” is adapted from East and Southeast Asia by Caitlin Finlayson, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.