The major colonizers of Southeast Asia were Europeans, Japanese and the U.S. All in all, there were seven colonial powers in Southeast Asia: Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Great Britain, France, the United States, and Japan. From the 1500s to the mid-1940s, colonialism was imposed over Southeast Asia.

1. CHAPTER 6 :
CULTURAL HISTORY AND
POLITICAL INFLUENCE
Presented by : Nurul Izzah Bt Mohd Hilmi
11dpi16f1017
DPI 3A

2. Cultural history and colonialism of
southeast asia
 Introduction
• The major colonizers of Southeast Asia were Europeans, Japanese and the U.S. All in
all, there were seven colonial powers in Southeast Asia: Portugal, Spain, the
Netherlands, Great Britain, France, the United States, and Japan. From the 1500s to
the mid-1940s, colonialism was imposed over Southeast Asia.
• For hundreds of years, Southeast Asian kingdoms had been engaged in international
commercial relations with traders from East Asia (China), South Asia (India), and
West Asia (the “Middle East”). Asian sojourners also brought religion, customs,
traditions, and court practices to the region. Hence, their relationship was economic
and cultural at the same time. Moreover, local Southeast Asian rulers used and
indigenized practices of kingship institutions from South Asia (rajadharma) and West
Asia (sultanate).

3. • European travelers did not only have economic relations with Southeast
Asians but also imposed their political—and in some cases, cultural—
domination over Southeast Asian peoples and territories. Hence,
European colonialism covered a large chunk of Southeast Asian history.
• Aside from European colonials, Japanese and U.S. colonials controlled
much of Southeast Asia. Japanese aggression took place during the
“Pacific War” of World War II. The Japanese occupied much of Asia,
including Southeast Asia. The U.S. colonized the Philippines in the
aftermath of the Spanish-American War of 1898.
• Southeast Asian response to colonialism was both collaboration and
nationalism in all its forms.

4.  Historical background
• Indigenous peoples practicing animism have lived in Southeast Asia (SEA) since historical
times. Later, people from China moved southward to reach SEA (Barton 26). As early as 300
BC, the age of bronze and iron had passed from China into SEA (Fodor 64). The Chinese under
the Sung Dynasty by the 12th century had become involved more and more in international
trade, including with SEA (Fodor 67). Hence, there were Chinese and Indian migrants who
have reached and lived in SEA for a long time now. The Chinese and Indian civilizations have
greatly impacted SEA societies. Many parts of SEA have been indianized from 500BC to 1000
AD (Barton 47).
• South and Southwest Asians used the monsoon seasonal-reversal wind route from Arabia
and India to travel to Southeast Asia (Barton 46). SEA is home to several ancient civilizations,
including the Angkor and the Sri Vijaya kingdoms. At about 1300, there were two major
kingdoms: the Sukhotai in Mainland SEA and the Majapahit empire in insular SEA. During the
12th to the 14th centuries, there was an active spice trade in the region (Fodor 67-8).
• Hence, Southeast Asia was exposed to different civilizations, cultures and religions for
thousands of years now: animism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Hinduism and Islam.
Culture, trade, religion, and monarchy played a role in the state formation of SEAsian
countries.

5. Cultural history and political influence
of
Chinese empires
HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTINUITY
• A significant aspect of China is its long cultural and national history. The Chinese people have shared a
common culture longer than any other group on Earth. The Chinese writing system, for example, dates
back almost 4,000 years. The imperial dynastic system of government, which continued for centuries,
was established as early as 221 BC. Although specific dynasties were overturned, the dynastic system
survived. China was even ruled at times by foreign invaders, such as the Mongols during the Yuan
Dynasty, from AD 1279 to 1368, and the Manchus during the Ch'ing Dynasty, from AD 1644 to 1911, but
the foreigners were largely absorbed into the culture they governed. It is as if the Roman Empire had
lasted from the time of the Caesars to the 20th century, and during that time had evolved a cultural
system and written language shared by all the peoples of Europe.
• The dynastic system was overturned in 1911, and a weak republican form of government existed until
1949. In that year, after a long civil war, the People's Republic of China, with a Communist government,
was proclaimed. This government and the ruling Communist party have controlled China ever since.
Although the dynastic system has disappeared, the People's Republic occupies essentially the same
territory and governs the same people. If anything, the culture and power of China seem stronger in the
late 20th century than at almost any other period in history. Under the People's Republic, China's role in
world economic and political affairs has grown increasingly more important.

6. Cultural history and political influence
of
Japanese Origins
• Korean influence on Japanese culture refers to the impact of
continental Asian influences transmitted through or originating in the
Korean Peninsula on Japanese institutions, culture, language and
society. Since the Korean Peninsula was the cultural bridge between
Japan and the Asian continent throughout much of Far Eastern history,
these influences have been detected in a variety of aspects of Japanese
culture, including technology, philosophy, art, and artistic techniques.

7. • Notable examples of Korean influence on Japanese culture include the prehistoric
migration of Korean peninsular peoples to Japan near the end of Japan's Jōmon period
and the introduction of Buddhism to Japan via the Kingdom of Baekje in 538 AD. From
the mid-fifth to the late-seventh centuries, Japan benefited from the immigration of
people from Baekje and Gaya who brought with them their knowledge of iron
metallurgy, stoneware pottery, law, and Chinese writing. The modulation of
continental styles of art in Korea has also been discerned in Japanese painting and
architecture, ranging from the design of Buddhist temples to smaller objects such as
statues, textiles and ceramics. Late in the sixteenth century, the Japanese invasions of
Korea produced considerable cross-cultural contact. Korean craftsmen who came to
Japan at this time were responsible for a revolution in Japanese pottery making.
• Many Korean influences on Japan originated in China, but were adapted and modified
in Korea before reaching Japan. The role of ancient Korean states in the transmission
of continental civilization has long been neglected, and is increasingly the object of
academic study. However, Korean and Japanese nationalisms have complicated the
interpretation of these influences.

8. Ethnicity and Culture
 Western Europe
 Is the region comprising the western part of Europe. Below, some different
geographic, geopolitical and cultural definitions of the term are outlined.
 Significant historical events that have shaped the concept of Western
Europe include the rise of Rome, the adoption of Greek culture during the
Roman Republic, the adoption of Christianity by Roman Emperors, the
division of the Latin West and Greek East, the Fall of the Western Roman
Empire, the reign of Charlemange, the Viking Invasions, the East-West
schism, the Black Death, the Renaissance, the Age of Discovery, the
Protestant Reformation as well as the Counter-Reformation of the Catholic
Church, the Age of Enlightenment, the French Revolution, the Industrial
Revolution, the two World Wars, the Cold War, the formation of NATO and
the expansion of the EU.