SOUTH EAST ASIA: ITS HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

This volume endeavors to reflect the research in a fast- growing field of history. The author is convinced that both the general reader interested in the area and the college student can profit from a thoughtful and documented account which undertakes to define major trends. The main stream of historical development can be placed in perspective and context without exploring all the minor tributaries. An attempt has been made, as far as sources permit, to mirror the life of the people of the various countries, to picture them facing concrete situations and alternative choices, and to appraise the motivations for their actions. Such an approach calls for an examination of many kinds of relevant historical literature, including studies of social and governmental organization, religion, and artistic standards. While it is manifestly impossible to undertake a definitive work, this effort to put the available pieces of the puzzle in place may help uncover the many areas where additional detailed research is needed. That the widely distributed area currently designated as Southeast Asia has experienced a cohesive history is not clearly obvious from surface appearances. Perhaps the region’s most characteristic peculiarities are its differences between island and mainland, its diversity of soils and terrain, its varied ethnic groups, and its contrasting religions and levels of cultural development.

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