In this concise and compelling history, Cambodia's past is described in vivid detail, from the richness of the Angkorean empire through the dark ages of the 18th and early-19th centuries, French colonialism, independence, the Vietnamese conflict, the Pol Pot regime, and its current incarnation as a troubled democracy. With energetic writing and passion for the subject, John Tully covers the full sweep of Cambodian history, explaining why this land of contrasts remains an interesting enigma to the international community. Detailing the depressing record of war, famine, and invasion that ha.

A Short History of Cambodia

Translated, with an introduction and notes, by Peter Harris Only one person has given us a first-hand account of the civilization of Angkor. This is the Chinese envoy, Zhou Daguan, who visited Angkor in 1296–97 and wrote A Record of Cambodia: The Land and Its People after his return to China. To this day, Zhou’s description of the royal palace, sacred buildings, women, traders, slaves, hill people, animals, landscapes, and everyday life remains a unique portrait of thirteenth-century Angkor at a time when its splendors were still intact. Very little is known about Zhou Daguan. He was born on or near the southeastern coast of China, and was probably a young man when he traveled to Cambodia by boat. After returning home he faded into obscurity, though he seems to have lived on for several decades. Much of the text of Zhou’s book seems to have been lost over the centuries, but what remains still gives us a lively sense of Zhou the man as well as of Angkor. In this edition, Peter Harris translates Zhou Daguan’s work directly from Chinese to English to be published for the first time. Earlier English versions depended on a French translation done over a century ago, and lost much of the feeling of the original as a result. This entirely new rendering, which draws on a range of available versions of the Zhou text, brings Zhou’s many observations vividly and accurately back to life. An introduction and extensive notes help explain the text and put it in the context of the times. “Peter Harris has given a new generation of readers a masterly version of Zhou’s timeless and fascinating account that scholars of Cambodia are sure to relish and visitors to Angkor are sure to enjoy.”—David Chandler

A Record of Cambodia

In this clear and concise volume, author David Chandler provides a timely overview of Cambodia, a small but increasingly visible Southeast Asian nation. Praised by the Journal of Asian Studies as an ''original contribution, superior to any other existing work'', this acclaimed text has now been completely revised and updated to include material examining the early history of Cambodia, whose famous Angkorean ruins now attract more than one million tourists each year, the death of Pol Pot, and the revolution and final collapse of the Khmer Rouge. The fourth edition reflects recent research by major scholars as well as Chandler's long immersion in the subject and contains an entirely new section on the challenges facing Cambodia today, including an analysis of the current state of politics and sociology and the increasing pressures of globalization. This comprehensive overview of Cambodia will illuminate, for undergraduate students as well as general readers, the history and contemporary politics of a country long misunderstood.

A History of Cambodia

The political history of Cambodia between 1945 and 1979, which culminated in the devastating revolutionary excesses of the Pol Pot regime, is one of unrest and misery. This book by David P. Chandler is the first to give a full account of this tumultuous period. Drawing on his experience as a foreign service officer in Phnom Penh, on interviews, and on archival material. Chandler considers why the revolution happened and how it was related to Cambodia's earlier history and to other events in Southeast Asia. He describes Cambodia's brief spell of independence from Japan after the end of World War II; the long and complicated rule of Norodom Sihanouk, during which the Vietnam War gradually spilled over Cambodia's borders; the bloodless coup of 1970 that deposed Sihanouk and put in power the feeble, pro-American government of Lon Nol; and the revolution in 1975 that ushered in the radical changes and horrors of Pol Pot's Communist regime. Chandler discusses how Pol Pot and his colleagues evacuated Cambodia's cities and towns, transformed its seven million people into an unpaid labor force, tortured and killed party members when agricultural quotas were unmet, and were finally overthrown in the course of a Vietnamese military invasion in 1979. His book is a penetrating and poignant analysis of this fierce revolutionary period and the events of the previous quarter-century that made it possible.

The Tragedy of Cambodian History

The course of economic change in twentieth century Cambodia was marked by a series of deliberate ""conscious human efforts"" that were typically extreme and ideologically driven. While colonization, protracted war and violent revolution are commonly blamed for Cambodia's failure to modernize its economy in the twentieth century, Margaret Slocomb's Economic History of Cambodia in the Twentieth Century questions whether these circumstances changed the underlying structures and relations of production. She also asks whether economic factors in some way instigated war and revolution. In exploring these issues, the book tracks the erratic path taken by Cambodia's political elite and earlier colonial rulers to develop a national economy. The book closes around 2005, by which time Cambodia had be reintegrated into both the regional and into the global economy as a fully-fledged member of the World Trade Organization. To document Cambodia's path towards a modern economy, the author draws on resources from the State Archives of Cambodia not previously referenced in scholarly texts. The book provides information that is academically important but is also relevant to investors, aid workers and development specialists seeking to understand the shift from a traditional to a modern market economy.

An Economic History of Cambodia in the Twentieth Century

Beginning with a definition of who the Cambodians are, this fully illustrated history then tracks back to the earliest kingdoms before 800 AD, followed by an investigation of the creation of the magnificent city of Angkor and Cambodia's centuries of greatness up to 1400 AD. The following chapter describes the times from 1400-1860, which were centuries of crisis, succeeded by the recovery during next 100 years when the country came under the influence of the French. The final chapter discusses the disastrous Khmer Rouge and finishes with the significance of the UN and Hun Sen. Philip Coggan's illuminating text follows the changing fortunes of Cambodia from pre-history to the present day.

An Illustrated History of Cambodia

This book includes a narrative history that provides a chronological examination of the political, cultural, philosophical, social, and religious continuities in Cambodia's long rich history. It overviews the history of Cambodia, from the fall of Angkor and the French Protectorate period (1432-1863) to the present. More than half of the book is dedicated to the period from 1970 through the present, with chapters on the Khmer Republic, Democratic Kampuchea, the second civil war, the road to democracy, and Cambodia under Hun Sen. An introductory chapter overviews the country's geography, political institutions, economy, and culture. The book includes black & white historical and contemporary photographs, a chronology, and profiles of key figures.

The History of Cambodia

The fall of Angkor did not provide the coup de grAce to Cambodia. The kingdom was still relatively strong after the Angkor period up until the fall of Longvek in 1594. After Naresuan had conquered Cambodia, he took back to Ayutthaya all the Khmer treasures such as sacred manuscripts, chronicles, books of code of laws, custom and tradition, skilled people, and a great number of Khmer families. As the threat from Siam grew stronger, King Norodom who succeeded his father Ang Duong called on France for protection to thwart off Siam's hegemony. This period is called the French Protectorate Period which later turned into the Colonial Period. It started in 1863 and ended in 1953 after Cambodia obtained its independence from France on 9 November 1953 through the leadership of King Norodom Sihanouk. The Colonial Period brought about the loss of Cochinchina, a Khmer territory under the French Protectorate. Unilaterally, France gave Cochinchina, which the Khmer calls Kampuchea Krom, to Vietnam on 4 June 1949. In a strange way, Cambodia owes France a great debt of gratitude for saving the country from extinction. The loss of Kampuchea Krom cannot totally be blamed on the French because the policy of Chey Chetha II and subsequent fratricidal wars between different branches of the royal family had allowed the Annamese/Vietnamese to settle in Cambodia in great numbers, and by 1949 the Vietnamese population had outnumbered that of the Khmers many folds. Due to civil wars and Annamese/Vietnamese's policies, Khmers living in Kampuchea Krom had to escape their birth place to come to central Cambodia which left more space for the Annamese/Vietnamese to occupy. The Contemporary Period, which started after the independence of Cambodia from France, has gone through many regime changes such the Khmer Republic, the Democratic Kampuchea aka Khmer Rouge, People's Republic of Kampuchea under the occupation of the Vietnamese, and the current Kingdom of Cambodia. The contemporary is discussed and analyzed in great detail in this book.

The Khmer Kings and the History of Cambodia

Reviewing a shadowy period in Cambodia's recent history ... as the legacy of the Khmer Rouge regime continues its influence today.

Cambodia After the Khmer Rouge

Cambodia's culture has its roots in the 1st to 6th centuries, in a state called Funan, which is also the oldest Indianised state in Southeast Asia. Funan gave way to the Angkor Empire with the rise to power of King Jayavarman II in AD802. Following 400 years of decline, Cambodia became a French colony and during the 20th century experienced the turmoil of war, occupation by the Japanese, postwar independence, and political instability. Between 1975 and 1979 the country was devastated by the Khmer Rouge's reign, a rural communist guerrilla movement. If you are interested in Cambodian history, or just a person who loves history, you can not miss this book. In this book, you are about to know: -Cambodian prehistory -The early kings of Cambodia -Religious and regional influences -The rise and fall of the Khmer Empire -The French protectorate -The Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian Civil War -The Cambodian genocide -Cambodia today -And more

Cambodia's History

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

A Short History of Cambodia From the Days of Angkor to the Present

A Short History of Cambodia from the Days of Angkor to the Present

The history of Cambodia is a captivating tale of ancient civilizations, complex dynasties, and modern struggles. Dating back to the Khmer Empire's glory days in the 9th to 15th centuries, Cambodia was a center of culture, art, and religion, epitomized by the magnificent Angkor Wat temple. However, the empire eventually declined, giving way to periods of foreign rule, including that of the French colonial era. In the mid-20th century, Cambodia faced turmoil, with the Khmer Rouge regime orchestrating a devastating genocide. Since then, Cambodia has been on a path to recovery and development, with a focus on preserving its rich cultural heritage and promoting economic growth in the 21st century. Today, it stands as a resilient nation with a vibrant history and a promising future.

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History of Cambodia

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