Origins and Development of Southeast Asia from the Early States

Discuss the origins and development of Southeast Asia from early states through the ‘age of commerce.’

One of the most decisive moments in the making of early modern SEA took place in the centuries between the rise of the first “Indic” states in this region and its celebrated “age of commerce.” Where and when did the first states arise? What were some of their most striking features and enduring influences on the people of the region? What were some of the “structural weaknesses” that made the pattern of state organization in Indic SEA so much more unstable and less well-coordinated than its counterpart in China or nearby Vietnam?