Cambodia
Background
-Official Name: Kingdom of Cambodia
-Other name: Kampuchea
-Capital: Phnom Penh
-Major Rivers: Tonle Sap (aka Great Lake) & Mekong
-During monsoon season, Tonle Sap reverses its flow due to the heavy flooding that occurs. (Flow direction is determined by which body of water is higher in terms of water level.)
-Average Temperature: 27°C
-Religion: Theravada Buddhism
Government
-Constitutional Monarchy (King is merely a figure; ruler is the Prime Minister)
-Head of state- King; Head of government- Prime Minister
-PM is assisted by National Assembly (elected) and Senate (appointed).
Economy
-Based on agriculture (mostly rice, rubber, and corn)
-Ideal due to the: tropical climate, fertile land, and abundance of water.
-Other industries include: tourism, garments, rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining, and textiles. (Industries are underdeveloped due to many wars.)
History
Khmer
-predominant ethnic group in Cambodia (peak was from 800-1400AD)
-citizens of the Khmer Empire
-occupy 90% of Phnom Penh
Khmer Empire (Kingdom of the Khmer people)
-largest continuous empire (expanded to include Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam)of SE Asia
-capital: Angkor (now contains stone temples)
---
-protectorate (a country protected or partly controlled by a larger or more powerful country) of France from 1863 to 1953.
-part of a group called French Indochina, a group consisting of protectorates of France, including Cambodia and Vietnam, and to a certain extent, Laos.
Cambodia and the Vietnam War
-Viet Cong (North Vietnam) entered Cambodia and used it as a base.
-Cambodia denied the presence of the Viet Cong. to the USA and to South Vietnam.
-The USA eventually began bombing Cambodia because it saw it as an ally of North Vietnam.
-Thus, Cambodia got dragged into the war.
Vietnam War
-proxy (substitute) war
-North Vietnam (communists) + Soviet Union (Russia) vs. South Vietnam (capitalists) + USA
-[in Cambodia] North Vietnam + Khmer Rouge vs. South Vietnam + USA
Khmer Rouge (means Red Khmer)
-Cambodian Communists
-led by Pol Pot, a cruel leader.
-renamed Cambodia to Democratic Kampuchea.
-ruling political party from 1975 to 1979.
-took over all businesses, which were mismanaged.
-required work in labor camps.
-abolished Buddhism as well as money.
-killed an estimated 1.5 million people through execution, starvation, and forced labor
-killed:
\anyone with connections to the former government
\professionals and intellectuals
-ended when the [North] Vietnamese invaded Phnom Penh and set up a puppet government there. They renamed Cambodia as the People's Republic of Kampuchea.
-Vietnamese eventually left in 1989 and a UN peace treaty was signed. A new government war formed, the office of the King was restored, and elections were held. A transition government headed by Nordom Sihanouk was established. Sihanouk got reelected and became the Prime Minister.
A typical Cambodian house
More info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodia
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Cambodia-ECONOMY.html
http://www.olive-drab.com/od_history_vietnam_cambodia.php