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Death and Disease in Southeast Asia: Explorations in Social, Medical and Demographic History
From a "decoding" of ancient Balinese myths to the careful computation of mortality rates for the modern Philippines, these essays reveal the myriad ways that the study of death and disease can shed light on Southeast Asia's history. Using a variety of tools and tactics -- including the
statistical analysis of demographic and medical evidence, the interpretation of indigenous texts, and the examination of the effects of colonial action (and inaction) on mortality -- the contributors to this volume invite us to consider how Southeast Asian men and women coped with a world in which
the vulnerability of human life was frighteningly visible.
statistical analysis of demographic and medical evidence, the interpretation of indigenous texts, and the examination of the effects of colonial action (and inaction) on mortality -- the contributors to this volume invite us to consider how Southeast Asian men and women coped with a world in which
the vulnerability of human life was frighteningly visible.
298 pages, Paperback
First published June 11, 1987
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October 3, 2021
This is a set of essays from 1987 on the subject of death and disease in Southeast Asian history. I read two of these essays with great interest.
Anthony Reid wrote a short piece on the "Low Population Growth in Pre-colonial Southeast Asia" and this was his proposal that working backwards from solid census figures in the 1800s, he could estimate the 1600 population of Southeast Asia at 23 million or about 5 persons per sq km. This is significantly lower than the population densities for India and China, at about seven times the figure and half of Europe. And the density in SE Asia was in Java, Bali with its volcanic soils and rice agriculture and Northern Vietnam again with its rice agriculture. This presents a picture of a forested and thinly populated Southeast Asia on the eve of European colonialization. This article Reid reproduces in his "Land Below the Winds" as well as Cambridge History of Southeast Asia. His figure for Vietnam is a bit low and Vietnam has quality census and tax registers, for example, used by Li Tana.
The second piece is on traditional medicine in Vietnam by David Marr where he presents the mjor figures in traditional Vietnamese medicine. A lot of work has been published on this subject since, but his is an important first article.
Anthony Reid wrote a short piece on the "Low Population Growth in Pre-colonial Southeast Asia" and this was his proposal that working backwards from solid census figures in the 1800s, he could estimate the 1600 population of Southeast Asia at 23 million or about 5 persons per sq km. This is significantly lower than the population densities for India and China, at about seven times the figure and half of Europe. And the density in SE Asia was in Java, Bali with its volcanic soils and rice agriculture and Northern Vietnam again with its rice agriculture. This presents a picture of a forested and thinly populated Southeast Asia on the eve of European colonialization. This article Reid reproduces in his "Land Below the Winds" as well as Cambridge History of Southeast Asia. His figure for Vietnam is a bit low and Vietnam has quality census and tax registers, for example, used by Li Tana.
The second piece is on traditional medicine in Vietnam by David Marr where he presents the mjor figures in traditional Vietnamese medicine. A lot of work has been published on this subject since, but his is an important first article.
Displaying 1 of 1 review