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Revisiting Southeast Asian History with Geology: Some Demographic Consequences of a Dangerous Environment

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Natural Hazards and Peoples in the Indian Ocean World

Part of the book series: Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies ((IOWS))

Abstract

New geological research strengthens a growing sense of Indonesian history as one unusually exposed to the vagaries of nature. In periods of relative quiescence on the ring of fire, such as the twentieth century, a benign climate and fertile soils can produce rapid population growth and development. But rather than forming a constant, this pattern appears to have been interrupted by periodic disasters. Cooperation between scholars in different disciplines, and the pooling of data from around the Indian Ocean, offers a way forward in understanding the long-term pattern of the region and makes a huge difference to our understanding of the Southeast Asian past, and therefore likely future.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

    Anthony Reid

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  1. Anthony Reid
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Hull, Hull, UK

    Greg Bankoff

  2. Murdoch University, Perth, Australia

    Joseph Christensen

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Reid, A. (2016). Revisiting Southeast Asian History with Geology: Some Demographic Consequences of a Dangerous Environment. In: Bankoff, G., Christensen, J. (eds) Natural Hazards and Peoples in the Indian Ocean World. Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-94857-4_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-94857-4_2

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