Cambodia

History• 9th- 14th Century: Khmer Empire ruled– Angkor- seat of Khmer Empire- world’s largest

pre-industrialized civilization– Angkor Wat- the most famous and best preserved

temple in Angkor (first Hindu, then Buddhist)

History Continued• Colonized by France in 1800s• Occupied by Japan in 1940s• Gained independence from France Nov. 9,

1953– Became a constitutional monarchy

French colonial mansion in Cambodia

Population• 90% is Khmer and speak Khmer language• French is sometimes spoken by older

generation• Cambodian French is often spoken in

government• Religion- Buddhism

Buddhist art in Cambodia

Khmer Rouge• French for Red Khmer- Cambodian Communist

Party- ruling party 1975-79• Pol Pot- leader of Khmer Rouge– Eliminate anyone suspected of involvement in free

market activates– No families- children were torn from parents and taught

torture techniques– No education- executed intellectuals and people with glasses (stereotype)– No religion

– Like Hitler- targeting groups to killPol Pot

Khmer Rouge• Thought the farmers in the rural area were

proletariat and represented the true working class (Maoist)

- Moved people from urban to rural areas (collective farms)

-Factories, schools, and hospitals were closed -Abolished banking, finance, and currency

Effects• 1/5- 1/3 of the population died-

overworked, starved, executed• Tortured and killed “enemies” :– People with connections to former

gov’t or foreign gov’t– Professionals and intellectuals– People who were not Cambodian

or practiced religion– Economic sabotage- mainly those

from urban areas who did not know much about agriculture

End of Power• Vietnamese troops tired of thousands of

Cambodian refugees & border clashes w/ K.R.• 1979- invade & capture Phnom Penh- set up

communist govt.• Khmer Rouge retreat to jungle- continue civil

war

Today• Pol Pot died while under house arrest in 1998- possibly poisoned• Reunited under monarch in 1993• UN backed trials of leading Khmer Rouge officials• Growing economy

– Agriculture– Tourism– Textiles– Oil found and drilling will begin in 2013- can lead to HUGE economic

increase

POL POT VIDEO