Colonialism in Vietnam and Southeast Asia in the Late Pre-European Period

The rise of the Yuan Dynasty under Kublai Khan, the fifth emperor of the Mongol Empire, in thirteenth century China shows a distinctive polity that exemplifies two overlapping forms of colonialism. The first form is settler colonialism, where large (or small) scale migration of people creates colonies in places with a pre-existing population. The second is exploitation colonialism, where small groups of people established trading posts and settlements that controlled economic, cultural, and political power. The Yuan Dynasty’s early policy during Kublai Khan’s reign shows the adoption of strong naval power, specifically for territorial expansion. The Yuan court was also in control of the port cities in the middle and southern coasts of the Chinese mainland, which had been fully developed since the Southern Song period (1127—1279 CE). Chinese bureaucrats and regional authorities in these ports were actively engaged in investing capital in overseas trade, especially if conducted by private traders. These trading systems and policies facilitated the expansion of trans-regional networks into Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean World in the form of exploitation colonialism. The archaeological vestiges of the maritime commercial and naval activities that resulted from Yuan colonialism will be considered in this chapter.