traditional goods such as textiles as well
as technology products such as
computers. Oil and gas are processed in
Southwest and Central Asia.
History
Asia was home to three of the worlds
first civilizations, which developed
written languages and built large cities.
The first such society developed in
Southwest Asia in a region called
Mesopotamia in about 35003000 BC.
A civilization developed in the Indus
River valley in what is now Pakistan by
about 2500 BC. Historians believe that
Chinese civilization began in about
2500 BC as well.
Over time these civilizations changed as
they were taken over by other groups.
The Mesopotamian kingdoms became
part of the Greek and Persian worlds. In
the AD 600s Islam was founded in Arabia.
Arab Muslims took over Mesopotamia
and then moved into other parts of
Asia.
The Indus Valley civilization died out
in about 1700 BC. At about this same
time, a people known as Aryans
invaded what is now India. Their
religion eventually evolved into
Hinduism. The Mauryan Empire
united South Asia in about 300 BC,
though others eventually took over
from them. In the late AD 1100s
Muslim rulers took over part of the
region.
Chinese culture dominated East Asia.
China was ruled by a series of dynasties
for thousands of years, from about the
1700s BC to the AD 1900s. The Mongols,
a people from Northern and Central
Asia, ruled much of Asia during the
AD 1200s and 1300s.
To take control of Asias vast wealth,
Europeans conquered many Asian countries
and made them into colonies in the
1800s. By the end ofWorldWar II, the
colonies began to seek independence.
India became free of British rule in
1947. France fought to keep control of
its colonies in Southeast Asia but finally
withdrew from the region in 1954. Most
A fisherman casts his net into the Mekong
River in Southeast Asia.
204 Asia BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Central Asian countries were part of the
Russian Empire and later the Soviet
Union. They became independent after
the breakup of the Soviet Union in
1991.
China also underwent major changes.
In 1912 the last dynasty came to an
end, and the country became a
republic. Chinas government became
Communist after Communists won a
civil war in 1949.
Communists in Korea and Vietnam also
fought for control of those countries.
The KoreanWar, from 1950 to 1953,
resulted in the separation of Korea into
two countries: North Korea and South
Korea. North Korea had a Communist
government, but South Korea did not.
The VietnamWar ended in 1975 with
Vietnam united under a Communist
government.
In 1948 the country of Israel was created
in the Middle East as a homeland for the
Jewish people. Arab countries opposed
the creation of Israel, however, and they
and the Israelis fought a series of wars.
Southwest Asia was the site of several
other conflicts, including the Iran-Iraq
War (198088), the Persian GulfWar
(1991), and a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq
(2003).
In the last half of the 1900s, many
Asian countries had to deal with
problems left over from the period of
European rule. The boundaries of the
European colonies did not always
match the natural divisions of peoples,
cultures, and physical regions. When
the colonies gained independence they
kept those boundaries, but there were
often tensions between the people who
had been forced to live together. At the
same time, however, many Asian
countries worked hard to improve their
economies.
..More to explore
Arabian Peninsula Buddhism
Christianity Himalayas Hinduism
Indus Valley Civilization Islam
Judaism Mesopotamia Middle East
Mongol Empire Persia Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics
Facts About
ASIA
Area
17,291,121 sq mi (44,783,797 sq km)
Population
(2008 estimate) 4,056,802,260
Largest Country by Area
Asian portion of Russia: 5,051,400 sq mi
(13,083,065 sq km)
Smallest Country by Area
Maldives: 115 sq mi (298 sq km)
Largest Country by Population
China (2008 estimate) 1,324,681,000
Smallest Country by Population
Maldives (2008 estimate) 386,000
Largest Cities
Beijing, China; Mumbai (Bombay), India;
Seoul, South Korea; Delhi, India; Tokyo,
Japan
Longest River
Yangtze River, China: 3,915 mi (6,300 km)
Largest Lake
Caspian Sea (Asia/Europe): 143,000 sq mi
(370,000 sq km)
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Asia 205
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is the place where the continents
of Asia and Europe meet. It is also
known by its Greek name, Anatolia. In
the past Asia Minor was a meeting point
for travelers passing between Asia and
Europe. Today it is part of the country
of Turkey.
Asia Minor is a peninsula, or a piece of
land surrounded by water on three sides.
The Black Sea lies to the north. The
Aegean Sea lies to the west. The Mediterranean
Sea is to the south. The peninsula
extends westward from Asia toward
Europe.
#More to explore
Asia Europe Turkey
Asian Americans
Asian Americans are people in the
United States whose ancestors came
from Asia. Many Asian Americans were
born in Asia and later moved, or immigrated,
to the United States. However,
many other Asian Americans were born
in the United States. Their families often
have been in the country for several generations.
Asian Americans have roots in many
different countries. The largest groups of
Asian Americans have ancestors from
China, the Philippines, India, Vietnam,
Korea, or Japan. Many other Asian
Americans have ancestors from Cambodia,
Laos, Pakistan, or Thailand. Smaller
groups of Asian Americans have roots in
many other Asian countries. (A tiny
group has roots in the part of Asia called
the Middle East. However, many of
these people are better known as Arab
Americans.)
Early Asian Immigrants
Asians did not start immigrating to the
United States until the 1800s.Workers
from China began arriving in the United
States in about 1820. A gold rush in
California in the mid-1800s brought
many more Chinese people to theWest
Coast. In the 1860s about 15,000 Chinese
workers helped to build the transcontinental
(cross-country) railroad.
Almost all the early Chinese immigrants
were young men. Many came to earn
money but planned to return to China.
Others decided to stay.
Meanwhile, in the 1850s and 1860s,
people from China and Japan began
arriving in Hawaii. They came mainly to
work on sugar plantations, or large
farms. Thousands more Japanese arrived
in Hawaii during the 1880s. In the early
1900s workers from Korea and the Philippines
also came to work on Hawaiis
plantations.
People called
the Hittites
lived in Asia
Minor from
about 1700 to
1180 BC. After
that many different
groups
ruled the area.
It became part
of the Republic
of Turkey in
1923.
206 Asia Minor BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
During the late 1800s and early 1900s,
many immigrants from Japan, Korea,
and the Philippines settled on theWest
Coast. Smaller numbers came from
India. Many Asian immigrants worked
on farms in California.
Discrimination