No abstract

During what I shall call the Age of Inquiry, 1690-1870, European and American explorers were conducting detailed observations of Southeast Asia and documenting them in travelogues. These travelogues attempted to record, describe, and define the manners, customs, and people of Southeast Asia for a Euro-American audience. Among their areas of inquiry were Southeast Asian legal and penal systems. When portraying the nature of these judicial systems, European and American travelogue writers frequently characterized them as arbitrary, barbaric, or lawless. However, this paper shall show that the negative portrayals of Southeast Asian legal and penal systems during the Age of Inquiry were underscored by inherent ideological biases that sought to objectifY Southeast Asia in contrast to "the •West," and depict it as ripe for Occidental exploitation. The core of this essay is derived from extensive examination of European and American travelogues written between 1690 and 1870. Beginning at the height of the English Enlightenment, this period ends at the dawn of the Second Industrial Revolution, as the dramatic industrialization of the late nineteenth century would significantly alter the course of imperialism toward a more direct rule and reshaping of Southeast Asian societies. Thus,

It is with great pride that I announce the second issue of The Forum. When Dr. Trice first invited Katrina Chludzinski and me to partake in this project in 2008, we had bold dreams for what we wanted this journal to become. Two years later, I am happy to say that many of them have been realized. From the beginning, we wanted this journal to welcome a range of perspectives. Titling our journal The Forum, therefore, was no accident-it stemmed from our hope that this journal would provide an outlet for student work irrespective of an author's major, level of study, or institutional affiliation. With this issue, we have come closer to fully actualizing that goal. While most of this issue's papers were written by Cal Poly students, we received submissions from students at four different universities and are pleased to include a paper from a recent graduate of UC Berkeley. The Forum hopes to welcome students from many other universities in the future. Katrina and I also wanted this journal to become widely available. Thanks to the help of Cal Poly librarian Marisa Ramirez, The Forum is now available electronically via the Cal Poly Digital Commons. This resource is undoubtedly a valuable means for our contributors to share their work with family, friends, and the academic community. As both Katrina and I graduate this year, this issue marks a turning point for The Forum. Though saddened to leave this project behind, we depart knowing that next year's executive editors will continue to help this journal grow. The Forum has come a long way in the past two years and we are eager to see where future editors will lead it. Although it is young, The Forum is an important project that not only serves as a necessary outlet for student work, but also epitomizes Cal Poly's "learn by doing" philosophy and encapsulates the goals of Phi Alpha Theta to promote the study of history and foster intellectual exchange-I hope that it will continue to do so for many years to come.