Mathieu Guérin

Khmer Peasants and Land Access in Kompong Thom Province in the 1930s

Based on Cambodian and French archival records, which include colonial and local administration reports, tax rosters and judicial sources, this paper explores landownership in Cambodia in the 1930s. It shows that, contrary to common belief, land access was already an issue in the 1930s. The study of tax registers of three communes in the province of Kompong Thom presents a Khmer rural society dominated by peasants with average-sized landholdings, but where landless peasants or those with very small holdings also existed. It also stresses that women were able to become efficient farm operators. In addition, this analysis of the different sources available shows that Khmer rural society in Kompong Thom was a form of gerontocracy dominated by men aged over 40. [© The National University of Singapore /

Stratégies d’affaires au Cambodge: itinéraires croisés d’un négociant chinois et d’une famille de fonctionnaires cambodgiens à l’époque du protectorat français

Les archives coloniales permettent de retracer l’itineraire d’un Chinois teo chew et la maniere dont il s’appuie sur une famille de dignitaires provinciaux au Cambodge, afin de prendre le controle des principales affaires de la province de Kampong Thom via l’etablissement d’une relation entre patron et client. Tea Meng Ly, negociant en grains originaire du Sud de la Chine, s’installe au Cambodge au debut du 20e siecle. Il diversifie ses activites vers le transport routier et les pecheries au debut des annees 1930 et, malgre le contexte de la Grande Depression, s’enrichit considerablement. Ses partenaires, la famille du dignitaire Seang, atteint les sommets de la hierarchie sociale cambodgienne.*** URL : www.cairn.info/revue-vingtieme-siecle-revue-d-histoire-2016-4-page-77.htm (consulte le 07/11/2016)