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Rural Cambodia, Immediately Prior to Independence from France.

Fantastically detailed cadastral map of central Cambodia, showing the region around Kampong Cham along the Mekong River.

Produced during the dying days of the French colonial system, during which Cambodia was, in effect, a fully-dependent protectorate, the map delimits the region on an impressive scale. It shows the region on a 1:100,000 scale and divides the province into twelve "Srooks," or administrative divisions, each with their principal city. Various administrative boundaries are shown on the map, as are early automobile routes that pierced the Cambodian jungle. Airfields are also shown.

Kampong Cham lies some fifty miles upriver from Phnom Penh. Named after the Kampong ethnic group, the city is home to a population of 1.6 million.

In the 1940s and 1950s, Cambodia was under French colonial rule, as part of the larger Indochina federation that also included Vietnam and Laos. While the French influence on Cambodia can be traced back to the late 19th century, it was during the 1940s that nationalist movements began to gain momentum across Southeast Asia. Cambodia was no exception, with figures like King Norodom Sihanouk emerging as key nationalist leaders. The 1940s saw Cambodia under Japanese occupation during World War II, but the French returned post-war and attempted to reassert their control. By the 1950s, amid a changing international climate and rising anti-colonial sentiments, Cambodia began to push for greater autonomy. This culminated in Cambodia gaining full independence from France in 1953 under King Sihanouk's leadership.

Provenance

In the upper right-hand corner of the map, the map is stated as having been delivered to M. Lt. Secteur (?) who was located in Kampong Cham.

Rarity

We locate no other examples of this map through OCLC or other searches. The University of Kansas holds a similarly described map entitled Province de KG. Cham, but it is subtitled Carte Administrative, suggesting it is a different map.