Cambodia

The Kingdom of Cambodia (also Kampuchea; Khmer: កម្ពុជា) is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 square miles) in area, bordering Thailand (formerly Siam) to the northwest, Laos to the north, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest. Cambodia has a tropical monsoon climate of two seasons, and the country is made up of a central floodplain around the Tonlé Sap lake and Mekong Delta, surrounded by mountainous regions. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh.

From 802 until 1431, Cambodia was the center of the Khmer Empire. It remained a nominally independent kingdom after the empire's decline and collapse, although it was often a de facto vassal of Siam and/or Vietnam. From 1863 to 1953, Cambodia was part of the French protectorate of Indochina.

Cambodian irredentism is a nationalist movement that seeks to reconstruct the Khmer Empire. The resulting superstate is often referred to hypothetically as Greater Cambodia.

Literary comment

In most Harry Turtledove timelines, Cambodia remains part of French Indochina.

Cambodia in "Last Flight of the Swan of the East"

France conquered Cambodge in 1863. Its largest city, Phnom Penh, was a key industrial and commercial center. In late 1914, early in the Great War, the German leviathan Emden flew to Phenom Penh to attack, but wound up downing the Russian leviathan Zhemchug.

Cambodia in "My Hypothetical Friend"

A phone-making firm in Greater Cambodia balked at the price Dave Markarian and Interstellar Master Traders had asked for the latest phone dejunking system created by the Brot. Markarian was firm on his price, however, and offered to suggest lower-quality systems. The phone-makers agreed to pay Markarian's price.

Literary comment

The borders of this Greater Cambodia are unrevealed. It is included here for convenience.