THE MEKONG EXPLORATION COMMISSION, 1866–68: ANGLO-FRENCH RIVALRY

Himalayas, and the Middle East and the Far East in the 20th century. This article is an expanded version of a lecture he gave to the Society on 23 March 2005 about the Mekong Exploration Commission, the subject of one of his most recent books, Mad about the Mekong: Exploration and Empire in South East Asia. His latest book is a history of the Spice Route. The political map of mainland South East Asia seems unnecessarily complex with more miles of international frontier than any other region of comparable size except Europe (where frontiers now count for less) and West Africa. Nor do the attenuated configurations of Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia owe much to physical geography. Their borders are the product of political advantage as perceived in the context of Anglo-French rivalry in the South East Asian subcontinent in the late 19th century. Such things as natural features, ethnographic realities and economic logic received scant attention at the time. Each imperial power aimed simply to deny to the other as much territory as possible, with the important provis