WI:Population increase in Maritime South East Asia

Is it possible for Maritime South East Asia to have a population increase before the age of Exploration at least 2x its OTL population during the age of exploration, I wonder if the population increase would cause the tribes in Maritime South East Asia to form nations and able to resist the Europeans better than OTL.
 
I'm guessing you have a different definition of what Maritime South East Asia is than me because what I think of as Maritime south east asia was already massively densely populated and did develop several states of varying power.
 
I'm guessing you have a different definition of what Maritime South East Asia is than me because what I think of as Maritime south east asia was already massively densely populated and did develop several states of varying power.
Maritime South East Asia is Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, I am thinking of a way to increase the population there before the europeans even arrive...
 
Maritime South East Asia is Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, I am thinking of a way to increase the population there before the europeans even arrive...

In the very least Malaysia and Indonesia always had rather large dense populations. The phillipines though could probably be bumped up quite a bit. Maybe through more extensive trade and migration links with China?
 
In the very least Malaysia and Indonesia always had rather large dense populations. The phillipines though could probably be bumped up quite a bit. Maybe through more extensive trade and migration links with China?
But China ignored the area of OTL Philippines, there was minimal trade and the area was insignificant to them.

I was wondering how would be the Philippines and Borneo would be given a higher population before the Europeans come enough population so that they would be able to form nations, in OTL recently the population of the Philippines did increase is it possible for the population to increase before the Spanish came?

I am wondering whether aristocracies in the Philippines inviting settlers from OTL Malaysia and Indonesia would help speed up the population growth?
 
Maritime South East Asia is Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, I am thinking of a way to increase the population there before the europeans even arrive...

Yes, it was already pretty high.

The Malay peoples tended to settle very densely along the coast and along river valleys. They didn't populate the highland interiors of the Malay peninsula and the Indonesian islands very much because that tends to be rocky, jungly and hilly terrain unsuited to large populations. It's a factor of the terrain- even today the interiors have very low populations apart from mining towns. Where they're utilised, most of them are vast oil palm and rubber estates, again, with low population levels.
 
Yes, it was already pretty high.

The Malay peoples tended to settle very densely along the coast and along river valleys. They didn't populate the highland interiors of the Malay peninsula and the Indonesian islands very much because that tends to be rocky, jungly and hilly terrain unsuited to large populations. It's a factor of the terrain- even today the interiors have very low populations apart from mining towns. Where they're utilised, most of them are vast oil palm and rubber estates, again, with low population levels.
That means the Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon plains, the Mindanao River etc.. area has a potential to hold a large population the question is how to also increase the Population in those areas as well not just central areas of Indonesia and Malaysia before the Europeans arrive?...
 
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