 | History of Southeast Asia: Encyclopedia II - History of Southeast Asia - European Colonization
History of Southeast Asia - European Colonization
Portugal was the first European power to establish a bridgehead into the lucrative Southeast Asia trade route with the conquest of the Sultanate of Malacca in 1511. The Netherlands and Spain followed and soon superseded Portugal as the main European powers in the region. The Dutch took over Malacca from the Portuguese in 1641 while Spain began to colonize the Philippines (named after Phillip II of Spain) from 1560s. Acting through the Dutch East India Company, the Dutch established the city of Batavia (now Jakarta) as a base for trading and expansion into the other parts of Java and the surrounding territory.
Britain, in the form of the British East India Company, came relatively late onto the scene. Starting with Penang, the British began to expand their Southeast Asian empire. They also temporarily possessed Dutch territories during the Napoleonic Wars, In 1819 Stamford Raffles established Singapore was as the key trading post for Britain in their rivalry with the Dutch. However, their rivalry cooled in 1824 when an Anglo-Dutch treaty demarcated their respective interests in Southeast Asia. From the 1850s onwards, the pace of colonization shifted to a significantly higher gear.
This phenomenon, known as New Imperialism, saw the conquest of nearly all Southeast Asian territories by the colonial powers. The Dutch East India Company and British East India Company were dissolved by their respective governments who took over the direct administration of the colonies). Only the Thailand was spared the experience of foreign rule, although, Thailand itself was also greatly affected by the power politics of the Western powers.
By 1913, the British occupied Burma, Malaya and the Borneo territories, the French controlled Indochina, the Dutch ruled the Netherlands East Indies the USA conquered the Philippines from Spain and Portugal still managed to hold on to Portuguese Timor.
Colonial rule had a profound effect on Southeast Asia. While the colonial powers profited much from the region's vast resources and large market, Colonial rule did develop the region to a varying extent. Commercial agriculture, mining and an export based economy developed rapidly during this period. Increased labor demand resulted in mass immigration, especially from British India and China, brought massive demographical change. The institutions for a modern nation state like a state bureuacracy, courts of law, print media and to a smaller extent, modern education sowed the seeds of the fledgling nationalist movements in the colonial territories.
In the interwar years, these nationalist movements grew and often clashed with the colonial authorities when they demanded self-determination. The Japanese Occupation in World War Two was the turning point for these movements. Japan broke the myth of the white man’s superiority and galvanized these groups.
With the rejuvenated nationalist movements in wait, the Europeans returned to a very different Southeast Asia after the war. Indonesia declared independence in 17 August 1945 and subsequently fought a bitter war against the returning Dutch, the Philippines were granted independence in 1946, Burma secured theirs from Britain in 1948 and the France|French were driven from Indochina in 1954 after a bitterly fought war against the Vietnamese nationalists. The newly-established United Nations provided a forum both for nationalist demands and for the newly demanded independent nations.
During the Cold War, countering the threat of communism was a major theme in the decolonisation process. After suppressing the communist insurrection during the Malayan Emergency from 1948 to 1960, Britain granted independence to Malaya and later, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak in 1957 and 1963 respectively within the framework of the Federation of Malaysia.
U.S. intervention againist communist forces in Indochina meant that Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia had to go through a prolonged and protracted war in their route to independence.
In 1975, Portuguese rule ended in East Timor. However, independence was shortlived as Indonesia annexed the territory soon after. Finally, Britain ended its protectorate of the Sultanate of Brunei in 1984, marking the end of European rule in Southeast Asia.
Other related archives13th century, 14th century, 1511, 1819, 1824, 1913, 1945, 1948, 1957, 1960, 1963, 1975, 1984, Anglo-Dutch treaty, Ayutthaya, Borneo, British East India Company, British India, Brunei, Buddhism, Burma, Cambodia, Chao Phraya, China, Chola, Cold War, Dutch East India Company, Federation of Malaysia, French, Funan, Hinduism, Hinduism in Southeast Asia, History of Asia, History of Brunei, History of Cambodia, History of East Timor, History of Indonesia, History of Laos, History of Malaysia, History of Myanmar, History of Singapore, History of Thailand, History of Vietnam, History of present-day nations and states, History of the Philippines, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Islam, Isthmus of Kra, Jakarta, Japan, Japanese Occupation, Java, Khmer Empire, Laos, Majapahit, Malacca, Malaya, Malayan Emergency, Mataram, Muslim, Myanmar, Napoleonic Wars, Netherlands, Netherlands East Indies, New Imperialism, Palembang, Papua, Pasai, Penang, Philippines, Phillip II of Spain, Portugal, Portuguese Timor, Sabah, Sailendras, Sarawak, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Spain, Spice Route, Srivijaya, Stamford Raffles, Sultanate of Malacca, Sulu, Sumatra, Thailand, Tonle Sap, USA, United Nations, Vajrayana, Vietnam, World War Two, agrarian, chicken, communism, decolonisation, entrepot, hunting and gathering, maritime, nation state, nationalist, pig, pre-historic, rice, self-determination, yams
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "European Colonization", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
