Colonial Rule in Southeast Asia

Colonial Rule in Southeast AsiaCHAPTER 21 SECTION 1

The New Imperialism •In the 1800s European nations began a new push of imperialism–the extension of a nation’s power over other lands.•A new phase of Western expansion into and trade with Asia and Africa began in the nineteenth century. •Asia and Africa were seen as a source of raw materials for industrial production and as a market for Europe’s manufactured goods.•This “new imperialism,” as some historians have called it, was not content to have trading posts and agreements, as the old imperialism was, but wanted direct control over territories.•There was a strong economic motive for Western nations to increase their search for colonies after 1880. •Europeans wanted direct control of the raw materials and markets it found in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

The New Imperialism (cont.) •European nations also acquired colonies to gain an advantage over European rivals looking for colonies and world power. •Having colonies was a source of national prestige as well.•The new imperialism was tied to racism and social Darwinism.•To social Darwinists, the imperialist European nations were simply exerting themselves in the struggle for the fittest to survive. •Losing nations were racially inferior nations, these people argued erroneously.

The New Imperialism (cont.) •Others believed that the Western nations had a moral or religious duty to “civilize” Asian, African, and Latin American nations, which often meant to Christianize them.

Colonial Takeover in Southeast Asia •By 1900, almost all of Southeast Asia was under Western rule.• Great Britain led the way in nineteenth-century imperial colonialism.•In 1819, Great Britain founded a colony on a small island called Singapore (“city of the lion”). •In the new age of steamships, Singapore soon became a major port for traffic to and from China.•The British moved deeper into Southeast Asia in the next decades. •Britain took control of Burma (present-day Myanmar) to protect its possessions in India and to have a land route to South China.

Colonial Takeover in Southeast Asia (cont.) •France had interests in Vietnam and was alarmed by British expansion into Southeast Asia. •To stop any British move on Vietnam, the French government decided in 1857 to force the Vietnamese to accept French protection. •In 1884, the French seized control of Hanoi and later made the Vietnamese Empire into a French protectorate–a political unit that depends on another government for its protection. •In the 1880s, France extended its control over neighboring Cambodia, Laos, Annam, and Tonkin.

(pages 649–650)

Colonial Takeover in Southeast Asia (cont.)

•In the final quarter of the nineteenth century, both Britain and France tried to make Thailand into a colony. •Two remarkable rulers prevented the takeover–King Mongkut (memorialized in The King and I) and his son King Chulalongkorn. •Both promoted friendly relations with the West and Western learning.•In 1896, France and Britain agreed to maintain Thailand as an independent buffer state between their possessions.

Colonial Takeover in Southeast Asia•The United States naval forces under Commodore George Dewey defeated the Spanish in Manila Bay in the Philippines.•President William McKinley believed it was his moral duty to civilize other parts of the world. •Colonizing the Philippines would also prevent it from coming under Japanese rule and would serve the United States’s interest in securing a jumping-off point for trade with China.•Many Filipinos objected to the colonization–especially Emilio Aguinaldo, the leader of an independence movement. •His guerrilla forces fought against the Spanish and the United States, who defeated the guerrillas.

Colonial Regimes in Southeast Asia •The chief goal of the Western powers in their colonies was to exploit the natural resources and open up markets for Western manufactured goods. •The colonial powers ruled either indirectly or directly.•Indirect rule allowed local rulers and political elites to use their authority in cooperation with the goals of the Western parent country. •This approach was the preferred route because it made ruling easier and less costly.•Especially when local elites resisted foreign conquest, indirect rule was not practicable.

Colonial Regimes in Southeast Asia (cont.)

•In these cases, new officials from the mother country were put in charge of taxes, law and order, and other governmental matters. •This system is called direct rule. •This was Britain’s approach in Burma, for example, where the British abolished the monarchy.•France used direct and indirect rule in Indochina. •It imposed direct rule in the southern provinces in the Mekong delta, which had been ceded to France as a colony after the first war in 1858 to 1862. •In the northern parts of Vietnam, France used indirect rule (protectorate).

Colonial Regimes in Southeast Asia (cont.)

•Western powers often justified their conquests by arguing they brought civilization and development. •These same powers, however, often feared the indigenous peoples gaining political rights. •The native peoples might want full participation in the government or independence.•Colonial powers did not want their colonists to develop their own industries. •Thus, the parent countries stressed exporting raw materials–teak wood, rubber, tin, spices, tea, coffee, sugar, and others.

Colonial Regimes in Southeast Asia (cont.) •In many places, the native people worked as wage laborers on plantations owned by foreign investors. •Plantation owners kept wages at a poverty level. •Conditions on plantations often were horrible. •Colonial governments often levied high taxes on the peasants.

Colonial Regimes in Southeast Asia (cont.) •Colonial rule did bring benefits to Southeast Asia. •It began a modern economic system and improved infrastructure. •Expanded exports developed an entrepreneurial class in rural areas, even though most of the export profits went to the mother country.•Initial resistance to colonial rule came from the ruling classes among the subject peoples. •Sometimes resistance to Western rule took the form of peasant revolts. •Peasants often were driven off land to make way for plantation agriculture.

Resistance to Colonial Rule (cont.) •Early resistance movements were overcome by Western powers. •At the beginning of the twentieth century, a new kind of resistance based on the force of nationalism emerged. •The leaders often were a new class created by colonial rule: westernized intellectuals in the cities.

Resistance to Colonial Rule (cont.) •These new leaders were part of a new urban middle class–merchants, clerks, students, and professionals–which had been educated in Western schools, spoke Western languages, and knew Western customs. •At first, the resistance movements organized to protect religious traditions and economic interests. •In the 1930s, these resistance movements began to demand national independence.

Empire Building in AfricaCHAPTER 21 SECTION 2

West Africa •Europeans did not hesitate to deceive Africans in order to get their land and natural resources. •Driven by rivalries among themselves, Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Portugal placed almost all of Africa under European rule between 1880 and 1890.•West Africa was particularly affected by the slave trade, but trafficking in slaves had declined after it was declared illegal by both Great Britain and the United States by 1808. •By the 1890s, slavery was abolished in all the major countries of the world.

West Africa (cont.) •As slavery declined, Europe’s interest in other forms of trade increased–for example, trading manufactured goods for peanuts, timber, hides, and palm oil. •In the early nineteenth century, the British established settlements along the Gold Coast and in Sierra Leone. •The growing European presence in West Africa caused increasing tensions with local African governments, who feared for their independence.

West Africa (cont.) •In 1874, Great Britain annexed (incorporated a country within a state) the west coastal states as the first British colony of Gold Coast. •Simultaneously, it established a protectorate over warring Nigerian groups.•France controlled the largest part of West Africa, and Germany controlled Togo, Cameroon, German Southwest Africa, and German East Africa.

North Africa •Egypt had been part of the Ottoman Empire. •In 1805, an officer of the Ottoman army named Muhammad Ali seized power and established a separate Egyptian state. •Ali introduced a series of reforms to modernize Egypt. •He modernized the army, set up a public school system, and helped create small industries.

North Africa (cont.) •The growing economic importance of the Nile Valley, along with the development of steamships, gave Europeans a desire to build a canal east of Cairo to connect the Mediterranean and Red Seas. •In 1854, Ferdinand de Lesseps, a Frenchman, signed a contract to build the Suez Canal. •The canal was completed in 1869.•Great Britain bought Egypt’s share in the Suez Canal. •Britain suppressed an 1881 revolt against foreign influence, and Egypt became a British protectorate in 1914.

North Africa (cont.) •The British believed they should control the Sudan, south of Egypt. •In 1881, the Muslim cleric Muhammad Ahmad seized control of the Sudan and defeated the British military force under General Charles Gordon in 1885. •The British army was wiped out at Khartoum; Gordon died in the battle. •The British seized the Sudan in 1898.

North Africa (cont.) •The French had colonies in North Africa. •In 1879, about 150,000 French had settled in the region of Algeria. •The French government established control there, along with making protectorates of Tunisia and Morocco

North Africa (cont.) •Italy joined the competition for North African colonies by trying to take over Ethiopia. •Ethiopian forces defeated the Italians in 1896. •Italy was humiliated and tried again in 1911 to conquer Ethiopia. •Italy seized Turkish Tripoli, which it renamed Libya.

Central Africa •European explorers had generated European interest in the dense tropical jungles of Central Africa. •David Livingstone was one such explorer. •He arrived in Africa in 1841 and trekked through the unexplored interior for 30 years. •When he disappeared for a while, the New York Herald sent the young journalist Henry Stanley to find him.

Central Africa (cont.) •When Stanley found him, he said the now famous words, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume.”

•Although he said he disliked the place, Stanley stayed in Africa, and in the 1870s he sailed down the Congo River. •He encouraged the British to send settlers to the Congo River basin. •When Britain refused, Stanley turned to King Leopold II of Belgium.

Central Africa (cont.) •King Leopold II was the real driving force behind the colonization of Central Africa. •In 1876, he hired Henry Stanley to set up Belgian settlements in the Congo. •Belgium’s claim to the vast territories of the Congo worried other European states.•France especially rushed to gain territories in Central Africa. •Belgium ended up with the territories around the Congo River, and France occupied the territories farther north.

East Africa •By 1885, Britain and Germany had become the chief rivals in East Africa. •At first, Bismarck had downplayed the importance of colonies. •He became a convert to colonialism, however, after more and more Germans called for a German empire.•Germany was one of many European nations interested in East African colonies. •At the 1884–1885 Berlin Conference, the major European powers divided up East Africa, giving recognition to German, British, and Portuguese claims. •No African delegates were present at the conference.

South Africa •The European presence in Africa grew most rapidly in the south. •By 1865, close to two hundred thousand white people had moved to the southern part of Africa.•The Boers, also called Afrikaners, were the descendants of the original Dutch settlers who occupied Cape Town in South Africa in the seventeenth century. •Later, the British seized these lands. •In the 1830s, the Boers fled British rule, going northward and establishing the independent republics of Transvaal–later the South African Republic–and the Orange Free State.

South Africa (cont.) •The Boers believed white supremacy was ordained by God; therefore, they put a many indigenous (native) peoples on reservations. •The Boers frequently battled the Zulu, an indigenous people. •The Zulu had risen to prominence under their great ruler, Shaka. •Later the British defeated the Zulu.

South Africa (cont.) •In the 1880s British policy in South Africa was influenced by Cecil Rhodes, who had set up diamond and gold companies that had made him fabulously wealthy. •He named the territory north of the Transvaal Rhodesia, after himself.•Rhodes’s ambitions led to his downfall in 1896. •The British government forced him to resign as prime minister of Cape Colony after finding out he planned to overthrow the Boer government of the South African Republic without British approval. •Conflict broke out between the British and the Boers, leading to war.

South Africa (cont.) •The Boer War was fought from 1899 to 1902. •Fierce guerrilla resistance by the Boers angered the British, who burned crops and herded about 120,000 Boer women and children into detention camps, causing some 20,000 to die.

South Africa (cont.) •In 1910, the British created the independent Union of South Africa, combining the Cape Colony and the Boer republics. •This was a self-governing nation within the British Empire. •To appease the Boers, the policy was that only whites and a few propertied Africans could vote.

Colonial Rule in Africa •By 1914, only Liberia, which had been created by freed United States slaves, and Ethiopia were African nations free of European domination. •Native armed forces had been devastated by the superior European forces.

Colonial Rule in Africa (cont.) •Britain especially relied on existing political elites and institutions to govern its colonies. •An advantage of indirect rule for the indigenous peoples is that it interfered much less with their traditions and customs. •However, most decisions came from the parent country, and local rulers rubber-stamped and enforced these decisions, maintaining their power.•This system sowed the seeds of later class and tribal tensions among native peoples.

Colonial Rule in Africa (cont.) •Most other European governments used direct rule in Africa. •The French, for example, appointed a governor-general and set up their own colonial bureaucracy. •The French ideal was to assimilate the African peoples. •They did not want to preserve African traditions.

Rise of African Nationalism •A new class of African leaders emerged in the early twentieth century. •Mostly intellectuals, they knew about the West from their education in colonial and Western schools. •The members of this new class often admired Western culture and wanted to introduce Western ideas and institutions to their culture because they saw certain aspects of European culture as superior to their own cultures.

Rise of African Nationalism (cont.) •These same people often resented the foreigners and their contempt for Africa. •These intellectuals saw the gap between Western democratic theory and Western colonial practice. •Africans had little chance to participate in the colonial institutions, and many had lost their farms for terrible jobs in sweatshops or on plantations.

Rise of African Nationalism (cont.) •Middle-class Africans also could complain, not just the poor peasants. •They usually had only menial jobs in the government or bureaucracy, and they were paid much less than whites. •Europeans segregated most of society and often called adult black males “boy.”

Rise of African Nationalism (cont.) •During the first quarter of the twentieth century, resentment turned to action. •Educated native peoples began to organize political parties and movements to end foreign rule.

British Rule in IndiaCHAPTER 21-3

The Sepoy Mutiny •During the eighteenth century, British power in India increased as the power of the Mogul rulers declined. •To rule India, the British East India Company had its own soldiers and forts. •It also hired Indian soldiers, called sepoys, to protect the company’s interests.•In 1857, Indians revolted against the British. •This was known as the Sepoy Mutiny, or Great Rebellion, to the British, and as the First War of Independence to the Indians. •The immediate cause was the rumor that the British were passing out bullets greased with cow and pig fat. •The cow is sacred to the Hindus, and the pig is taboo to Muslims. •Thus a group of sepoys refused to use the bullets.

The Sepoy Mutiny (cont.) •The British arrested the offenders, causing the sepoys to go on a rampage and kill 50 European men, women, and children. •The revolt spread quickly, but it was crushed within a year. •The Indians were vastly outnumbered and rivalries between Muslims and Hindus hurt cooperation among their forces.•Atrocities were terrible on both sides. •At Kanpur, Indians with swords and knives massacred two hundred defenseless women and children. •When they recaptured Kanpur, the British took their revenge. •As a result of the Sepoy uprising, the British Parliament transferred the powers of the British East India Company to the British government. •In 1876 Queen Victoria acquired the title of Empress of India.

Colonial Rule •The British government ruled India directly through a British official known as a viceroy–a governor who rules as a representative of a monarch. •British rule had both benefits and costs for India. •One benefit was that Britain brought order to a society wracked by civil war.•It also led to a fairly honest government.

Colonial Rule •Lord Thomas Macaulay set up a new school system. •The goal of the new system was to train Indian children to work in the colonial administrative system and the army. •The new system served only upper-class Indians; 90 percent of the country remained illiterate. •Britain also introduced infrastructure like the telegraph and railroads.

Colonial Rule (cont.)•Perhaps the greatest cost to the Indians of British rule was economic. •British rule brought severe hardships to most of the population. •British manufactured goods destroyed local industries, for example. •In rural areas, the zamindars collected taxes from the peasants. •Many zamindars took advantage of their authority, increasing taxes and forcing many peasants to become tenants or lose their land entirely.

Colonial Rule (cont.) •The British also persuaded many farmers to switch from growing food to growing cotton. •Food supplies could not keep up with the population, therefore. •Between 1800 and 1900, thirty million Indians starved to death. •British rule was degrading to the educated, upper-class Indians as well. •Top jobs were reserved for the British, and the rulers believed they were superior to the Indians.

Colonial Rule (cont.) •The British showed disrespect for Indian culture. •For example, they used the Taj Mahal as a place of weddings and parties, even chipping off pieces of it to take as souvenirs. •British racial attitudes led to the Indian nationalist movement.

An Indian Nationalist Movement •The first Indian nationalists were upper-class, English-educated people who preferred reform over revolution. •Many came from urban areas such as Mumbai (then called Bombay) and Calcutta.•The slow pace of reform convinced most Indian nationalists they had to do more.•In 1885, a small group of Indians formed the Indian National Congress (INC). •At first it called only for a share in the governing process, not full independence. •A split between Hindus and Muslims plagued the INC. •Muslims began to call for a separate league to better represent the interests of India’s millions of Muslims.

An Indian Nationalist Movement (cont.) •In 1915, the return of a young lawyer gave new life to the independence movement. •Mohandas Gandhi was born in Gujarat and educated in England. •While working at a law firm in South Africa serving the interests of Indian workers there, Gandhi became aware of racial exploitation.•Using his experiences in South Africa, Gandhi turned the Indian independence movement into one of nonviolent resistance. •The aim was to win aid for the poor and independence. •Gandhi’s movement would indeed lead to independence.

Colonial Indian Culture •India experienced a cultural revival in the early 1800s. •A British college opened in Calcutta and a local publishing house issued textbooks on subjects including Sanskrit.•The work of writers such as the illustrious Indian author Rabindranath Tagore tried to promote pride in a national Indian consciousness in the face of British domination. •Tagore’s life work was to promote human dignity and world peace. •His interest was ideas, and he set up a school that became a national university.

Nation Building in Latin AmericaCHAPTER 21-4

Nationalist Revolts •By the end of the eighteenth century, the political ideals of the revolution in North America were threatening European control of Latin America.•Social classes based on privilege divided colonial Latin America.

•The top level, the peninsulares, held the important positions. •Creoles (descendants of Europeans born in Latin America who lived there permanently) controlled land and businesses. •Mestizos, the largest segment, worked as servants or laborers.

Nationalist Revolts (cont.) •The creole elites were especially influenced by revolutionary ideals. •They found the ideas of a free press, free trade, and equality before the law very attractive. •They resented colonial control of trade, as well. •They especially resented the peninsulares–Spanish and Portuguese officials who resided temporarily in Latin America for political and economic gain and then returned to their mother countries.

Nationalist Revolts (cont.) •The creole elites denounced the rule of Spain and of Portugal. •There was a series of revolts between 1807 and 1825, due to the weakened condition of Spain and Portugal from defeats at the hands of Napoleon.•The unusual revolution led by François-Dominique Toussaint-Louverture on the island of Hispaniola took place before the main independence movements began. •More than one hundred thousand slaves rose up and seized control of the entire island. •In 1804, the area now called Haiti became the first independent state in Latin America.

Nationalist Revolts (cont.) •Mexico experienced a revolt beginning in 1810. •Miguel Hidalgo was the first hero of the Mexican movement for independence. •Inspired by the French Revolution, he urged the mestizos (people of European and Indian descent) to free themselves from the Spanish.•In 1810, Hidalgo led an unsuccessful armed attack on the Spaniards. •They were defeated and Hidalgo was executed, but his memory lives on. •September 16, the first day of the uprising, is Mexico’s Independence Day.

Nationalist Revolts (cont.) •The involvement of Indians and mestizos in the revolt against Spain frightened both the creoles and peninsulares. •They cooperated in defeating the popular revolutionary forces. •They then overthrew the Spanish in order to preserve their own power.•In 1821, Mexico declared its independence from Spain.

Nationalist Revolts (cont.) •Two members of the creole elite –José de San Martín of Argentina and Simón Bolívar of Venezuela–are considered the liberators of South America. •San Martín believed the Spanish had to be removed from all of South America if any South American nation was to be free. •He freed Argentina by 1810. •In 1817, he led forces against the Spanish in Chile.

Nationalist Revolts (cont.) •He crossed the Andes in an amazing march during which many soldiers died. •The arrival of his army in Chile surprised the Spanish, and their forces were defeated. •San Martín wanted to move on to Lima, the center of Spanish authority. •He knew he would need the help of the man who had freed Venezuela from the Spanish–Simón Bolívar. •They allied.•By the end of the 1820s, South and Central America were free of the Spanish.

Nationalist Revolts (cont.) •The United States president, James Monroe, issued the Monroe Doctrine, which warned against European involvement in Latin America and guaranteed the independence of the new Latin American nations.

Difficulties of Nation Building •The new Latin American nations faced many serious problems between 1830 and 1870, such as border wars, a huge loss of property and people, and no modern infrastructure. •Over the nineteenth century these new countries would become economically dependent on Europe and the United States once again.•The new nations began as republics, but soon strong leaders known as caudillos came to power. •They ruled by force, and the landed elite supported them.

Difficulties of Nation Building (cont.) •The new nations began as republics, but soon strong leaders known as caudillos came to power. •They ruled by force, and the landed elite supported them. •Some of them were destructive, such as Mexican ruler Antonio López de Santa Anna. •He misused state funds, halted reforms, and created chaos. •In 1835, American settlers in the Mexican state of Texas revolted against him.

Difficulties of Nation Building (cont.) •Texas gained its independence in 1836; war between Mexico and the United States soon followed (1846 to 1848). •Mexico lost almost one-half of its territory to the United States after losing the Mexican War. •Santa Anna’s disastrous rule was followed by a period of reform (1855 to 1876), dominated by Benito Juárez, a reformer, national hero, and child of Native American peasants.

Difficulties of Nation Building (cont.) •The United States’s intervention in Latin America led to the building of the Panama Canal (opened in 1914). •The United States controlled it for most of the twentieth century.

Political Change in Latin America •A basic problem for all Latin American nations was the domination of society by the landed elite. •After 1870, Latin American governments wrote constitutions similar to those in the United States and Europe. •Ruling elites kept their power, however, often by restricting voting rights.

Political Change in Latin America (cont.) •After the Spanish-American War, Cuba became a United States protectorate and Puerto Rico was annexed to the United States. •In 1903, the United States supported a rebellion that allowed Panama to become an independent nation. •In return the United States received the land on which it built the Panama Canal.

Political Change in Latin America (cont.) •American investments in Latin America soon followed. •Beginning in 1898, military forces were sent into Latin America to protect American interests. •The United States Marines were in Haiti from 1915 to 1934, and Nicaragua was occupied from 1909 to 1933. •Resentment built against the big power from the north.

Political Change in Latin America (cont.) •In Mexico, among other Latin American countries, large landowners supported dictators who looked out for the interests of the ruling elite. •A new constitution enacted in 1917 set up a government led by a president, created land reform, established limits on foreign investment, and set out to help workers.

Economic Change in Latin America

•Latin America had a period of economic prosperity after 1870 due to the exportation of a few major items, including wheat and beef from Argentina, coffee from Brazil, and bananas from Central America. •After 1900, Latin America began doing more of its own manufacturing.•Due to the prosperity, the middle sectors of Latin American society grew, even though they were too small to make up a genuine middle class. •Members of the Latin American middle class had shared characteristics: They lived in cities, sought education and decent incomes, and saw the United States as a model, especially for industrialization. •They sought reform, not revolution, and usually voted with the landed elites.