Imperialism in Southeast Asia
A. In the late 1400s & early 1500s, European traders explored the East Indies
1. In the seaports of these islands & on the nearby mainland
a) Portuguese & Dutch merchants enjoyed a rich & active trade until the early 1800s.
B. In the 1800s and early 1900s, European imperialism
made its way to Southeast Asia as it did to nearby India & China
1. The area became an important source not only of spices but also of the world's tea
2. Later valuable products such as tin and oil came from this area
BRITISH SUCCESSES
A. It was natural that the British should take an interest in the kingdom of Burma, on the eastern border of India
1. By 1886 all of Burma had come under British control
B. The island of Singapore, on the tip of the Malay Peninsula, guards the entrance to the Strait of Malacca --- one of the most vital trade routes in the world
1. Britain's first recorded contact w/ Singapore was by representative of the East India Company
a) In 1819 a company ship landed at Singapore
1) Informed that there were only a few residents & no Dutch among them, the company decided to purchase land for a factory site
a. It created a city at Singapore, which became an important naval base in the British Empire
FRENCH GAINS
A. The eastern part of the mainland of Southeast Asia contained several small nations that struggled w/ internal instability & were at times also under the influence of Siam
1. In the late 1800s, French imperialists, by means of assertive economic measures and military intervention, laid claims to the area, & the French became the dominant power in what became known as French Indochina
a) The original 3 nations eventually regained the...
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...me, American forces also occupies Guam, which was a small Spanish- held island east of the Philippines
C. Some Filipinos welcomed the Americans & even fought w/ them against the Spaniards
1. Most of the local population had suffered under Spanish rule for centuries
2. Yet many saw little advantage in changing one foreign master for another
a) Led by Emilio Aguinaldo, Filipino locals fought for independence for 3 years against American troops
b) The Filipinos used guerilla warfare against the better-equipped US army but were finally defeated in 1901
1) Besides acquiring the Philipine Islands and Guam, the US also took possession of Wake Island in the central Pacific
a. Thus the US acquired another link in a chain of island possessions running from its west coast across the vast distances of the Pacific Ocean all the way to East Asia.
In my opinion The United States ordeal with Annexing the Philippines and the idea that we had of going into war with them was great mistake and should have been avoided. The Filipinos and Americans were deadlocked in war with each other. This all became a controversy with the two nations in 1898 when the Treaty of Paris between Spain and the United Stated ceded all seven thousand islands of the Philippine archipelago to the United States, for just a mere twenty-million dollars. Congress had approved the treaty with Spain, by February of 1899. Mckinley was on the verge of calling for the annexation of the Philippines which brought on a bloody two year struggle. In my opinion the United States was the cause of all of this because of three different reasons, for one our government would not...
United States of America. U.S. Department of State. Office of the Historian. The Philippine-American War, 1899-1902. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014
Expansion of a nation was nothing new in terms of history. The fighting, buying and selling of land in North America was a common event during the 1800s. The United States had started expanding in 1803 with President Thomas Jefferson’s purchase of the Louisiana Territory whose borders where not clearly defined. After the War of 1812 with the British, the northern border of this territory was defined at the 49th parallel. Then in 1819, Spain sold its claim to Florida to the United States. The United States wanted to continue to expand itself westward to the Pacific Ocean, a territory then owned by Mexico. The acquirement of this territory occurred after the Mexican War. How the territory was acquired by the United States is the topic in question.
of Guam, the Marianas,The Philippines and Puerto Rico. Also, after the end of such war
Such power of overtaking islands and colonizing them led some people to fight back in belief that they could come out from under the ruling of the United States. “The United States spent 400 million to stifle the revolt, and more than 126,000 U.S soldiers fought against the Filipinos rebels” (Schaller 670). The attempt of rebelling against the United States shown them how strong and determined the United States were in keeping their power and control. Continually the price paid was nothing compared to the gains they
The United States had taken part of an agreement in 1898 called The Treaty of Paris. This treaty officially ended the Spanish-American War. The United States acquired three new territories, including Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. The nation had all this new land, and they could not decide what they wanted to do with it. This was one of the first opportunities the nation had to begin imperialism and it consequently started disputes between Americans.
The epoch of imperialism cannot be defined simply as proliferation of inflated egos tied to the hardened opinions of nationalists, but also a multi-faceted global rivalry with roots of philosophies tainted with racism and Social Darwinism. The technique of each imperialist was specific to the motivations and desires of each combative, predominantly Western power and subsequently impacted the success of each imperialist and its colonies. Driven by industrialization, Europeans were aware of the urgent need for raw materials and new markets to maintain a constant rate of expansion and wealth. Imperialism became a competition; in general, the European countries led with fervor while the non-Western regions deemed likely to be stepped on. Britain was endowed with geographic and political advantages that allowed the country to become the first to unwittingly stumble onto industrialization. Britain was an island, therefore had developed a unique naval strength which subsequently gave Britain leverage when globalization blossomed from expanding maritime trade. Meanwhile, the rest of Europe, including Belgium, trailed behind. Presently, colonized regions still bear the traits and scars from the subjugators of their past.
After temporarily resolving the problems of Reconstruction and Industrialization, Americans began to resume the course of expansion. The horrors of the Civil War had interrupted the original Manifest Destiny that began in the 1840s. Now, as pioneers settled the last western frontiers, expansionists looked yet farther to the west -- toward Asia and the Pacific. American ships had long been active in the Pacific. The New England whaling fleets scoured the ocean in search of their prey. As ships crossed the vast ocean to trade in Asia, islands in the Pacific became important stops for coal, provisions, and repairs. In the South Pacific, the American navy negotiated with awestruck natives for the rights to build bases on the islands of Midway and Samoa. This practice had been going on for a while. The Hawaiian Islands, which lie closest to the American mainland, had long been an important stop for the Pacific fleet.
Western imperialism in East Asia caused many tribulations for China, Japan, and Korea but also helped them to become contemporary nations. The East Asian countries were tremendously affected by unequal treaties, extraterritoriality, and above all, technology. Great Britain encroached upon China their greed for open trade with the Chinese empire resulting in the deterioration of the Chinese culture, which led to the emergence of a modernized civilization. Japan was co-subjugated by Russia and the United States so that the trade routes of these western countries could extend into the east, which resulted in the foundation of industrialization in Modern East Asia. Finally, the spread of western Christianity and influential neighbors, namely China and Japan, culturally influenced Korea while bringing some semblance of unification. Therefore, imperialism affected 18th and 19th century East Asia by the system’s inherent exploitation of the countries' resources and worldly ignorance but also managed to give rise to a stronger Modern East Asia.
In 1898, in an effort to free Cuba from the oppression of its Spanish colonizers, America captured the Philippines. This brought about questions of what America should do with the Philippines. Soon, controversy ensued both in the American political arena as well as among its citizens. Throughout its history, America had always been expansionistic, but it had always limited itself to the North American continent. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, however, there emerged a drive to expand outside of the continent. When America expanded to the Philippines, the policy it followed was a stark break from past forms of expansionism. Despite much controversy, America followed the example of the imperialistic nations in Europe and sought to conquer the Philippines as an imperialist colony that they would rule either directly or indirectly.
Captain Francis Light, while in Penang, acted directly under command of the British East India Trading Company. The British East India company, commissioned by Queen Elizabeth 1st, began trading operations in Southeast Asia in 1600 primarily focusing on the acquisition and trade of cotton, silk, opium, and spices which were all extremely valuable commodities throughout Europe. Because the European countries were such impending rivals for the British, the British East India Company had created a sizeable English army who would protect the trading routes and lands operated by the Company. This was the foundation for the deal the Sultan of Kedah sought to make with Captain Light. In return for English military protection from the Siamese and Burmese, the sultan would cede Penang to the British. Upon the deal being made, Penang would formally be renamed as The Prince of Wales Island until it was renamed in 1867. Penang would be extremely advantageous to the British in the future in the ...
perceive the strategic threat posed by the East India Company. The British from the beginning followed a
Singapore gained its independence in 1965.It has been growing gradually and increasingly in the economy. I is now included among the world’s most competitive economies. This was made possible by being an public business globally, with a good business environment and a substantial political market, making it a popular country to invest in globally.
1. In 1810, Sir Stamford Raffles founded the island of Singapore and later claimed it in an attempt to create a trading post for the British. This trading post was located on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, which was important for trade from East Asia and India. In the early 19th century, Malays, Chinese, and Indians came to Singapore to begin trade. The language spoken by these ethnicities affected one another and resulted in a choppy, sing-song version of the Queen’s English with heavy accents from the Hokkien, Malay, Cantonese, Tamil, and more.
The British first came in the late 1700s. In the late 18th century, the British East India Company traded in and partially controlled India. When Malaya caught their attention, they began to look for a base in Malaya. The British under Francis Light had occupied Penang and founded Georgetown.