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Summary CIE A Level History: The spread of communism in East and Southeast Asia, 1945–91
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Theme 2 in International option, Depth study 3: International history, 1945–92
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Paper 4: Spread of Communism in East and Southeast Asia, 1945-91THEME 1
Impact of the Second World War on the region
Attempts to re-establish colonial control (British, Dutch, French) & Growth of nationalist
movements.
Colonial Expansion
European powers began colonizing Asia in the early 16th century.
Region of central European commercial and economic power – tin,
petroleum, rubber plantations – so attempt to hold onto power/control
countries future destiny.
o In 1511, Portugal established a permanent base in Malacca.
o In 1565, Spain commenced its colonization of the Philippine Islands,
creating a long sea trade route via Mexico to Spain.
o The decline of Spain and Portugal in the 17th century paved the way
for other European powers.
o Namely the Netherlands, France, and England.
o Portugal would lose influence in all but three of its colonies -
Portuguese India, Macau and Timor.
o By the end of the 17th century, the Dutch had taken over much of
the old Portuguese colonies.
o It had also established a strong presence in present-day Indonesia,
with colonies in Aceh, Bantam, Makassar and Jakarta.
o The Dutch also had trade links with Siam, Japan, China and Bengal.
o The British had competed with Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch for
their interests in Asia since the early 17th century.
o By the mid-19th century held much of India, as well as Burma,
Ceylon, Malaya and Singapore.
o After India's First War of Independence of 1857, Queen Victoria was
declared Empress of India, thus solidifying the British rule on the
subcontinent.
o The last British acquisition in Asia was the New Territories of Hong
Kong, which was leased from the Qing emperor in 1897, expanding
the British colony originally ceded in the Treaty of Nanking in 1842.
o The French established their most lucrative and substantial colony in
Indochina from 1862, eventually occupying the present-day areas of
Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia by 1887.
, o Japan's first colony was the island of Taiwan, occupied in 1874 and
officially ceded by the Qing emperor in 1894.
o Japan continued its early imperialism with the annexation of Korea
in 1910.
o Japan emergence and undermining European power in the 20th
century shows other asain countries how to liberate themselves
Dutch East Indies
Long standing nationalist: Yes – PNI (Indonesian Nationalist Party)
Weak colonial power: Yes - Dutch
Strong Japan: Yes – 1942-45
Us attitude: Supports – independence non-communist
Nationalism:
Long standing.
Indonesian nationalism was concerned not merely with resistance to Dutch rule
BUT with:
• Embracing the ethnic diversity of the archipelago
• Looking to the restructuring of traditional patterns of authority in order
to enable the creation of Indonesia as a modern state.
1908: Budi Utomo (“Noble Endeavour”) - taken as the beginning of organized
nationalism.
1912: Sarekat Islam (“Islamic Association”) - was clearly much larger than any
other movement of the time.
1924: The Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).
End of WW1 – due to their promise to associate the Indonesian community more
closely with government, the dutch created the People’s Council (Volksraad).
• Composed of a mixture of appointed and elected representatives.
• From the three racial divisions defined by the government—Dutch,
Indonesian, and “foreign Asiatic”
• It provided opportunities for debate and criticism.
• But no real control over the government of the East Indies.
Some nationalist leaders were prepared to accept seats in the assembly.
Others refused, insisting that concessions could be obtained only through
uncompromising struggle.
1927: the Indonesian Nationalist Association, later the Indonesian Nationalist Party
(Partai Nasional Indonesia; PNI), was formed under the chairmanship of Sukarno.
• Based on the idea of noncooperation with the government.
• This distinguished from those groups, such as Sarekat Islam, that were
prepared to accept People’s Council membership.
• Sukarno - while seeking to create a basis of mass support for the PNI, also
attempted with some success to work together with more-moderate
leaders and succeeded in forming in the party a broadly based, if rather
, precarious, association of nationalist organizations.
1928: On Oct. 28 a number of representatives of youth organizations issued the
historic Youth Pledge (Sumpah Pemuda), whereby they vowed to recognize only
one Indonesian motherland, one Indonesian people, and one Indonesian language.
It was a landmark event in the country’s history and also is considered the
founding moment of the Indonesian language.
Weak Colonial power & Strong Japan:
WW2 & its impact (demise of European power, undermines power) makes it
possible for independence from the nationalist movements.
& Strong Japan
Ww2 is a key pivotal event as it exposes the weakness of the European countries
Europe is declining due to Nazi-power
The Netherlands fell to Germany in May 1940.
The royal family fled to exile in Britain.
Strong Japan:
On 27 September 1940, Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Japan signed a treaty outlining
"spheres of influence".
The Dutch East Indies fell into Japan's sphere.
The Netherlands, Britain and the United States tried to defend the colony from the
Japanese forces as they moved south in late 1941 in search of Dutch oil.
Jan 10th 1942: Japanese forces invaded the Dutch East Indies as part of the Pacific
War.
o The rubber plantations and oil fields of the Dutch East Indies were considered
crucial for the Japanese war effort.
Allied forces were quickly overwhelmed by the Japanese and
On 8 March 1942 the Royal Dutch East Indies Army surrendered in Java.
Fuelled by the Japanese Light of Asia war propaganda (Asian power in relation to
European countries) and the Indonesian National Awakening – the population first
welcomed the Japanese as liberators from the colonial Dutch empire.
Japan’s invasion showed that European powers were fallible and could be topped.
This sentiment quickly changed as the occupation turned out to be far more
oppressive and ruinous than the Dutch colonial government.
The Japanese occupation during World War II brought about the fall of the colonial
state in Indonesia.
The Japanese removed as much of the Dutch government structure as they could,
replacing it with their own regime.
Although the top positions were held by the Japanese, the internment of all Dutch
citizens meant that Indonesians filled many leadership and administrative positions.
In contrast to Dutch repression of Indonesian nationalism, the Japanese allowed
indigenous leaders to forge links amongst the masses, and they trained and armed
, the younger generations.
According to a UN report, four million people died in Indonesia as a result of
the Japanese occupation.
The Indonesian War of Independence 1945–49:
Following the Japanese surrender in August 1945, nationalist leaders
Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta declared Indonesian independence.
A four and a half-year struggle followed as the Dutch tried to re-establish
their colony.
The majority of Indonesians, and ultimately international opinion,
favoured Indonesian independence.
• Britain:
• Initially tried to re-occupy - main task was to disarm the
Japanese troops and return them to Japan.
• Battle of Surabaya, November 1945: Surabaya Indonesian
fighters resisted superior British forces for three weeks.
• It was the heaviest single battle of the revolution and became a
national symbol of Indonesian resistance.
• Indonesian defeat in the battle galvanised the nation in support
of independence and helped gain international attention.
• It also convinced Britain to become neutral in the revolution.
• Dutch:
• Following their liberation from the Germans wanted Sukarno
and the other nationalist leaders removed as quickly as possible.
• But they were weak:
• The Netherlands’ harbours had been destroyed in the
war.
• They had only a few ships and lacked finance to buy
petrol.
• But theywere determined to restore the pre-war
situation.
• This Dutch stubbornness led to Indonesia becoming the
scene of a four-year war of decolonisation.
• Their weakness was also exacerbated because of lack
of support from the British and also by the UN.
• Dual strategy:
• Negotiation:
• The Linggadjati Agreement (drafted Nov. 15,
1946, and signed March 25, 1947).
• The Dutch agreed to transfer sovereignty in
due course to a federal Indonesia.
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