According to Duara, "From a historian's perspective, decolonization was one of the most important developments of the twentieth century because it turned the world into the stage of history. " Therefore, it is of no surprise that much historical research has been devoted to this phenomenon; and the various nuances among the decolonization processes undergone by the various Southeast Asian countries have been of interest. For the purpose of this essay, I shall define decolonization' as "the process whereby colonial powers transferred institutional and legal control over their territories and dependencies to indigenously based, formally sovereign, nation-states ". Singapore's neighbours' in Southeast Asia are namely: Laos, Vietnam, …show more content…
This is somewhat akin to most of its neighbours' processes, albeit subjected to several nuances. Secondly, the controversial debate of whether Lee Kuan Yew entered heated debates with Tunku Abdul Rahman, therefore engineering the whole separation from Malaysia has also raised the question of whether Lee did seek to have the independence of Singapore as an individual nation-state. The second salient point of dissimilarity when comparing Singapore's decolonization process with that of her neighbours is the matter of whether a mass-based indigenous nationalist movement had emerged on the Singapore political landscape before WWII; and even if it did after the war, Albert Lau argues that "commentators are still not agreed about its efficacy in ending British rule in Singapore ". The lack of this movement can be gleaned from the stances the various spectrums of Singaporean society took: the Indian community remained "politically quiescent" throughout most of the interwar years, and few issues actually roused the Indians from their "traditional docility" ; the political awakening among the dominant Chinese and minority Malay, and Indian communities by
Singapore was also a gateway to other countries in South-East Asia such as New Guinea, Indonesia, Dutch-East Indies (Indonesia) and Philippines as seen in Figure 1. After this, it was the first time in Australia’s history is was the first time they were under threat from any country “Yellow
There is an extensive history empirical power, repeatedly and successfully controlling another state or group of people in order to exploit it economically. In Southeast Asia there were 5 colonial powers; the United Kingdom, France, Dutch, America, and Japan, their primary motives for establishing colonies in the region was to get control of trade routes, to get access to the natural resources and raw materials, and the cheap labor, as well as to establish naval and military bases so that they could amass influence in the region. Prior to World War II, a third of the world 's area was colonized by European colonial powers between the 15th and 19th centuries, and another third of the world 's population were in colonies, dependencies, protectorates, or dominions. In this essay, I will focus on the British and French colonization in Southeast Asia. The British-controlled Burma, most of the Malayan peninsula, and Singapore, which was a strategic port and later became a naval base for the British. Meanwhile, the French controlled the adjoining countries of Vietnamese, Cambodia, and Laos, collectively known as French Indochina. This period of colonization in Southeast Asia brought many changes to the regions society, politics, and the economy. For instance, both colonial powers introduced political changes such as introducing a centralized form of government and changes to the justice systems in many of the colonized countries. There were also social impacts resulting from the
“Tearful Conversation’s” author is a Vietnamese man decrying the affect Western foreigners have on the lands their trade dominates. Comparing the two documents allows for a readers to understand the scope and effect of global trading by examining both the native and foreign reactions to nations’ changing populations and landscapes. Document Two describes that “a full description of the inhabitants of Singapore would fill a volume, they are of so many countries.” As Robert E. Elson describes in his article, the crop commodity systems of South Asia encouraged the increased immigration of young workers from across Asia and the West to meet demands. Just as the writer of the document traveled Eastward, many other Westerners found themselves in countries like Singapore to obtain official positions and secure connections to Eastern markets for Western nations. Although diversity increased, ethnicities often did not intermix; migrant populations in Southeast Asia tended to separate themselves in distinct areas of the city, which is also referenced in the document. Perhaps due to the fact that they felt more comfortable living with those who shared their backgrounds, or due to the layout of the land and housing markets, different nationalities tended to remain together when abroad. For the most part, these different groups only interacted for business
While the initial sparks of Singaporean nationalism may have stemmed from being under the British colonial rule or arose due to the brutality that the people were put through during the Japanese Occupation between 1942 to 1945, it is difficult to ascertain exactly when the start of Singapore’s nation building efforts began. Characterized by the process where a large body of people associated with a territory commits to its own government, I would define the start of Singapore’s nation building process from the time its people started to strive for their independence. In this essay, I would argue about how the Japanese Occupation was indeed, a significant turning point that led to cultivation of Singapore as a nation.
Singapore is located at the centre of a crucial sea route in the far east. The sea route is controlled by the Japanese and attempting to prevent from the British claiming the control of the route.
The Indian resistance against the British empire is one example of opposition against imperialism. Until 1858, India was controlled by the British East India Company. Thereafter, the crown rule replaced the company rule until 1947. “The slow expansion of the Indian role in public affairs would not have occurred without mounting political pressure from Indian society” (Findley 188). The people of India had tried to cause a reform through a political channel, evident through the slow yet steady participation in political affairs from 1858-1947. In this resistance,
During the 20th century different regions and countries of the extra European world –Japan, China, India, the Middle East and Latin America- have been invested by profound transformations, that in part went to aliment the tensions that later would have brought to the second world war, and in part determined the beginning of the process of decolonization .
Throughout the years many historians have compilated and examined why Indian people were so desperate to gain back their independence from the British Empire during their rule over India, from 1612 to 1947. The reasoning can most definitely be found as the British discriminated against Indian people as they believe that they were inferior; it is no surprise that Indian people fought so hard for their independence. Throughout the British Raj, they placed and put forward unbelievably racist acts and laws which discriminated against Indian people. Which of course led to Indians to rebel against the British rule and which the British reacted with causing massacres. Explaining the nationalistic many India’s felt during the British Raj.
This essay will focus on the decolonisation of India by the British Empire and the problems they encountered. It will also aim to bring recognition to the struggle decolonisation brought upon the world after World War II. Pierce states that “after the War concluded, a worldwide process of decolonisation commenced in which Britain granted independence to all of its major colonies, beginning notably in India” (Pierce, 2009). India had struggled with uprisings and conflicts for the many years of British occupation but when Gandhi began sharing his social efforts; the perceptions of colonialism began to change leading to the collapse of the British colonial Empire. Gandhi began changing the lives of regular Indian’s with his popular visions, he also advocated for the people of India in a non-violent
Singapore and Malaysia were both similarly colonized by the British. However, their development after independence differed in many ways. In this paper, I will examine, with help from resources provided in the course and minimal research, how their colonial experiences affected their political and social development after independence. After which, investigating the depth of influence their colonizers had, and why, differing racial ideologies had the greatest impact on their development.
The process of decolonization in Southeast Asia was not totally a violent struggle due to the divers natures of the process of decolonization and the fight for independence in the various Southeast Asian nations. Furthermore, although the struggle for the withdrawal of the colonial masters was lined with bloodshed and violence, there were still moments in which peaceful negotiations managed to take place, rendering the process of decolonization in Southeast Asia a largely violent struggle as one cannot say that it was totally violent due to the differing situations that occurred in the different Southeast Asian nations during the process of
My research will be based on Political, Economic, and Social Organization of Singapore—an industrialist city-state. Even though Singapore 's history dates from the 11th century, the island was little known to the West until the 19th century. Singapore is one of the World 's largest ports, because the city of Singapore has become a major port, with trade exceeding that of Malaya 's, Malacca and Penang combined. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the advent of steamships launched an era of prosperity for Singapore as transit trade expanded throughout Southeast Asia (Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, 2010). Singapore is a very
The events of World War Two such as the failed Malaya campaign, the fall of Singapore, the bombing of Pearl Harbour and the stretched resources of Britain, led to Australia developing a more independent foreign policy however, independent of Britain. The changing of alliance between Britain, Australia and the United States of America has led to a substantial impact on shaping Australian society and where Australia are today. The fall of Singapore and the Malaya campaign brought the war extremely close to Australia even reaching Australian soil for the first time and generated new opinions and perspectives on the war for all Australians. Furthermore, with its greatest military defeat of all time, Britain had to recover and Australia had to
Beeson, M. (2014). Regionalism and globalisation in East Asia: politics, security and economic development, 2nd edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
However, the development of Singapore’s society cannot be predicated on pure economics alone. Even though globalization has enabled Singapore to fare well in economic development, however, termed the perils of success, globalization has brought about undesirable