HISTORY OF EUROPEAN COLONIZATION 8

HISTORY OF EUROPEAN COLONIZATION 8

Chapter 4: Asia

• Brit India
• Southeast Asia
• French Indochina
• China

BRITISH INDIA:
Weve seen Brit expansion into inland India up until 1819

• conqouring of vast territories, power vacuums, action out of fear of the French, etc.
• 1857: Britian expands EVEN further into India, gather more and more coast
• Different from Napoleonic wars (conflict with france)
• competition with Russia (other Napoleonic war victor)
• all over 19th Century Russia and Britian fight a sort of cold war as the two most powerful European empires
• Brits saw a Russian threat of expansion (in Central Asia)
• Central Asia: the stan countries.
• In 19th century: independant countries, smaller nations, khanets, etc.
• ! Russia could have expanded South, gotten Central Asian territory. This would put British India at risk, at which point the Russians could have attacked British India
• Russia has military campaings into Central Asia (1801); Growing Russian territories in Caucasus, as far as Persia (1813, 1826)
• during 19th century russian conquers Caucasus
• this treath was real, but idea that Russians might attack and conquer British India was primarily imaginary (political idea, but also present in culture)
• ! Arthur Conolly - ‘Great Game’ presents this opposition between the two victors of Napoleon about control over Asia
• Kipling (Jungle Book, etc.) - also popularizes this ‘Great Game’
• contrast between ideologies. Russia - autocracy, militarism, serfdom. UK - democracy, freedom, modernity. Britian sees Russia as its antipode
• fear of UK’s negation winning, British Empire, but also British ideals, dying out/being replaced.
  [this is most of the ‘Great Game’ context]

How Great Game materializes:

• 1839: Brits attack Afghanistan. Central Asian bridge, motivated by fear of Russian expansion.

• initial Brit sucess in conquest, failure in retainment of territory.

• 1842: Brits retreat

• 1842-43: Brits gain territory on Indus River (General Napier, not official London/East India Company policy)
  [used by Brits to claim this was done while they were ‘asleep’, sincet they turned on an ally, essentialy]

• conquest of Punjab

• British imperialism is built upon tens of forgotten wars

• Sikhism: created in 16th Century in Punjab, inspired by Hinduism and Islam.

• Sikhism militarized in 17th Century, then further later in 18th. It was because it was nearby possible invaders and hostile territories

• Maharaha Sigh, the Lion of Punjab: mighty leader, after his death Brits feel free to invade Punjab

• 1840s, First and Second Punjab War.

• Punjab immediately integrated into British India.

• By 1857 - Brits have conquered almost all of India/Pakistan.
  (All of this within the conquest of the ‘Great Game’)

• ! 1857-58: Great Mutiny or First War of Indian Independence:
  began as mutiny of soldiers, later turned into an insurrection of Indian locals. For Indians this is a war of Independence.

• The Great Mutiny: a complex patchwork of ideologies, cruel with many atrocities

• 1858: Brits in the end win. The mutiny fails.

• ! 1858: Indian rule changes. Before 1858 the East India company (backed by government) was the ruler. Afterwards it becomes consolodated under the Crown.

• after this the Brit expansion into India falters

• ! Russia: Deafeating Ottoman Empire, this sucess scares European nations

• The Crimean War 1854-56: Europeans assist Ottomans. The Ottomans and its western allies win.

• by 1860s, via reforms, Russians are ready for further conquests in Central Asia & far East

• 1858-60: North East, Near Manchuria (happens around second Opioid War)

• 1860s & 1870s: Central Asia. Smaller khanettes defeated.

• ! British nightmare becomes reality.

British Imperialism revived in the 1870s.

• 1876: Balochistan (you know where this is)
• 1877: East Turkestan to China (Xinjiang, Ughyur muslims, North-West China), done by both Brits and Russians, out of fear of the other controlling it
• 1878-80: Second British Deafeat in Afghanistan
• Tibet: then independant, ruled by Dalai Lama.
• 1895: Dalai Lama starts pro-Russian policy
• 1904: British expedition into Tibet, conquering Lhasa (capital)
• British treaty between Tibet and Britian for free trade and borders (Chinese do not recognize this)
• This is a reason for Chinese-Indian border conflicts over contested regions
• 1906: China recognized as soverign of Tibet (same as Turkestan)
• around this time Chinese Empire was collapsing
• 1911: Tibet becomes independant
• 1950: re-conquest by Mao, becomes Chinese again
• Tibet is still Chinese today, Western movement for pro-free Tibet
• by 1913 Central Asia is very different, controlled by Russia/Britian.
• Stan countries: Russian; Tibet: Chinese; Britian: further expansion, failure of Afghan invasion

How did the ‘Great Game’ end?

• Russia begins losing its position as a superpower

• it loses a war against Japan (Russo-Japanese war, 1904-1905, first wave of mass Russian revolts, first Russian revolution)

• rise of Germany

• Brits stop focusing on Russia. Now they’re focused on Germany.

• 1907: Treaty between Brits and Russians and French.

• ! Creation of Triple Entente

• ! This Triple Entente are the powers fighting Germany & Austria in WW1
  (imperial history is closely connected to WW1)

• Persia: final country that Brits and Russian claim.

• 1907 (part of treaty): Divided in Russian and Brit part. The middle is neutral, with Belgians used as neutralists.
  (Belgian colonial history is more than just Congo)

• 19th Century:Three Anglo-Burmese Wars, moving slowly (gain influence, crush opposition, full control)

!!! South-East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, etc.)

• Indonesia: Dutch colony. Colonized slowly by the Dutch, with many parts remaining independant even in 1862.
• VOC (Java, spice islands): United East Indian Company, shareholder owned/funded
• VOC’s position declines. 17th Century Dutch are most important, 18th its the Brits.
• VOC becomes very corrupt, even during the 17th Century it begins declining
• During 17th Century Dutch had won the Ango-Dutch wars
• 1780-84: 4th Anglo-Dutch war, the Brits win
• End of South East Asia Dutch monopoly
• Brits begin taking their part in spice islands
• 1794-1806: Batavian Republic (French puppet state): France didnt want colonies, this complicates Dutch-Java connection,
• by 1796 VOC goes bankrupt, is abolished
• ! 1800: Dutch take over VOC property
• 1806-14: Dutch become French puppet state (Napoleon’s brother is on the throne)
• 1811-1815: Dutch East Indies occupied by Britian (ruled by Thomas Raffles)
• post-Waterloo, Dutch recieve East Indies back
  [this is because Netherlands was used as a french buffer state, and other EU powers wanted it to be powerful]
• ! Brits take over Malaysian Peninsula (major traffic/trade control). This is of key importance
• by 1819: Brits leave East Indies, Thomas Raffles founds Singapore
  [first Malaysia is seperate settlements, late 18th: Penang, early 19th: Singapore, Malacca]
• Singapore becomes most important city for control of trade, upon independence becomes very modern (futuristic)
• ! 1826: Straits Settlements. 1867: crown colony. 1895: via indirect rule some settlements become local-ruled with Brit control
• post-1815 (think Waterloo, more Dutch power), the Dutch are met by much termoil and opposition from locals
• This leads to a LOT of violence, a lot of conflict, a lot of resistence, a lot of wars
• Java war (1825-30) (central Dutch island): local king resists, warfare, eventual local loss, Dutch annexation of the island & capital
• Aceh (1873-1908) (North-Western Sumatra): general killed, war begins, antropology, mutinies, destruction of local economy, mass murder, etc. Eventual ‘peace’
  [! 19th is full of great colonial wars, many forgotten by the colonizers]
• ! The Netherladns did not participate in the scramble for Africa, due to this expansion into the Indies

!!! French Indochina (1850s, 60s and especially 70s onward)

• Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos
• as far back as 17th Century the French had sent missionaries to Vietnam
• due to competition with Brits, the French decide to expand into Indochina
• French needed colonies, extra revenues, etc.
• they wanna turn Saigon (Vietnam capital) into Singapore 2
• by controlling Saigon, French have acess to rivers - they hope to trade further, colonize more, etc. They also have acess to China then
• they couldnt trade with China due to unavigatability of rivers
• by 1905: heavy expansion

Siam (modern Thailand)

• remains independant. To stay independant many territories are relinquished.
• indirect colonialism, via trade