Decolonisation Flashcards
What is Nationalism
Idea that discrete, distinguishable groups of people should govern themselves as a sovereign, independent nation
Desire to remove colonial rule, bring independence to one’s country.
Not just anti-colonialism, also have a vision/plan of how they plan to govern their new country
Factors contributing to the growth of nationalism in SEA
Unpopularity of colonial rule
- Abolishment of monarchy
- Intrusive colonial rule
- Subsistence farming replaced by cash crop farming
Increasing level of education
- Introduction of non-vernacular education
- Chinese intervention in education
Shifting global landscape
- WW1
- The Great Depression
Impact of Japanese occupation on British Malaya
Shattered the myth of western superiority:
Locals became disillusioned with the idea of colonial superiority
Revival of the MCP through the MPAJA
- Because of their assistance, the MCP was recognised as a legitimate political party
Rise of national consciousness
Malayan Union 1946
Would make Malaya a state where everyone regardless of race would have equal rights, standing, and privilege
Vehemently rejected by the Malays who wanted a Malaya for Malays only.
UMNO was formed in protest against the MU. It transcended state boundaries and was able to mobilise Malays across Malaya.
The British withdrew the proposal, then angering the Chinese community who believed their community faced the most hardship in the JO.
Federation of Malaya 1948
The FoM was the culmination of negotiations between the British, the Sultans and UMNO
Like the MU, it advocated for a united Malaya under a centralised government. The British would also maintain control over defence and foreign affairs for both the MU and FoM.
Differences from MU:
- Malays kept their privileged status
- Malays recognised as indigenous people, given automatic citizenship
- More stringent requirements for citizenship for non-Malays.
Response:
- Inherent racial imbalance (strong objections from non-Malays, like AMCJA)
- Despite commitment to giving Malaya independence was included, no concrete timeframe was given.
Malayan emergency 1948-1960
Period of guerilla war between pro-independence communist militias and the British + military of the FoM
Communists sought to gain independence and establish a communist state of Malaya controlled by China
British and FoM fought to quell communism
Causes:
- Revival of the MCP through the MPAJA
- MCP worked towards improving conditions for locals (more rations, cheaper food, trade unions)
- Soon realised that their methods of inciting anti-British sentiments were unsuccessful
- Turned to violence against the British
- Communists formed the MPABA
- Forces moved into jungles and small towns of Malaya, carrying out guerilla attacks on the British government
- Scorched villages, terrorised locals
- Aimed to make the locals and British fearful so that the locals would not work for the British and the British would leave
British declare Malaya a state of emergency
The Briggs plan
Hardcore crackdown on communists
Led by lieutenant general sir Harold Briggs, British director of operations in Malaya (1951-1952)
Aimed to defeat the MCP and quell communist uprisings in Malaya
Methods:
- Resettlement:
Cut off MCP’s main support - the rural population. Over 500,000 Malayan peasants and farmers forced into guarded areas known as the new villages - Starvation
Cut off communist’s food supply.
Issued ration cards and enforced central cooking, controlling the movement and sale of food supplies - Police crackdowns and detention without trial
Used force to arrest and imprison communists, curbing the communist movements.
Police/military were given executive power to detain any suspected communist without trial
Led to ethnic conflicts between the largely Malay police force and the largely Chinese communists, each stereotyped the other.
The Templer plan
“Hearts and minds” approach
Led by Lieutenant general Sir Gerald Templer, British high commissioner in Malaya (1951-1954)
Aimed to increase local support for the British by placating them and to curb communism.
Methods:
- Hearts and minds campaign
- Relaxed requirements and restrictions on getting Malayan citizenship for non-Malays.
- Generously rewarded people who ratted on communists.
- Granted villages more autonomy over their own affairs through the formation of village councils
- Introduced basic amenities to the new villages like water, electricity, temporary schools, and clinics. - Black and white areas
Black areas were regions with communist activity.
White areas not so much.
Strict enforcements (from Briggs plan) were reduced slightly in white areas.
Factors contributing to the defeat of the communists in British Malaya
Weakness of communists:
1. Shortage of weapons
2. Failure to win support of locals
(Once economic condition in Malaya improved, communism became less attractive) Communists also terrorised locals as part of their plan, which as counterproductive.
Strength of British:
1. Identity card system
- Clearly segregated communists
2. Briggs plan and use of the new villages
3. Templer plan to win support of locals
Malaya’s independence
THE ALLIANCE (UMNO, MCA, and MIC) won 51 out of 52 contested seats in the 1955 federal elections
Led to the Jan - Feb 1956 Merdeka mission
Led to the Jun 1956 - Feb 1957 Reid commission where the British came down to study the plans of the Malayan proposed government
Malaya achieve independence on 31 August 1957
Indochinese Communist Party (ICP)
Founded in October 1930 by Ho Chi Minh
Revolutionary movement based on Marxism-Leninism
Had mass support:
Popular amongst peasants and workers (wanted to establish a worker-peasant-soldier government)
Brutally repressed by the French in the provinces of Ha Tinh and Nghe An
Leaders trained in USSR and China
Extended influence through legal front organisations
Had members from all sections of society
Viêt Nam Quoc Dan Dang (VNQDD)
Founded in 1937
Modern revolutionary movement
Stronger influence in North Vietnam
Yen Bai uprisings in 1930 led by Nguyen Thai Hoc were rash and led to further repression by the French, arrest of 24 members and his execution. Additionally, 13 of its members were consequently beheaded
Other members fled to China and the partly largely existed in exile.
Why were nationalist movements in Vietnam not successful before WW2?
Nationalist limitations:
- Lacking unity (divided into different parties)
- Financial constraints
- Militarily inferior
- Easily suppressed by the French
Colonial/French attitudes:
- Highly centralised system of government without a semblance of local autonomy
- Brutally crushed and suppressed nationalist movements and uprisings (VNQDD Yen Bai uprisings and ICP’s revolts in provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh)
However, they stirred up a desire for independence and fostered an emerging consciousness amongst the Vietnamese, an idea of a nation-state. Proved that they were able to mobilise the masses to organise uprisings.
Impact of Japanese Occupation on French Vietnam - Perception of the French
Shattered the myth of French/colonial superiority
French seen as having to take instruction from the Japanese, another Asian power
Exposed France’s weakness in controlling and defending Vietnam - lost moral reasons for colonisation.
Impact of Japanese Occupation on French Vietnam - Bao Dai
Last emperor of the Nguyen dynasty and Vietnamese monarchy as a whole. He received western education in France.
Even though he was emperor, his role remained largely symbolic, initially controlled by the French, then by the Japanese.
Was unable to win the support of the masses, seen as a puppet ruler to legitimise Japanese rule. Elite groups from which officials were recruited were unpopular
Impact of Japanese Occupation on French Vietnam - Nationalism
JO strengthened nationalist sentiments (oppression under 2 different powers made the Vietnamese very determined to resist colonial rule)
Rise of the Vietminh, a nationalist organisation with communist affiliation.
Vietminh contributed greatly to the struggle against the Japanese, giving them legitimacy and the favour of the people
US and China also temporarily provided support to the Vietminh to fight against the common enemy - Japanese
Post-Japanese occupation developments - Declaration of Independence
2 September 1945: Ho Chi Minh, leader of Vietminh announces Vietnam’s independence. Same day as Japan’s surrender to the Allied powers, marking the end of WW2.
Bao Dai abdicates
Announcement is insufficient, Vietnam still require official recognition from France and the rest of the world
Ho Chi Minh tried to appeal to US by aligning his stance to the values mentioned in the Atlantic charter, but failed to get US recognition.
Fontainebleau conference (1946): A series of meetings discussing arrangements between France and Vietminh.
During the conference, Ho pushed for full independence and French disagreed. French wanted Vietnam to be a state under French Union.
As a result, Vietminh realised negotiation and persuasion was ineffective and switched to violence against the French
Vietminh plan for self-governance
Political
- Universal suffrage
- Ethnic minority right to self-determination
- Civil liberties
Social
- 8 hour working day
- Eradication of unemployment and prostitution
- Creation of new hospitals and child-care centres
Economic
- More equitable taxation introduced
- Nationalisation of foreign banks
- Redistribution of public lands
- Lowering of rent
- Extension of irrigation
- Freedom to settle new lands
Cultural:
- Compulsory education
- Ethnic minorities’ native tongues allowed for media of instruction
- Support for artistic and intellectual endeavours
Political freedom during and after WW2 in Vietnam
Political prisoners of the ICP were freed after the Japanese coup against the French
Political vacuum after the Japanese surrender
Famine of December 1944
10% of population died of starvation
Famine occurred because of a decline in paddy output, poor weather, rice claimed by the French and Japanese, land for food crops converted to other crops of greater military/industrial value
Japan imposed higher taxes on the locals to finance the war which exacerbated poverty
Peasants were angry over wealthy landlords and elites hoarding rice
Vietminh acted as saviours by opening the granaries and feeding the peasants, gaining mass support
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu
13 March - 7 May 1954
Nationalists (Viet Minh, backed by PRC and USSR) vs the colonists (French, backed up secretly by the Americans)
Took place in North-West Vietnam
The Vietnamese destroyed the French
Vietminh and Ho Chi Minh - consolidated
Motivations/goals:
Wanted independence from the French and also to establish a communist state in Vietnam.
Methods:
- Declaration of independence
- Tried appealing to the US based on values mentioned in the Atlantic Charter
- Tried negotiating with the French during the fontainebleau conference but failed
- Also went after Vietnamese nationalists who refused to cooperate with the Vietminh
- Militarily fight for independence against the French forces and defeat them to gain independence
Eventually successful in defeating the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu
China’s involvement in Vietnam - consolidated
Motivations/goals:
Division of labour to spread communism, focusing on South East Asia and Asia.
Mao wanted to spread his formula for people’s war
Methods:
1. Provided massive support to the Vietminh
- Trained military commanders
- Reorganised defence and financial systems, creating a solid economic base
- Helped mobilise the peasants
Successful in supporting the Vietnamese fight against the French
Bao Dai - consolidated
Motivations/goals:
More interested in perfecting a lavish lifestyle rather than governing.
Methods:
- Left major decisions to French-backed advisors, adopting a passive role.
- Chose leaders who had a strong identification with France and often men with great and dubious wealth.
Was not successful. His government was unpopular and could not win the support of the masses. Seen as a puppet government and did not achieve true independence.
French - consolidated
Motivations/goals:
Vietminh’s unconditional surrender and a Vietnam that is subjugated and capitulated
Methods:
Elysee Agreement (1949) Reconfirmed independence for Vietnam as an Associated State of the French Union and detailed procedures for unifying Vietnam and placing it under Bao Dai as the head of state.
In the Elysee Agreement, France kept control of Vietnam’s army and its foreign relations, postponing arrangements for virtually all other aspects of autonomy
Not successful as Viet Minh rejected this independence and continued fighting their war of resistance against the French.
War would become increasingly expensive and difficult for the French government to continue fighting, eventually being defeated by the Viet Minh at the battle of Dien Bien Phu.
US involvement in Vietnam - consolidated
Motivations goals:
Initially wanted to support the Vietnamese against the Japanese during WW2
Needed to preserve Vietnam against communist aggression and block communist expansion into Asia (The Vietminh and the support coming from Mao’s communist China)
Methods:
Sent financial and military aid to the French in their fight against the Vietminh
- $150 million USD given
- 7200 tonnes of equipment such as aircraft, naval vessels, ammunition and other miscellaneous equipments.
Aid was unsuccessful in helping the French defeat the Vietminh
Analysis of factors leading to decolonisation in French Vietnam
French strengths:
- Support of the US
- Air power
French weaknesses:
- Lacked numerical strength to secure vast areas, eventually overstretched
Vietminh strengths:
- Support of China
- Familiar with terrain and effective in engaging guerilla warfare
- Overwhelming numbers
Vietminh weaknesses:
- No anti-air weapons, powerless against devastating napalms
- Lacked ammunition
