Decolonisation: Asia Flashcards
Atlantic charter
1941
Agreement between Churchill and Roosevelt to allow self-determination in the colonies
Timeline of decolonisation
Interwar/WWII, 1947+, 1954+, 1957+
Interwar and WWII:
- Egypt and Iraq (interwar)
- Lebanon, Syria, Jordan (defacto during WWII)
- Israel in 1948
1947+: South and SE asia
- Indian independence in 47
- Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) in 49
- First French-indochina war in 46-54, partition of Vietnam
1954+: Northern Africa
1957/60: Subsaharan Africa
Post-war India
Growing muslim-hindu violence:
- Brits always supported muslims in order to weaken the nationalistic cause (divide and conquer)
Nehru: first Indian PM
Mohammed Ali Jinnah: founder of Pakistan
Churchill lost the next PM election to Attlee (Labour): anti-imperialist, more concerned about the British working class
Promised that the Brits would leave india by 1948: although many uncertainties
Partition of India
Borders were drawn up on the eve of independence and Brits withdrew immediately – chaos
Hindus living in west Punjab or east Bengal were forced to leave, vice versa for muslims
10-15 million refugees in both directions, 1 million casualties
India was split between directly ruled areas and indirectly ruled areas, nawabs and maharajas no longer had British support so had to pick sides
Kashmir
Hindu raja but muslim majority (wanted independence for his state)
Invaded by Pakistan in 47, cease fire in 49
Initiated the war between india and pakistan, conflict continues into the modern day
Both countries claim the entire state
Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Independence in 1948: result of ethnic conflicts
Sinhalese majority Vs Tamil minority
Burma (Myanmar)
independence in 1948
Initially a democracy, followed by a military regime in 1962, followed by another democracy (Aung San Suu Kyi) which ended w her imprisoned in 2021
Malaysia
Remains British due to its geographical significance
Federation of Malaya in 1948
Malayan Emergency/Anti-British National Liberation War
1948-1960
- Conflict between Malaysian freedom fighters (communist) and British forces
Ended 1957 w Malayan independence
- Federation of Malaya w Borneo and Singapore in 1963 (Singapore would become independent itself)
Sukarno
One of the most prominent voices for Indonesian independence since the 20s
Asserts independence in 1945
Not recognised by any European powers
Dutch military action in West Indies
2 dutch military campaigns: KNIL, 100,000 soldiers
5,000 Dutch casualties, 150,000 Indonesian casualties
Referred to as ‘police action’ by dutch and ‘Dutch military aggression’ by Indonesians
Indonesian independence in 1949
Dutch New Guinea (West Papua)
Culturally and ethnically separate from the rest of Indonesia
Dutch decided to remain in Papua in order to ‘protect Melanesian culture from Indonesian domination’
Caused another war that ended in 1963 due to UN intervention – reunited w Indonesia
South Moluccans
Considered to be a martial race (analogous to Sikhs in India
Many fought alongside the Dutch against Indonesian freedom fighters
Were promised refuge in NL after Indonesian independence, but arrived to very poor circumstances
South Moluccan independence war: 1950-66 - failure
Civil unrest in NL from 2nd gen immigrants
East Timor
Portuguese remained until well after the main stages of decolonisaiton – withdrawal in 74
Indonesian invasion in 75, gained independence in 2002
French retreat from Indochina
1945: Proclamation of independence by Viet Minh (Hanoi, Communists) following Japanese withdrawal
46-54: French troops to Indochina
Independence: Laos (49), Cambodia (53) – couldn’t continue fighting on 3 fronts
54: Surrender of French troops at Dien Ben Phu
