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IMPERIALISM IN ASIA.
INDIA.
British economic interest in India began in the 1600s, when the British East India Company
set up trading post at Bombay, Madras and Calcutta. At first, Indians kept Europeans traders under
control. By 1707, Indias split up in dozens of small states, each ruled by a maharajah. Soon, the
East India Company took advantage of the situation and defeated Indian. From that time on, the
East India Company was the leading power in India.
Officially, the British government regulated the East India Company but in fact the company
ruled India with little interference from the British government. The company even had its own
army led by british officers and with indian soldiers.
India was a major supplier of raw materials and its 300 million people were a potential
market por British goods (clothes from England flooded
the Indian market and ruin the local producers). British
considered India the most valuable of all Britain's colonies
(the Jewel in the Crown).
The majority of the raw materials produced by India
were agricultural produced on plantations: tea, indigo,
coffee, cotton and jute. Cotton production in India
increased when the American Civil War cut off supplies.
Another crop was opium. The British shipped opium to
China and exchanged it for tea. Most of the lands in India
were producing cash crops and not food for the subsistence
of Indians, that caused famines.
By 1850, the British controlled most of India. Many indians believed the British were trying
to convert them to Christianity and also resented the constant racism toward them. In 1857 the
Indians soldiers rebelled and rebellion spread in northern and central India. The East India
Company and the British government needed more
than a year to regain control of the country.
However, Indians couldn't unite against the British
due to to weak leadership and splits between
Hindus and Muslims. Most of the Indians
maharajahs who had made alliances with the East
India Company didn't take part in the rebellion. As
a result of the rebellion, the British government
took direct command of India appointing a
governor-general, later called viceroy.
SOUTHEAST ASIA.
The lands of Southeast Asia were perfect for plantation agriculture: sugar cane, coffee, cocoa,
rubber, coconuts, bananas and pineapple.
DUTCH EAST INDIES:
The Dutch East India Company discovered oil and tin on the islands and wanted to plant rubber
trees in large plantations. The territory currently known as Indonesia then was called Dutch East Indies.
BRITISH TAKE CONTROL OF MALAYAN PENINSULA:
To compete with the Dutch, the British created a trading port in Singapore, halfway in the route
India-China. Britain also gained colonies in Malaysia and Burma (Myanmar). Malaysia had deposits of
tin and became a rubber exporter too. Burma provided teak and oil. Needing workers to mine and collect
the rubber trees, British encouraged chinese to migrate to Malaysia. Soon, the Malays became a
minority in their own country.
INDOCHINA:
In the 1840s seven frech missionaries were killed. Church leaders and capitalists demanded
military intervention. Emperor Napoleon III ordered the French army to invade southern Vietnam. Later,
the French added Laos, Cambodia and norther Vietnam. The whole territory was known as Indochina.
The French colonists imposed their culture and converted the zone in a rice exporter.
SIAM: while its neighbours fell under the control of imperialists, Siam,(Thailand) maintained its
independence. Siam lay between British controlled Burma and French Indochina. Siamese kings
promoted Siam as a neutral zone between two powers. Siam modernized: schools, reformed the legal
system, reorganized governmet, built railroads, telegraph and ended slavery.
Million of people from other areas of Asia and the world migrated to work on plantations
and in the mines in the Southeast Asia. This migration changed the cultural and racial makeup of the
area. Southeast Asia became a melting pot of Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Buddhists. The
resulting cultural changes often led to racial and religious clashes that are still seen today.
UNITED STATES: because they fought for their independence from Britain, most Americans
disliked the idea of colonizing other nations. However, bussiness interests welcomed the opening of
new markets and trade possibilities.
As a result of the Spanish-American War in 1898, the United States acquired the Philippine Islands,
Puerto Rico and Guam. Filipino nationalists who had already been fighting with the Spanish were
not happy to trade one colonizer for another. The nationalists declared independence and the
establishment of the Philippine Republic. The United States were involved into a fierce struggle
with the Filipino nationalists and defeated them in 1902.
Hawaii: interest began when Hawaii was a port on the way to China and East India. Americans
established sugar cane plantations and imported labor workers from China and Japan. Then, in 1890
president Mc Kinley passed an act that eliminated the tariffs on all sugar entering the United States.
Now, sugar from Hawaii was no longer cheaper than sugar produced elsewhere. Some businessmen
pushed for annexation of Hawaii because sugar produced in the USA got an extra two cents a pound
from the government.
By this time, Hawaii was ruled by a monarchy. Last monarch of Hawaii was Queen Liliuokalani,
who in 1893 tried to pass a new constitution and restore the political power of Hawaiians. To
prevent this a group of American businessmen plot to overthrow the monarchy. In 1894 a wealthy
plantation owner was named president of the new Republic of Hawaii. In 1898 was annexed to the
United States.