Imperialism in East and Southeast Asia

Trading Posts in Southeast Asia The Netherlands, Britain and Portugal began by establishing trading posts on islands and peninsulas in SEA. Later they and other take control of whole islands and countries.

French Indochina The French began their imperial claims in Vietnam. Later they seized what is now Cambodia and Laos from Siam. The threat of British intervention kept France from trying to take control of the whole of Siam. Britain wanted Siam as a buffer state between the British and French empires.

An Independent Siam Rama IV recognized the threat of European imperialism and sought to prevent Siam from falling to it. He sought western education for himself and his sons. He encouraged modernization throughout the country and brought in experts from various European countries. This made it difficult for Europeans to rationalize colonization of Siam as necessary and beneficial as they had in other countries.

China The Ming Dynasty had closed China to foreign trade and insisted they had no need for western goods. Western merchants were forced to buy tea and silk with silver. Britain began smuggling opium from its South Asian colonies into China as a way to acquire Chinese trade goods.

The Opium Wars This policy led to two Opium Wars between China and Britain. Britain is victorious in both, gaining control of Hong Kong and imposing unequal treaties on China. These treaties become a model for all western nations dealing with independent Asian nations. Westerners in Asia got many rights that Asians in the West did not.

Japan The Tokugawa Shogunate had closed Japan to western trade except at the port of Nagasaki, strictly under the Shogun’s control. After America gained several Pacific colonies, it sought a coaling station in the Pacific. Commodore Matthew Perry threatens to bombard Tokyo if Japan does not except a favorable treaty with America.

American Imperialism America was reluctant to practice political imperialism—it’s only foreign colonies were Hawaii, the Philippines and other Pacific Islands won in the Spanish-American War. America is very eager to practice economic imperialism—using it’s economic strength to force colony-like conditions on it’s neighbors.

The Monroe Doctrine James Monroe (5 th PotUS) establishes a policy that says America will stay out of European affairs and Europe will not interfere in any independent country in the Western Hemisphere.

The Roosevelt Corollary Theodore Roosevelt (26 th PotUS) extended the Monroe Doctrine. He claimed it gave the US the responsibility to intervene in South and Central America. The US uses this as an rationalization to install friendly government and favorable deals for America and American business. Some of these friendly governments become known as Banana Republics—technically democratic governments run by dictators for the benefit of American plantation owners.