Decolonization of Asia


The decolonization of Asia was the gradual growth of independence movements in Asia, leading ultimately to the retreat of foreign powers and the creation of a number of nation-states in the region. A number of events were catalysts for this shift, most importantly the Second World War. Prior to World War II, some countries had already proclaimed independence.

Background

European powers began colonizing Asia in the early 16th century, beginning with the Portuguese seizure of sites, while along the west coast of India, Ceylon and Malacca. In 1511, Portugal established a permanent base in Malacca. In 1565, Spain commenced its colonization of the Philippine Islands, creating a long sea trade route via Mexico to Spain.
The decline of Spain and Portugal in the 17th century paved the way for other European powers, namely the Netherlands, France and England. Portugal would lose influence in all but three of its colonies, Portuguese India, Macau and Timor.
By the end of the 17th century, the Dutch had taken over much of the old Portuguese colonies, and had established a strong presence in present-day Indonesia, with colonies in Aceh, Bantam, Makassar and Jakarta. The Dutch also had trade links with Siam, Japan, China and Bengal.
The British had competed with Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch for their interests in Asia since the early 17th century and by the mid-19th century held much of India, as well as Burma, Ceylon, Malaya and Singapore. After The Indian Rebellion of 1857, Queen Victoria was declared Empress of India, thus solidifying the British rule on the subcontinent. The last British acquisition in Asia was the New Territories of Hong Kong, which was leased from the Qing emperor in 1897, expanding the British colony originally ceded in the Treaty of Nanking in 1842.
The French had little success in India following defeats against the British in the 17th century, though they held onto possessions on the east coast of India until decolonization. The French established their most lucrative and substantial colony in Indochina from 1862, eventually occupying the present-day areas of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia by 1887.
Japan's first colony was the island of Taiwan, occupied in 1874 and officially ceded by the Qing emperor in 1894. Japan continued its early imperialism with the annexation of Korea in 1910.
The United States entered the region in 1898 during the Spanish–American War, taking the Philippines as its sole colony through a mock battle in the capital and the purchase of the Philippines from Spain after the declaration of independence and the First Philippine Republic.

Asian colonies from the 19th century to the end of the Second World War

The following list shows the colonial powers following the end of World War II in 1945, their colonial or administrative possessions and date of decolonization.

Burma

See Burma's colonial era.
Burma was almost completely occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second World War. Many Burmese fought alongside Japan in the initial stages of the war, though the Burmese Army and most Burmese switched sides in 1945.
A transitional government sponsored by the British government was formed in the years following the Second World War, ultimately leading to Burma's independence in January 1948.

Cambodia

See Cambodia's passage to independence.
Following the capitulation of France and the formation of the Vichy regime, France's Indochinese possessions were given to Japan. While there was some argument that Indochina should not be returned to France, particularly from the United States, Cambodia nevertheless remained under French rule after the end of hostilities.
France had placed Norodom Sihanouk on the throne in 1941, and were hoping for a puppet monarch. They were mistaken however, as the King led the way to Cambodian independence in 1953, taking advantage of the background of the First Indochina War being fought in Vietnam.

Ceylon

See Ceylon and independence.
Ceylon was an important base of operations for the Western Allies during the Second World War. The British gave in to popular pressure for independence and in February 1948, the country won its independence as the Dominion of Ceylon.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong was returned to the United Kingdom following its occupation by the Japanese during the Second World War. It was controlled directly by a British governor until the expiry of the ninety-nine-year lease of the New Territories, which occurred in 1997. From that date the territory was controlled as a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

Philippines

The Philippines unilaterally declared independence from Spain on 12 June 1898 under the leadership of President Emilio Aguinaldo, culminating the 1896 Revolution. Unbeknownst to the newly established government and the Filipino people in general, the United States of America had secretly arranged to purchase the colony along with several other possessions from Spain through the Treaty of Paris that concluded the Spanish–American War. After staging a mock battle in Manila, the Philippine–American War ensued until the Philippine government capitulated in 1902.
The Philippines subsequently underwent successive stages of rule under the United States, first as an unincorporated territory, then as a Commonwealth. It was then occupied by the Japanese during the Second World War. In 1943, Japan granted its short-lived independence to the Philippines and in 1944, the Allied invasion of the Philippines by combined U.S. and Filipino troops began, which resulted in America regaining full control of the nation. In 1946, the United States gave the Philippines its independence.

Timeline

The "colonial power" and "colonial name" columns are merged when required to denote territories, where current countries are established, that have not been decolonised but achieved independence in different ways.

Country and RegionColonial nameColonial powerIndependence declaredFirst head of stateIndependence won through
Spanish East Indies12 June 1898Emilio Aguinaldo-
Kingdom of Yemen

1 November 1918
30 November 1967		Yahya I
Qahtan Mohammed al-Shaabi		World War I
Aden Emergency
Afghanistan19 August 1919Amanullah KhanThird Anglo-Afghan War
Sultanate of Egypt28 February 1922Fuad IEgyptian revolution of 1919
Mandatory Iraq3 October 1932Faisal I of Iraq-
Greater Lebanon22 November 1943Bechara El Khoury-
Mandate of Syria30 November 1943Shukri al-QuwatliSyrian Revolution
17 August 1945
27 December 1949		SukarnoIndonesian National Revolution
2 September 1945Hồ Chí MinhAugust Revolution
Emirate of Transjordan25 May 1946Abdullah I-
4 July 1946Manuel Roxas-
British Raj14 August 1947Liaquat Ali Khan-

as part of 		British Raj14 August 1947Liaquat Ali Khan-
British Raj15 August 1947Jawaharlal NehruIndian independence movement
4 January 1948U Nu
4 February 1948
22 February 1972		Don Senanayake-

14 May 1948David Ben-Gurion1948 Palestine war
Japanese Korea15 August 1945;
15 August 1948		Syngman RheeKorean independence movement
Japanese Korea15 August 1945;
9 September 1948		Kim Il-sungKorean independence movement
China Manchukuo9 August 1945Chiang kai shekSecond Sino-Japanese War
22 October 1953Sisavang Vong-
9 November 1953Norodom Sihanouk-

Colony of North Borneo
Colony of Sarawak		31 August 1957
16 September 1963		Tuanku Abdul RahmanMalayan Emergency
British Cyprus16 August 1960Makarios III-
Sheikhdom of Kuwait19 June 1961Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah-
'
26 January 1650
1962		Sultan I bin Saif
Said bin Taimur		Night attack on Muscat
-
31 August 1963;
9 August 1965		Yusof Ishak-
Maldives26 July 1965Muhammad Fareed Didi-
Qatar3 September 1971Ahmad bin Ali Al Thani-
2 December 1971Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan-
15 August 1971Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifa-


1 January 1769-28 November 1975 '
28 November 1975-20 May 2002 '
20 May 2002 '
Francisco Xavier do Amaral;
Xanana Gusmão		-
1 January 1984Hassanal Bolkiah-
1 July 1997Tung Chee-hwa-
20 December 1999Edmund Ho-
10 June 1967;
15 November 1988;
independence pending due to territorial dispute with Israel		N/A;
Yasser Arafat;
Mahmoud Abbas		Six-Day War;
Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty;
Jordanian disengagement from the West Bank;
Israeli–Palestinian conflict