a.       Dutch East Indies

                                                               i.      Conquered and controlled beginning in the 16^th century by the Dutch East India Company

                                                             ii.      Territory of the Netherlands, 1800-1942

                                                            iii.      575,000 square miles

                                                           iv.      Borneo, Celebes, Indonesia, Java, Sumatra, West New Guinea

b.      Indonesian independence

                                                               i.      Nationalists led by Achmed Sukarno

                                                             ii.      Movement followed Japanese invasion (World War II)

                                                            iii.      Independent, 1949

                                                           iv.      Indonesians took over Dutch property and forced the Dutch to leave, 1957

                                                             v.      United Nations gave Netherlands (Dutch) New Guinea to Indonesia

 

     II.            French empire

a.       Geography

                                                               i.      Second in size to the British empire – 4,500,000 square miles

                                                             ii.      Africa – Algeria, Equatorial Africa, the French Cameroons, Morocco, Tunis, West Africa

                                                            iii.      Asia – Indo-China

                                                           iv.      Americas – French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Pierre et Miquelon

                                                             v.      Pacific – New Caledonia, New Hebrides

b.      French Community – Communauté française

                                                               i.      Established in the constitution of the Fifth Republic (1958)

                                                             ii.      Nations independent in 1960 – organization defunct by 1970s

c.       Morocco

                                                               i.      1953 – France deposed the sultan

                                                             ii.      1955 – sultan returned to power

                                                            iii.      1956 – independent

d.      Tunisia

                                                               i.      1955 – granted self-government

                                                             ii.      1956 – independent

                                                            iii.      1957 – became a republic

e.      Indo-China

                                                               i.      Modern Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam

                                                             ii.      Guerrilla warfare waged by communist-backed nationalists

                                                            iii.      1950 – self-rule

                                                           iv.      1955 – Cambodia and Laos withdrew from French Union

                                                             v.      1955 – Vietnam divided at 17^th parallel

1.       North – communist – led by Ho Chi Minh

2.       1959-1975 (or 1945-1975) – Vietnam War

a.       Fought between North Vietnam (Vietcong with Chinese support) and South Vietnam (backed by United States and members of SEATO)

b.      North Vietnamese won

c.       Today – one united country --- Vietnam

f.        Algeria

                                                               i.      1954-1962 – fought for independence

                                                             ii.      March, 1962 – ceasefire

                                                            iii.      July, 1962 – independent

g.       French Guiana

                                                               i.      1958 – voted for its independence and joined the United Nations

h.      Togoland and Cameroon

                                                               i.      French held trusteeships from League of Nations (after WWI) and United Nations (after WWII)

                                                             ii.      Independent in 1960

                                                            iii.      Did not join the French Community

                                                           iv.      Joined the United Nations

i.         Malagasy and Mali

                                                               i.      1960 – free states

                                                             ii.      Joined the soon-defunct French Community

 

  III.            Italian empire

a.       Libya

                                                               i.      Won from Turkey by war in 1912

                                                             ii.      Independent, 1951

b.      Ethiopia

                                                               i.      Conquered, 1936

                                                             ii.      Independent, 1941

c.       Eritrea

                                                               i.      1890 – acquired as an Italian colony

                                                             ii.      1941-1951 – controlled by the British under United Nations mandate

                                                            iii.      1962 – officially annexed by Ethiopia

                                                           iv.      1993 – independent country

d.      Somaliland

                                                               i.      1889 and on – acquired by treaties

                                                             ii.      After World War II – United Nations trusteeship

                                                            iii.      1960 – independent as Somalia

 

  IV.            Results of imperialism – for the “mother” country

a.       Positives/Pros

                                                               i.      Increased industrial productivity from investments

                                                             ii.      Profits from trade

                                                            iii.      New drugs (e.g., quinine) and products from colonies

b.      Negatives/Cons

                                                               i.      Wars – against both natives and competing imperial powers

                                                             ii.      Expense of maintaining large military and naval forces

                                                            iii.      Hatred and resentment from native peoples

 

     V.            Results of imperialism – for the colonized

a.       Positives/Pros

                                                               i.      Natural resources developed

                                                             ii.      Industrialization

                                                            iii.      Raised standards of living

                                                           iv.      Improvements in education, medical care, and sanitation

                                                             v.      Nationalism developed

                                                           vi.      Exposure to new ideas

b.      Negatives/Cons

                                                               i.      Natural resources developed for benefit of mother country

                                                             ii.      Native labor poorly paid and often mistreated

                                                            iii.      Destruction of native cultures and languages

                                                           iv.      Western diseases, vices, and other problems

                                                             v.      Racism

                                                           vi.      Discouragement of native industries that might compete with the imperial power

                                                          vii.      Lack of self-government and democracy

 

  VI.            Review questions

a.       What company controlled the Dutch East Indies prior to 1800?

b.      What sparked the movement for Indonesian independence?

c.       What European country controlled the world’s second-largest empire?

d.      Summarize the events of the Vietnam War.

e.      Describe the colonization and independence of Ethiopia and Eritrea.

f.        Describe the pros and cons of imperialism for a colonized nation.

g.       Many now-independent colonies hold deep resentment toward their former imperial powers, while others have close working relationships (particularly members of the Commonwealth).  How might you explain these different attitudes and feelings?