Between the 1870s and the beginning of World War I in 1914, the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands —the established colonial powers in Asia—added to their empires vast expanses of territory in the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent, and Southeast Asia.

By the 19th century, all of Southeast Asia had been forced into the various spheres of influence of European global players except Siam, which had served as a convenient buffer state sandwiched between British Burma and French Indochina.

Southeast Asia was changed in an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, way by the Japanese occupation. Although returning Europeans and even some Southeast Asians themselves complained that Japanese fascism had deeply influenced the region’s societies, there is not much evidence that this was the case.

An overview of colonialism in South & Southeast Asia, including the impact of British and Dutch colonization on the people of India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and more.

Nov 30, 2018 · From the mid-1850s to the beginning of World War I, many Western nations were expanding into Asia. The "Age of Imperialism" was fueled by the Industrial Revolution in Europe and the United States, and it profoundly influenced nation building efforts in Japan and China.

Feb 7, 2019 · Several different Western European powers established colonies in Asia during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Each of the imperial powers had its own style of administration, and colonial officers from the different nations also displayed various attitudes towards their imperial subjects.

Feb 27, 2025 · Japan was the only Asian country to escape colonization from the West. European nations and the United States tried to “open the door,” and to some extent they succeeded; but Japan was able to shake off the kind of subjugation, informal or …

Mar 29, 2024 · In order to examine the effects of colonialism on South Asian unity, we will need comparison points from before, during, and after colonialism. This was a time of constant change as warlords battled for control over the region.

After the end of the 17th century, the long-developed polities of Southeast Asia were pulled into a Western-dominated world economy, weakening regional trade networks and strengthening ties with distant colonial powers.

Jun 24, 2024 · In the first half of the 20th century, most of Southeast Asia was colonized by various European powers. Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos were colonized by the French, Malaysia and Myanmar (Burma) by the British, Indonesia by …