CHRONOLOGY OF SOUTHEAST ASIA: 1750 CE TO 1945 CE
1750 CE
Burma united under new dynasty, seeks to control Eastern India, Siam brings into conflict with Chinese, English
1774 CE
Spanish authorities establish royal monopolies in production, commerce
1783 CE
British return all Dutch East Indies possessions but obtain free trade rights; continuing tensions between Malay landed
Elite, Celebes seafarers in mainland Malaya
1795 – 1815 CE
British occupy all Dutch possessions in SE Asia to prevent cooperation with France; British, Dutch end local feudalism,
Curtail power of local princes, remove old system, land leases given to native populations; coffee introduced
1802 – 1820 CE
Vietnam: centralized monarchy on Chinese model, Confucian bureaucracy; sanctions against Buddhism, Taoism; Chinese
Émigrés dominate commercial activities in cities; many poor peasants forced into labor on elite estates
1819 CE
British found Singapore to control international exports; became communications, administrative center; funnels rubber,
Tin, rice into world markets; similar type of colonial capital cities founded by Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, French
1820 CE
Siam reopens contacts with Western nations, signs unequal commercial treaties; local sultans, Siam cede lands to English
1820 CE
Mexican independence bankrupts Royal Philippine Company; many Spaniards, mestizos move to islands, took privileged
Positions in bureaucracy; ethnic inequalities, tensions between natives, Europeans increased
1820s – 1850s CE
1824 – 1830 CE
British conflict with Burma over Assam leads to two Anglo-Burmese Wars, English annex South Burma, coastal lands
Dutch cede Malacca to English in exchange for Sumatra; Dutch suppress Javanese revolts, seize control of Java
1830s CE
Dutch introduce forced cultivation system to Java: contract with natives, control crops, fix prices, buy rice, coffee to export
1834 CE
Spain opens Manila to international commerce; expands sugar cultivation, plantations; sugar becomes key export crop
1839 CE, 1844 CE
Increased Chinese immigration to Filipino cities; Spanish outlaw private trading by officials; Chinese fill commercial void
1841 – 1880s CE
Sultan of Brunei gives Sarawak to “white rajahs” who eliminate slavery, piracy; N. Borneo becomes British possession
1862 CE
France wins control of Cochin-China from France, rules through traditional elites; free practice of Catholicism allowed
1870s – 1910s CE
European colonial powers redraw map of Southeast Asia, establish boundaries without regard for ethnic, cultural realities;
Create new political framework on which they imposed bureaucratic systems, modern fiscal and communications systems;
Europeans favor export industries and dominate all major aspects of economies; spectacular population, urban growth
1870s CE
Dutch introduce sugar, new agrarian laws to East Indies, relax forced cultivation system
1890s CE
Increased Chinese, Indian migration to British, Dutch cities, ports to control services, commercial opportunities
1890s – 1910 CE
Franco-British rivalry costs Siam territory but both nations preserve Siamese independence as a buffer between colonies
1890s CE
Indigenous Malays number only 55% of population due to Chinese, Indian commercial, administrative, labor migration
1893 CE
France gains control over Laos, rules through cooperation with Lao local princes; minimal French economic penetration
1897 – 1902 CE
1898 CE
1899 – 1902 CE
Early 1900s
France modernizes Indo-Chinese society, establishes monopolies on salt, opium, alcohol, public facilities; opens iron mines
Spanish-American War, US intervention in Philippines; Filipinos declare independence; US acquires islands from Spain
US-Filipinos fight guerrilla war; US commits to tutelary colonialism, supports oligarchic elite; intellectuals acquiesce
British, Dutch, French and Americans complete penetration, control of interior lands, outlying islands
1912 CE
Islamic Union organized in Dutch East Indies to unite different Muslims, intellectuals, socialists; two million members
1912 CE
Chinese revolution becomes Vietnamese model; Japanese successes at modernization inspires regional national movements
1913 CE
US increases number of Filipinos in colonial bureaucracy; allows Filipino goods to be imported to US duty-free