Phillippines
Considering Annexation & Taking Over
Before the Philippines were even considered being annexed there were some debate on whether or not to annex them. The people that were for annexing the islands argued that there were business interests in thoughts of new markets and fields of investments, the United States wanted to become an empire and so they wanted to expand more. USA, especially, didn't want to lose these islands to Japan or Germany.
But some people did argue against annexing the islands. One of the biggest things that stood out was that the islands were 6,000 miles away from the Pacific Coast. Another reason that people argued against this was that some senators thought that annexation was a violation of American tradition and this lead other people to follow them. Since the senators had power. There were some problems though with the annexing of the Philippines. One problem was that fact that there were 7,100 islands in the Philippines. The total population of those islands was 7.5 million people. Collectively, the islands consisted of 43 different ethnic groups and 87 different languages. This made it harder to obtain the various islands because of the large amount of people and the vase amount of different languages.
One of the decisive battles of the Spanish-American War took place in the Philippines and set the stage for the Philippine-American War. U.S. Navy Commodore George Dewey defeated the Spanish navy in Manila Bay in May 1898. This defeat hurt Spain. Soon, however, the U.S. was locked in battle with Filipinos seeking national independence.
The Philippine-American War was brutal and prolonged. The Filipino Army, though small and poorly armed, was supported by many islanders. As a result, some U.S. soldiers attacked Filipino troops and civilians alike. Historians estimate that as many as 220,000 Filipinos died of war-related causes. The island of Luzon lost 1/8 of its population. Though the U.S. soon captured most Philippine towns, it took 63,000 U.S. soldiers three years of jungle warfare to achieve full control of the islands.
But some people did argue against annexing the islands. One of the biggest things that stood out was that the islands were 6,000 miles away from the Pacific Coast. Another reason that people argued against this was that some senators thought that annexation was a violation of American tradition and this lead other people to follow them. Since the senators had power. There were some problems though with the annexing of the Philippines. One problem was that fact that there were 7,100 islands in the Philippines. The total population of those islands was 7.5 million people. Collectively, the islands consisted of 43 different ethnic groups and 87 different languages. This made it harder to obtain the various islands because of the large amount of people and the vase amount of different languages.
One of the decisive battles of the Spanish-American War took place in the Philippines and set the stage for the Philippine-American War. U.S. Navy Commodore George Dewey defeated the Spanish navy in Manila Bay in May 1898. This defeat hurt Spain. Soon, however, the U.S. was locked in battle with Filipinos seeking national independence.
The Philippine-American War was brutal and prolonged. The Filipino Army, though small and poorly armed, was supported by many islanders. As a result, some U.S. soldiers attacked Filipino troops and civilians alike. Historians estimate that as many as 220,000 Filipinos died of war-related causes. The island of Luzon lost 1/8 of its population. Though the U.S. soon captured most Philippine towns, it took 63,000 U.S. soldiers three years of jungle warfare to achieve full control of the islands.
Indochina
Indochina, named by the French after its location between India and China, comprises the modern nations Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. The region’s relationship with Europe began through trade in the 18th Century, and grew into imperialism over the 19th Century until the 1970s with France’s decolonization and the Vietnam War.
The French had been active in Southeast Asia since the 17th century. They even helped the Nguyen dynasty rise to power in Vietnam. In the 1840s, during the rule of an anti-Christian Vietnamese emperor, seven French missionaries were killed. Church leaders and capitalists who wanted a larger share of the overseas market demanded military intervention. Emperor Napoleon III ordered the French army to invade southern Vietnam. Later, the French added Laos, Cambodia, and northern Vietnam to the territory. The combined states would eventually be called French Indochina.
The southeastern region of Asia contains many desirable natural resources, like rice, coffee, rubber, fish, and seafood. France’s main goal in the imperialism of Indochina was primarily economic, but it was cultural as well. French missionaries hoped to convert the populations of Indochina to Catholicism. France introduced its language and culture, but the region was not easily shifted away from its native culture.
Using direct colonial management, the French themselves filled all-important positions in the government bureaucracy. They did not encourage local industry, but transformed the Indochina region from a region in which people lived and provided for themselves to one dominated by European capitalists Four times as much land was devoted to rice production. However, the peasants’ consumption of rice decreased because much of the rice was exported. Anger over this reduction set the stage for Vietnamese resistance against the French.
At the conclusion of World War II, Indochina experienced a lot of change. The French-Indochina war, and later civil war, was the result of division within Indochina, as well as resentment and anger toward the French colonization. The region’s economy was devastated by colonization, and is still working toward stability in the region.
The French had been active in Southeast Asia since the 17th century. They even helped the Nguyen dynasty rise to power in Vietnam. In the 1840s, during the rule of an anti-Christian Vietnamese emperor, seven French missionaries were killed. Church leaders and capitalists who wanted a larger share of the overseas market demanded military intervention. Emperor Napoleon III ordered the French army to invade southern Vietnam. Later, the French added Laos, Cambodia, and northern Vietnam to the territory. The combined states would eventually be called French Indochina.
The southeastern region of Asia contains many desirable natural resources, like rice, coffee, rubber, fish, and seafood. France’s main goal in the imperialism of Indochina was primarily economic, but it was cultural as well. French missionaries hoped to convert the populations of Indochina to Catholicism. France introduced its language and culture, but the region was not easily shifted away from its native culture.
Using direct colonial management, the French themselves filled all-important positions in the government bureaucracy. They did not encourage local industry, but transformed the Indochina region from a region in which people lived and provided for themselves to one dominated by European capitalists Four times as much land was devoted to rice production. However, the peasants’ consumption of rice decreased because much of the rice was exported. Anger over this reduction set the stage for Vietnamese resistance against the French.
At the conclusion of World War II, Indochina experienced a lot of change. The French-Indochina war, and later civil war, was the result of division within Indochina, as well as resentment and anger toward the French colonization. The region’s economy was devastated by colonization, and is still working toward stability in the region.