Greater East Asia War / WWII: Background (1)

From today, I will post series of brief accounts on the Asian part of the World War II; namely, the Great East Asian War as called by Japan, and the Pacific War as called by the US (1941-1945). I will cover the background, the war, and the implication today, but first of all, it is important to understand the background to understand this war.

Background (1):

Western colonization since the 16^th century

The Western countries started colonizing different parts of the world since the 16th century. In Asia, for example, the following countries were colonized:

1510       India by Portugal

1511       Malacca (Malaysia) by Portugal

1571       Philippines by Spain

1602       Indonesia by Dutch

1624       Taiwan by Dutch

1641       Ceylon (Sri Lanka) by Dutch

1645       Malacca by Dutch

              Sumatra by Britain

17^th C     Mongol by Russia

1786       Penang (Malaysia) by Britain

1815       Ceylon by Britain

1819       Singapore by Britain

1824       Malacca by Britain

1824       Sumatra by Dutch

1826       Burma by Britain

1842       Hong Kong by Britain

1849       Macau by Portugal 　　　

1860       Kowloon　九竜 (China) by Britain

　　　　　　 Primorye（China） by Russia

1863       Cambodia by France

1877       India by Britain

1881       Part of Ili district and Zaisan Nor district (China) by Russia

1885       Vietnam by France

1886       Burma by Britain

1893       Laos by France 

1896       Malaya by Britain 

1897       Hawaii by USA

1898       Philippines by USA

1898       China：Jiaozhou Bay 膠州湾　by Germany, Port Arthur 旅順 and Dalian 大連 by Russia, Weihai 威海衛 and Kowloon peninsula 九竜半島 by Britain

1899       Kwangchowan 広州湾 (China) by French

1909       Malay by Britain

1911       Tuva by Russia

By mid 19^th century, the West colonized almost all areas in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific, and only the Far East remained un-colonized. British and French started dividing China, and the West’s interest focused on which countries would get Japan, Korea and China. (Thailand was not colonized for it was between French and British colonies, and for other reasons).