British Imperialism

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The harsh and repressive rule of the Dutch accounts for the outbreak of armed struggles. The Dutch, like the French were reluctant decolonisers, as they viewed Indonesia as the centerpiece of the Dutch overseas interests and were determined to re-assert their control through the use of force. They refused to recognize Sukarno’s declaration of Independence in August 1945 and launched two police actions. Dutch tried to keep the nationalist actions in check in the Linggadjati Agreement where they proposed to recognize the sovereignty of the republic over Java, Sumatra and Madura and form the United States of Indonesia. However, the failure of the agreement led to the outbreak of the “First Police Action” on July 1947. Dutch gained some success and gained control of vital areas of Java and Sumatra. They also gained access to supplies and the population. The failure of negotiations in the Liggadjati and Renville agreements after the 1st police action…show more content…
Like the Dutch, the French attitude towards its colonies was a continuation of pre-war attitude. The re-imposition of colonial rule was seen as a crucial and a means to recover from the loss of prestige and devastation of World War II. This proved to be a major reason for the outbreak of armed struggles and revolutions. The Brazzaville Conference of Jan 1944 ruled out any possibility of genuine independence for Vietnam. In March 1945, the French announced plans for a postwar IndoChinese Federation (Vietnam, Annam Tonkin, Loas and Cambodia) within the French union. Similar to the attempts to form the United States of Indonesia, this was a bid to reimpose colonial rule. The failure of negotiations like in Indonesia, resulted in an outbreak of armed struggle, which is seen in the 1st Indochina
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