Compare the nature of colonial rule over china and India and Indonasia. What difference and similarities do you find between them
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Answer:
China: Unlike India and Indonesia, Mainland China was never was never ruled by a colonial power. But, like in the case of the other two countries, trade was the reason that drew a foreign nation towards it. Initially, Britain traded with silver for tea, silk and porcelain that was available in China and for which there was a great demand back home. When they did not have sufficient silver available, the British bartered Indian opium for these items. Gradually, opium production took off in China; between 1790 and 1832, the production of opium reached burgeoning heights. This spawned a generation of opium addicts and resulted in social instability. As a consequence, it led to the famous Opium Wars between the Qing Government and the British Merchants. With an aim to bring about peace and stability, the Government gave the island of Hong Kong to the British and bestowed on them trading rights through the ports of Canton and Shanghai. The imprint of British culture, legacy, language and governance is quite visible in Hong Kong even today.
India: India, like Indonesia, came under colonial rule. The Portuguese first set up shop in Kollam, in the present day Kerala in 1502. Gradually, the Portuguese set up trading posts in Goa and Bombay. In 1661, Portugal was at war with its neighbour Spain, when they sought the help of England. This led to the marriage of Princess Catherine of Portugal to Charles II of England, who imposed a dowry that included a sparsely populated part of Bombay. This was the beginning of English presence in India. British influence spread in India between 1757 to 1858, under East India Company, when the main objective was to export opium from this country; gradually, as the opium trade with China flourished, other items like cotton, jute and tea were being exported out of India. In 1858, India came directly under the British Crown and in 1876 Queen Victoria became Empress of India. Unlike Indonesia, several European powers had their pockets of influence in India; England, France and Portugal were the leading colonialists, but the Dutch and the Danes were also present. The common intention of all these countries was trade, similar to that in China and Indonesia.
Indonesia: Europeans arrived in Indonesia in the 16th century, as they did in India, seeking to control the trade of nutmeg, cloves and cubeb pepper. In 1602, the Dutch set up their own East India Company (VOC) and became the dominant power in the place then called Dutch East Indies. In 1800, VOC was formally dissolved, as it became insolvent, and the Government of Netherlands took control. The Japanese occupied the territory during World War II, from 1942 to 1945. This ended Dutch rule. After the war, the Dutch to re-instate themselves. Following a bitter and diplomatic struggle which ended in December 1949, Indonesia became free from colonial rule, like India did in 1947.