Decolonization of Asia

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The decolonization of Asia was the gradual growth of independence movements in Asia, leading ultimately to the retreat of foreign powers and the creation of a number of nation-states in the region. A number of events were catalysts for this shift, most importantly the Second World War. Prior to World War II, some countries (e.g., the Philippines in 1898) had already proclaimed independence.

Background[]

European powers began colonizing Asia in the early 16th century, beginning with the Portuguese seizure of sites, while along the west coast of India, Ceylon and Malacca. In 1511, Portugal established a permanent base in Malacca. In 1565, Spain commenced its colonization of the Philippine Islands, creating a long sea trade route via Mexico to Spain.

The decline of Spain and Portugal in the 17th century paved the way for other European powers, namely the Netherlands, France and England. Portugal would lose influence in all but three of its colonies, Portuguese India, Macau and Timor.

By the end of the 17th century, the Dutch had taken over much of the old Portuguese colonies, and had established a strong presence in present-day Indonesia, with colonies in Aceh, Bantam, Makassar and Jakarta. The Dutch also had trade links with Siam, Japan, China and Bengal.

The British had competed with Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch for their interests in Asia since the early 17th century and by the mid-19th century held much of India (via the British East India Company), as well as Burma, Ceylon, Malaya and Singapore. After The Indian Rebellion of 1857, Queen Victoria was declared Empress of India, thus solidifying the British rule on the subcontinent. The last British acquisition in Asia was the New Territories of Hong Kong, which was leased from the Qing emperor in 1897, expanding the British colony originally ceded in the Treaty of Nanking in 1842.

The French had little success in India following defeats against the British in the 17th century, though they held onto possessions on the east coast of India (such as Pondicherry and Mahar) until decolonization. The French established their most lucrative and substantial colony in Indochina from 1862, eventually occupying the present-day areas of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia by 1887.

Japan's first colony was the island of Taiwan, occupied in 1874 and officially ceded by the Qing emperor in 1894. Japan continued its early imperialism with the annexation of Korea in 1910.

The United States entered the region in 1898 during the Spanish–American War, taking the Philippines as its sole colony through a mock battle in the capital and the purchase of the Philippines from Spain after the declaration of independence and the First Philippine Republic.

Asian colonies from the 17th century to the end of the Second World War[]

The following list shows the colonial powers following the end of World War II in 1945, their colonial or administrative possessions and date of decolonization.^[1]

Asia[]

Country	Date of acquisition of sovereignty	Acquisition of sovereignty
Afghanistan	1919	Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 ends British control of foreign policy
Bahrain	15 August 1971	End of treaties with the United Kingdom
Bangladesh	26 March 1971	Independence from Pakistan declared
Bhutan	1885	Ugyen Wangchuck ends period of civil war and unites Bhutan
Brunei	1 January 1984	Brunei regains its independence after an agreement with the British on 4 January 1979
Cambodia	9 September 1953	France grants Cambodia independence
	26 September 1989	Becomes free from Vietnamese occupation; it gets back its name instead of the People's Republic of Kampuchea
/ China[Asia 1]	221 BC	In 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang conquered the various warring states and created for himself the title of Huangdi or "emperor" of the Qin, marking the beginning of imperial China.
India	15 August 1947	Independence from the British Empire
Iran	609 BC	After the fall of Assyria between 616 BC and 609 BC, a unified Median state was formed, which together with Babylonia, Lydia, and ancient Egypt became one of the four major powers of the ancient Near East.
Iraq	762	The Abbasid Caliphate built the city of Baghdad along the Tigris in the 8th century as its capital, and the city became the leading metropolis of the Arab and Muslim world for five centuries
	3 October 1932	Kingdom of Iraq
Israel	110 BC	From 110 BCE, with the Seleucid Empire disintegrating, the dynasty became fully independent, expanded into the neighboring regions of Samaria, Galilee, Iturea, Perea, and Idumea, and the rulers took the title "basileus". Some modern scholars refer to this period as an independent kingdom of Israel
Japan	4th century CE	During the subsequent Kofun period, most of Japan gradually unified under a single kingdom
Jordan	25 May 1946	End of the British Mandate for Palestine
North Korea	9 September 1948	Declaration of the creation of North Korea
South Korea	15 August 1945	Japanese rule of Korea ends
	15 August 1948	First Republic of Korea established, Independence declared from the United States.
Kuwait	1752	Establishment of the Sheikhdom of Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan	31 August 1991	Independence from the Soviet Union
Laos	22 October 1953	Independence from France
Lebanon	26 November 1941	Independence from France declared
	22 November 1943	Independence from France recognized
Malaysia	31 August 1957	Malayan Independence from the United Kingdom was declared in Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square)
	16 September 1963	Malaysia was formed by the federation of North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore with the existing States of the Federation of Malaya.
Maldives	26 July 1965	Independence from the United Kingdom
Mongolia	1206	Mongol Empire formed
	29 December 1911	Proclamation of Mongolian independence from Manchu's Qing Dynasty
Myanmar	4 January 1948	Myanmar (Burma) declares independence from the British Empire
Nepal	25 September 1768	Nepali unification
Oman	26 January 1956	Expulsion of the Portuguese
Pakistan	14 August 1947	Independence from British India in the Partition
Palestine	15 November 1988	Palestinian Declaration of Independence
Philippines	12 June 1898	The evolving revolutionary movement in the Philippines declares itself independent from the Spanish Empire.
	4 July 1946	The United States recognizes independence under the provisions of the Treaty of Manila (1946). The 1935 Constitution remained in effect until 1973, when the Marcos regime promulgated a newer one, in turn replaced by the present 1987 Constitution.
Qatar	18 December 1878	Independence from the Ottoman Empire
Saudi Arabia	1744	Establishment of the First Saudi State
Singapore	3 June 1959	Self-government under the United Kingdom
	9 August 1965	separate from and independent of Malaysia
Sri Lanka	4 February 1948	Independence from United Kingdom
Syria	28 September 1961	End of the United Arab Republic
Tajikistan	9 September 1991	Independence from the Soviet Union
Thailand	6 November 1767	Salvage independence by Great king Taksin consist of Expulsion of Burmese and Establish a new kingdom together with reunification of Thailand
Timor-Leste	28 November 1975	East Timor declares its independence but was suppressed by the Indonesian invasion
	20 May 2002	Independence was recognized by the international community following the UN-sponsored act of self-determination of 1999
Turkmenistan	27 October 1991	Independence from the Soviet Union
United Arab Emirates	2 December 1971	End of treaty relationship with the United Kingdom
Uzbekistan	31 August 1991	Independence from the Soviet Union declared
Vietnam	2 September 1945	Withdrawal of the Japanese after World War II
Yemen	1 November 1918	North Yemen independence from the Ottoman Empire
	30 November 1967	South Yemen independence from the United Kingdom

Table notes

Individual countries[]

Burma[]

See Burma's colonial era.

Burma was almost completely occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second World War. Many Burmese fought alongside Japan in the initial stages of the war, though the Burmese Army and most Burmese switched sides in 1945.

A transitional government sponsored by the British government was formed in the years following the Second World War, ultimately leading to Burma's independence in January 1948.

Cambodia[]

See Cambodia's passage to independence.

Following the capitulation of France and the formation of the Vichy regime, France's Indochinese possessions were given to Japan. While there was some argument that Indochina should not be returned to France, particularly from the United States, Cambodia nevertheless remained under French rule after the end of hostilities.

France had placed Norodom Sihanouk on the throne in 1941, and were hoping for a puppet monarch. They were mistaken however, as the King led the way to Cambodian independence in 1953, taking advantage of the background of the First Indochina War being fought in Vietnam.

Ceylon[]

See Ceylon and independence.

Ceylon was an important base of operations for the Western Allies during the Second World War. The British gave in to popular pressure for independence and in February 1948, the country won its independence as the Dominion of Ceylon.

Hong Kong[]

Hong Kong was returned to the United Kingdom following its occupation by the Japanese during the Second World War.^[2] It was controlled directly by a British governor until the expiry of the ninety-nine-year lease of the New Territories, which occurred in 1997. From that date the territory was controlled as a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

Philippines[]

The Philippines unilaterally declared independence from Spain on 12 June 1898 under the leadership of President Emilio Aguinaldo, culminating the 1896 Revolution. Unbeknownst to the newly established government and the Filipino people in general, the United States of America had secretly arranged to purchase the colony along with several other possessions from Spain through the Treaty of Paris that concluded the Spanish–American War. After staging a mock battle in Manila, the Philippine–American War ensued until the Philippine government capitulated in 1902.

The Philippines subsequently underwent successive stages of rule under the United States, first as an unincorporated territory, then as a Commonwealth. It was then occupied by the Japanese during the Second World War. In 1943, Japan granted its short-lived independence to the Philippines and in 1944, the Allied invasion of the Philippines by combined U.S. and Filipino troops began, which resulted in America regaining full control of the nation. In 1946, the United States gave the Philippines its independence.

Timeline[]

The "colonial power" and "colonial name" columns are merged when required to denote territories, where current countries are established, that have not been decolonised but achieved independence in different ways.

Country and Region[a]	Colonial name	Colonial power[b]	Independence declared[c]	First head of state[d]	Independence won through
Philippines	Spanish East Indies	Spain	June 12, 1898	Emilio Aguinaldo	-[e]
Yemen[f]	Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen  Colony and Protectorate of Aden	Ottoman Empire  British Empire	November 1, 1918 November 30, 1967	Yahya I Qahtan Mohammed al-Shaabi	World War I Aden Emergency
Egypt[g]	Sultanate of Egypt	British Empire	February 28, 1922[h]	Fuad I[i]	Egyptian revolution of 1919
Iraq	Mandatory Iraq	British Empire	October 3, 1932[j]	Faisal I of Iraq	-[k]
Lebanon	Greater Lebanon	France	November 22, 1943	Bechara El Khoury[l]	–
Syria	Mandate of Syria		November 30, 1943	Shukri al-Quwatli	Syrian Revolution
Indonesia[m]	Dutch East Indies  Empire of Japan	Netherlands  Japan	August 17, 1945 December 27, 1949[n]	Sukarno	Indonesian National Revolution
Vietnam[o]	French Indochina  Empire of Japan	France  Japan	September 2, 1945	Hồ Chí Minh	August Revolution
Jordan	Emirate of Transjordan	British Empire	May 25, 1946	Abdullah I	–
Philippines	Empire of Japan  Commonwealth of the Philippines	United States  Japan	July 4, 1946	Manuel Roxas	–
Pakistan[p]	India	British Empire	August 14, 1947	Liaquat Ali Khan[q]	-[r]
Bangladesh as part of  Pakistan			August 14, 1947[s]	Liaquat Ali Khan[t]
India[u]			August 15, 1947[v]	Jawaharlal Nehru[w]	Indian independence movement
Myanmar[x]	British Burma  Japan		January 4, 1948	U Nu
Sri Lanka[y]	British Ceylon		February 4, 1948 February 22, 1972	Don Senanayake	–
Israel	Mandatory Palestine	British Empire  Arab League	May 14, 1948[z]	David Ben-Gurion[aa]	1948 Palestine war
South Korea	Japanese Korea	Empire of Japan	August 15, 1945; August 15, 1948[ab]	Syngman Rhee[ac]	Korean independence movement
North Korea			August 15, 1945; September 9, 1948[ad]	Kim Il-sung[ae]
China[af]	Manchukuo		August 9, 1945	Chiang kai shek[ag]	Second Sino-Japanese War
Laos[ah]	French Indochina	France	October 22, 1953[ai]	Sisavang Vong[aj]	-[ak]
Cambodia			November 9, 1953	Norodom Sihanouk
Malaysia	Malaya Colony of North Borneo Colony of Sarawak	British Empire	August 31, 1957 September 16, 1963	Tuanku Abdul Rahman	Malayan Emergency[al]
Cyprus	British Cyprus		August 16, 1960[am]	Makarios III	-[an]
Kuwait	Sheikhdom of Kuwait		June 19, 1961[ao]	Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah	–
Oman	Muscat and Oman[ap]		August 9, 1970	Qaboos bin Said	Night attack on Muscat -[aq]
Singapore	Straits Settlements		August 31, 1963; August 9, 1965[ar]	Yusof Ishak	–
Maldives	Maldives		July 26, 1965	Muhammad Fareed Didi	–
Qatar	Qatar		September 3, 1971	Ahmad bin Ali Al Thani	–
United Arab Emirates	Trucial States		December 2, 1971[as]	Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan	–
Bahrain	Bahrain		August 15, 1971[4][at]	Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifa[au]	-[av]
East Timor	Dutch East Indies  Portuguese Timor  Timor Timur  Empire of Japan	Dutch East Indies  German Empire  United Kingdom  Australia Japan  Portugal  Indonesia	January 1, 1769 – November 28, 1975 (Portuguese Colonization Period)1945 November 28, 1975 November 28, 1975 – May 20, 2002 (Indonesian Invasion & Occupation) May 20, 2002 (Independence from Indonesia) [aw]	Francisco Xavier do Amaral; Xanana Gusmão	–
Brunei	Brunei	British Empire	January 1, 1984	Hassanal Bolkiah	-[ax]
Hong Kong	British Hong Kong		July 1, 1997[ay]	Tung Chee-hwa	–
Macau	Portuguese Macau	Portugal	December 20, 1999[ay]	Edmund Ho	–
Palestine[az][ba][bc]	Mandatory Palestine  West Bank	British Empire  Arab League  Jordan	May 14, 1948 June 10, 1967; November 15, 1988; independence pending due to territorial dispute with Israel	N/A; Yasser Arafat; Mahmoud Abbas	Six-Day War; Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty; Jordanian disengagement from the West Bank; Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Timeline[]

Country	Colonial name	Colonial power	Independence declared	War for independence
Japan	Establishment under the first Legendary Emperor		11 February 660 Bc[bd]	Emperor Jimmu
China	Unification under the Qin dynasty		221 BC	Qin Shi Huang
Thailand	Establishment as the Kingdom of Sukhothai		1238	Sri Indraditya
Turkey[be]	Established in Anatolia of the Seljuks of Anatolia		1299	Osman I
Russia[be]	Duchy of Moscow terminates Mongol vassalage		8 September 1380	Dmitry of Moscow
Iran	Establishment under the Safavid dynasty		1502	Ismail I
Bhutan	Establishment as the Kingdom of Bhutan		1616	Ngawang Namgyal
Nepal	Unification as the  Kingdom of Nepal		21 December 1768	Prithvi Narayan
Saudi Arabia	Arabia	Ottoman Empire	1824	Turki bin Abdullah bin Muhammad
Philippines	Spanish East Indies	Spanish Empire	12 June 1898	Emilio Aguinaldo
Kazakhstan	Russian Turkestan	Russian Empire	13 December 1917	Alikhan Bukeikhanov
Armenia	Caucasus Viceroyalty		28 May 1918	Hovhannes Kajaznuni
Azerbaijan				Mammad Amin Rasulzadeh
Yemen	Kingdom of Yemen Colony and Protectorate of Aden	Ottoman Empire  British Empire	1 November 1918 30 November 1967	Yahya I Qahtan Mohammed al-Shaabi
Mongolia	Republic of China	Republic of China	9 July 1921	Bogd Khan
Egypt[bf]	Sultanate of Egypt	British Empire	28 February 1922[bg]	Fuad I
Iraq	Mandatory Iraq	Ottoman Empire  British Empire	3 October 1932	Faisal I
Lebanon	Greater Lebanon	Ottoman Empire  France	8 November 1943	Bechara Khoury
Syria	Mandate of Syria		30 November 1943	Shukri al-Quwatli
Jordan	Transjordan mandate	Ottoman Empire  British Empire	25 May 1946	Abdullah I
Philippines	Commonwealth of the Philippines	United States	4 July 1946	Manuel Roxas
Pakistan	British Raj	British Empire	14 August 1947[bh]	Muhammad Ali Jinnah
India			15 August 1947[bi]	Jawaharlal Nehru
Burma	British Burma		4 January 1948	Sao Shwe Thaik
Sri Lanka	Dominion of Ceylon		4 February 1948 22 February 1972	Don Senanayake
Israel	Mandatory Palestine	Ottoman Empire  British Empire	14 May 1948	David Ben-Gurion
South Korea	Korea under Japanese rule	Japan	15 August 1948	Rhee Syung-man
North Korea			9 September 1948[bj]	Kim il-Sung
Indonesia[bk]	Dutch East Indies	Netherlands	17 August 1945[bl]	Sukarno
Cambodia	French Indochina	France	17 October 1953	Norodom Sihanouk
Laos			1 August 1954	Sisavang Vong
Vietnam				Hồ Chí Minh Bảo Đại
Malaysia	Malaya Colony of North Borneo Colony of Sarawak	British Empire	31 August 1957 16 September 1963	Tuanku Abdul Rahman
Cyprus[bm]	British Cyprus		16 August 1960	Makarios III
Kuwait	Kuwait		19 June 1961	Abdullah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah
Oman	Muscat and Oman	Portugal  British Empire	26 January 1650 1962	Said bin Taimur
Singapore	Straits Settlements	British Empire  Malaysia	31 August 1963; 9 August 1965[bn]	Yusof Ishak
Maldives	Maldives	British Empire	26 July 1965	Muhammad Fareed Didi
Bangladesh	East Pakistan	Pakistan	16 December 1971	Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Qatar	Qatar	British Empire	3 September 1971	Ahmad bin Ali Al Thani
United Arab Emirates	Trucial States		2 December 1971[bo]	Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Bahrain	Bahrain		16 December 1971	Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifa
Brunei	Brunei		1 January 1984	Hassanal Bolkiah
Georgia	Caucasus Viceroyalty Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic	Russian Empire  Soviet Union	26 March 1918 9 April 1991	Noe Ramishvili Zviad Gamsakhurdia
Kyrgyzstan	Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic	Soviet Union	31 August 1991	Askar Akayev
Armenia	Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic	Soviet Union	21 September 1991	Levon Ter-Petrosyan
Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic		18 October 1991	Ayaz Mutallibov
Kazakhstan	Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic		16 December 1991	Nursultan Nazarbayev
Hong Kong	British Hong Kong	British Empire	1 July 1997	Tung Chee-hwa
Macau	Portuguese Macau	Portugal	20 December 1999	Edmund Ho
Timor-Leste[bp]	Portuguese Timor Timor Timur	Portugal  Indonesia	28 November 1975; 20 May 2002[bq]	Francisco Xavier do Amaral; Xanana Gusmão
Palestine	Mandatory Palestine  Occupied Palestinian Territories[br]	Ottoman Empire  British Empire  Israel	15 May 1948; independence not yet effectuated[bc]	?; Mahmoud Abbas

Soviet Union[]

The 9 states may be divided into the following five regional categories. The distinguishing traits of each region result from geographic and cultural factors as well as their respective historical relations with Russia. Not included in these categories are the several de facto independent states presently lacking international recognition (read below: Separatist conflicts).

Colonies, Protectorates and Mandates Uk[]

Country	Pre-independence name (different)	Date	Year of independence or first stage	Notes
Afghanistan		19 August	1919	Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919
Bahrain		15 August	1971
Brunei		1 January	1984
Cyprus		16 August	1960	Cyprus Independence Day is commonly celebrated on 1 October.
Egypt		28 February	1922	Control over the Suez Canal Zone was maintained until 1952.
India	British India	15 August	1947	Independence Day (India)
Iraq		3 October	1932
Israel	Mandatory Palestine	14 May	1948	end of British mandate Independence Day (Israel)  Palestine declared independence from Israel on 15 November 1988.
Jordan	Transjordan	25 May	1946
Kuwait		19 June	1961
Malaysia	Four parts: Malaya, North Borneo, Singapore and Sarawak	31 August	1957	As the Federation of Malaya (Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957). North Borneo (now Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore gained full independence and joined Malaysia on 16 September 1963 under the Malaysia Agreement (Malaysia Act 1963).  Singapore gained independence from Malaysia on 9 August 1965.
Maldives		26 July	1965
Mauritius		12 March	1968
Myanmar		4 January	1948	Gained independence as Burma. Renamed Myanmar in 1989, but still officially known by the United Kingdom government as Burma.
Oman	Sultanate of Muscat and Oman	20 December	1951
Pakistan	British India	14 August	1947	Partition of India  Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan on 26 March 1971.
Qatar	British Qatari Protectorate	3 September	1971
Seychelles		29 June	1976
Singapore		3 June	1959	Became self-governing on 3 June 1959, gained independence from Malaysia on the 9 August 1965.
Sri Lanka	Ceylon	4 February	1948	Gained independence as the Dominion of Ceylon. Renamed Sri Lanka in 1972.
United Arab Emirates	Trucial States	2 December	1971	National Day (United Arab Emirates)
Yemen	Protectorate of South Arabia Federation of South Arabia	30 November	1967	South Yemen 1967

List of European colonies in Asia[]

British colonies in South Asia, East Asia, And Southeast Asia:

• British Burma (1824–1948, merged with India by the British from 1886 to 1937)
• British Ceylon (1815–1948, now Sri Lanka)
• British Hong Kong (1842–1997)
• Colonial India (includes the territory of present-day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh)

Danish India (1696–1869)

Swedish Parangipettai (1733)

British India (1613–1947)

British East India Company (1757–1858)

British Raj (1858–1947)

French colonies in South and Southeast Asia:

• French India (1769–1954)
• French Indochina (1887–1953), including:

• French Cambodia (1863–1953)
• French Laos (1893–1953)
• French Cochinchine, Annam and Tonkin (1862–1949, now Vietnam)
• Guangzhouwan (1898–1945)

Dutch, British, Portuguese colonies and Russian territories in Asia:

• Dutch India (1605–1825)
• Dutch Bengal
• Dutch Ceylon (1656–1796)
• Portuguese Ceylon (1505–1658)
• Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) – Dutch colony from 1602 to 1949 (included Netherlands New Guinea until 1962)
• Portuguese India (1510–1961)
• Portuguese Macau – Portuguese colony, the first European colony in China (1557–1999)
• Portuguese Timor (1702–1975, now East Timor)
• Malaya (now part of Malaysia):

Portuguese Malacca (1511–1641)

Dutch Malacca (1641–1824)

British Malaya, included:

• Straits Settlements (1826–1946)
• Federated Malay States (1895–1946)
• Unfederated Malay States (1885–1946)

Federation of Malaya (under British rule, 1948–1963)

• British Borneo (now part of Malaysia), including:

• Labuan (1848–1946)h
• North Borneo (1882–1941)

• Crown Colony of North Borneo (1946–1963)

• Crown Colony of Sarawak (1946–1963)

• Brunei

• British Brunei (1888–1984) (British protectorate)

• Outer Manchuria – ceded to Russian Empire through Treaty of Aigun (1858) and Treaty of Peking (1860)
• Philippines:

Spanish Philippines (1565–1898, 3rd longest European occupation in Asia, 333 years),

Insular Government of the Philippine Islands and Commonwealth of the Philippines, United States colony (1898–1946)

• Singapore – British colony (1819–1959)
• Taiwan:

Spanish Formosa (1626–1642)

Dutch Formosa (1624–1662)

• Bahrain

• Portuguese Bahrain (1521–1602)
• British Protectorate (1861–1971)

• Iraq

• Mandatory Iraq (1920–1932) (British protectorate)
• Kingdom of Iraq (1932–1958)

• Israel and Palestine

• Mandatory Palestine (1920–1948) (British Mandate)

• Jordan

• Emirate of Transjordan (1921–1946) (British protectorate)

• Kuwait

• Sheikhdom of Kuwait (1899–1961) (British protectorate)

• Lebanon and Syria

• French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (1923–1946)

• Oman

• Portuguese Oman (1507–1650)
• Muscat and Oman (1892–1971) (British protectorate)

• Qatar

• British protectorate of Qatar (1916–1971)

• United Arab Emirates

• Trucial States (1820–1971) (British protectorate)

• Yemen

• Aden Protectorate (1869–1963)
• Colony of Aden (1937–1963)
• Federation of South Arabia (1962–1967)
• Protectorate of South Arabia (1963–1967)

Independent states[]

• Afghanistan – founded by the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 of the United Kingdom and declared independence in 1919

• Emirate of Afghanistan (1879–1919) (British protected state^[14])

• China – independent, but within European cultures of influence which were largely limited to the colonised ports except for Manchuria.

• Concessions in China
• Shanghai International Settlement (1863–1941)
• Shanghai French Concession (1849–1943)
• Concessions in Tianjin (1860–1947)

• Bhutan – in British sphere of influence
• Iran – in Russian sphere of influence in the north and British in the south
• Japan – a Great power that had its own colonial empire (including Korea and Taiwan)
• Mongolia – in Russian sphere of influence and later Soviet controlled
• Nepal – in British sphere of influence
• Thailand – the only independent state in Southeast Asia, but bordered by a British sphere of influence in the north and south and French influence in the northeast and east
• Turkey – successor to the Ottoman Empire in 1923; the Ottoman Empire itself could be considered a colonial empire

Asian colonies from the 17th century to the end of the Second World War Japan[]

The following list shows the colonial powers following the end of World War II in 1945, their colonial or administrative possessins and date of decolonization.

•  Japan:
  • Manchuria (Manchukuo), Northern China (1945/1946)
  •  Philippines (1945/1946)
  •  Burma (1945/1948)
  •  North Korea (1945/1948)
  •  South Korea (1945/1948)
  •  Taiwan (1945/1949)
  •  Malaysia
  •  Singapore (1965)
  •  Taiwan (1642)
  •  Indonesia (1945)
  • Netherlands New Guinea (1962)

Territory	Date	Notes
South Sakhalin	prewar-1945
Mainland China	1931–1945	Manchukuo 50 million (1940), Jehol, Kwantung Leased Territory, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Shandong, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, plus parts of : Guangdong, Guangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Fujian, Guizhou, Inner Mongolia
Japan	prewar-1945	Present day Japan, Kuril and Ryukyu Islands
Korea	prewar-1945	Both North and South
Taiwan	prewar-1945
Hong Kong	December 12, 1941 – August 15, 1945	Hong Kong (UK)
:: East Asia (subtotal)	–
Vietnam	July 15, 1940 – August 29, 1945	As French Indochina (FR)
Cambodia	July 15, 1940 – August 29, 1945	As French Indochina, Japanese occupation of Cambodia
Laos	July 15, 1940 – August 29, 1945	As French Indochina, Japanese occupation of Laos
Thailand	December 8, 1941 – August 15, 1945	Independent State but Allied with Japan
Malaysia	March 27, 1942 – September 6, 1945 (Malaya), March 29, 1942 – September 9, 1945 (Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan, North Borneo)	As Malaya (UK), British Borneo (UK), Brunei (UK)
Philippines	May 8, 1942 – July 5, 1945	Philippines (US)
Dutch East Indies	January 18, 1942 – October 21, 1945	Dutch East Indies (NL)
Singapore	February 15, 1942 – September 9, 1945	Singapore (UK)
Myanmar	1942–1945	Burma (UK)
East Timor	February 19, 1942 – September 2, 1945	Portuguese Timor (PT)
:: Southeast Asia (subtotal)	–
New Guinea	December 27, 1941 – September 15, 1945	As Papua and New Guinea (AU)
Guam	January 6, 1942 – October 24, 1945	from Guam (US)
South Seas Mandate	1919–1945	from German Empire
Nauru	August 26, 1942 – September 13, 1945	from United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand
Wake Island, US	December 27, 1941 – September 4, 1945	US
Kiribati	December 1941 – January 22, 1944	from Gilbert Islands (UK)
:: Pacific Islands (subtotal)	–

Disclaimer: Not all areas were considered part of Imperial Japan but rather part of puppet states & sphere of influence, allies, included separately for demographic purposes. Sources: POPULSTAT Asia Oceania

Other occupied World War 2 islands:

• Andaman Islands (India) – March 29, 1942 – September 9, 1945
• Christmas Island (Australia) – March 1942 – October 1945

Areas attacked but not conquered[]

• Kohima and Manipur (India)
• Dornod (Khalkhin Gol, Mongolia)
• Midway Atoll (United States)

Raided without immediate intent of occupation[]

• Air raids
  • Pearl Harbor (Hawaii, United States)
  • Colombo and Trincomalee (Sri Lanka)
  • Air raids on Australia, including:
    • Broome (Western Australia, Australia)
    • Darwin (Northern Territory, Australia)
    • Townsville (Queensland, Australia)
  • Dutch Harbor (Alaska, United States)
  • Lookout Air Raids (Oregon, United States)
• Naval bombardment by submarine
  • British Columbia (Canada)
  • Santa Barbara (California, United States)
  • Fort Stevens (Oregon, United States)
  • Newcastle (New South Wales, Australia)
  • Gregory (Western Australia, Australia)
• Midget sub attack
  • Sydney (New South Wales, Australia)
  • Diego Suarez (Madagascar)

Asia Territorial evolution of the British Empire[]

Name of territory	Dates	Status	Comments
Aden	1839	Colony subordinate to Bombay Presidency British India
	1932	Separate province of British India
	1937	Separate Crown colony
	1963	Part of Federation of South Arabia
Afghanistan
	1879	Protected state[14]
	1919	Independence
Assam	1874–1905	Province of British India
	1905–1912	Incorporated into the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam
	1912–1947	Province of British India	Now a state of the Republic of India
Bahrain	1880	Protectorate
	1961–1971	Autonomous
	1971	Independence	Invited to join the Trucial States, but declined
Baluchistan	1877–1896	Province
	1896–1947	Province of British India
	1947	Part of Pakistan	Now part of Balochistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, in Pakistan
Bantam	1603–1609	Station
	1609–1617	Factory
	1617–1621	Presidency
	1621	Expelled by the Dutch
	1630–1634	Subordinated to Surat
	1634–1652	Presidency
	1652–1682	Subordinated to Surat
	1682	Expelled by the Dutch	Now in Indonesia
Bencoolen ("Fort York", later "Fort Marlborough")	1685–1760	Coastal settlements of southwestern Sumatra, subordinated to Madras
	1760–1785	Presidency
	1785–1825	Subordinated to Bengal Presidency
	1825	Part of Dutch East Indies	Now Bengkulu, in Indonesia
Bengal ("Fort William")	1634–1658	Factories
	1658–1681	Subordinated to Madras
	1681–82	Agency
	1682–1694	Presidency of Coromandel and Bengal Settlements
	1694–1698	Subordinated to Madras
	1698–1700	Presidency of Coromandel and Bengal Settlements
	1700–1774	Presidency
	1774–1905	Presidency of British India
	1905–1912	Partitioned between [West] Bengal and Eastern Bengal and Assam
	1912–1937	Presidency of British India
	1937–1947	Province of British India
	1947	Divided between India (West Bengal) and Pakistan (East Bengal)	Now Bangladesh, and part of West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, and Jharkhand, in India
Brunei	1888	Protectorate
	1967	Protected state
	1984	Independence
Burma (now called Myanmar)	1824–1852	Arakan, Tenasserim
	1852–1886	Lower Burma
	1885–1886	Upper Burma
	1886	Lower and Upper Burma United as province of British India
	1937	Separate Crown Colony
	1948	Independence	Name changed to Myanmar after a military junta in 1989.
Eastern Bengal and Assam	1905–1912	Province of British India	Established upon the partition of Bengal (1905)
	1912	Partition reversed	Split between the re-established province of Assam and the re-constituted presidency of Bengal
Ceylon	1795	Ceded by the Dutch and subordinated to the Madras presidency of British India
	1798	Separate Crown colony
	1948	Independence	Now the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Dansborg	1801–02	Occupied
	1808–1815	Occupied
	1845	purchased and incorporated into British India	Now in Tamil Nadu state, India
Frederiksnagore	1801–02	Occupied
	1808–1815	Occupied
	1845	Purchased and incorporated into British India	Now in West Bengal state, India
Hong Kong	1841	Hong Kong Island occupied
	1843–1982	Crown colony
	1860	Kowloon and Stonecutters Island ceded by China
	1898	New Territories leased from China for 99 years
	1942–1945	Occupied by Japan
	1945–1946	Military administration
	1983–1997	Dependent territory
	1997	Handover to China as a special administrative region
Kuwait	1899	Protectorate
	1961	Independence
Indian Empire (British Raj)	1613	Company rule in India
	1858	Crown rule over the Indian Princely states, the Presidencies and provinces of British India
	1947	Independent as India & Pakistan after partition
Mandatory Iraq	1920–1932	League of Nations mandate never passed, replaced by Anglo-Iraqi treaty with the Kingdom of Iraq
Java	1811–1816	Territory of the East India Company	restored to the Netherlands
Malaya	1824	Transferred following Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824
	1824–1867	Territory of British East India Company
	1867–1946	Straits Settlements, Crown colony
	1895–1946	Federated Malay States, protectorate
	1885–1946	Johor, protectorate (part of Unfederated Malay States)
	1909–1946	Kedah, protectorate (part of Unfederated Malay States)
	1909–1946	Kelantan, protectorate (part of Unfederated Malay States)
	1909–1946	Perlis, protectorate (part of Unfederated Malay States)
	1909–1946	Terengganu, protectorate (part of Unfederated Malay States)
	1942–1945	Japanese occupation
	1945–1946	Military Administration
	1946–1948	Malayan Union
	1948–1957	Federation of Malaya
	1957–1963	Independent state
	1963	Annex North Borneo and Sarawak forming the renamed federation of Malaysia
North Borneo	1882–1946	Protectorate
	1945–1946	Military administration	Labuan to British N. Borneo on 15 July 1946
	1946–1963	Crown colony	Labuan to British N. Borneo on 15 July 1946
	1963	Self-government
	1963	Annexed by Malaya into Malaysia
Palestine	1920	Mandate
	1948	British sovereignty relinquished; proposed partition between a Jewish and an Arab state never fully materialized; the Jewish state – Israel – was established immediately after British withdrawal, with the short-lived All-Palestine government following six months later
	1949	Two sections of the former Palestine Mandate outside Israel – the West Bank and the Gaza Strip – were occupied by Egypt and Jordan respectively following the collapse of the All-Palestine government
	1956	Gaza Strip briefly falls under Israeli occupation during the Suez Crisis
	1967	West Bank and Gaza Strip fall under Israeli occpuation as a consequence of the Six-day War
	1993	A Palestinian National Authority is declared in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; most matters regarding the day-to-day governance of these territories fell under its jurisdiction, in anticipation of a future Palestinian state
	2005	Israel formally withdraws from the Gaza Strip, placing it under full PNA control; despite this, Gazan waters are still under Israeli military control
Pulo Condore Island (Côn Đảo)	1702	Possession of British East India Company
	1705	Abandoned	Now Côn Đảo, in Vietnam
Sarawak	1888–1946	Protected States
	1945–1946	Military administration
	1946–1963	Crown colony
	1963	Self-government
	1963	Annexed by Malaya into Malaysia
Straits Settlements	1826–1858	Possession under British East India Company	Now divided between Malacca and Penang, in Malaysia, and Singapore
	1858–1867	Subordinated to British India
	1867–1946	Crown colony
	1942–1945	Occupied by Japan
	1946	Dissolved
Qatar	1916–1971	Protectorate
	1971	Independence	Invited to join the Trucial States, but declined
Surat	1612–1658	Factory
	1658–1668	Presidency
	1668–1685	Possession under British East India Company
	1685–1703	Subordinated to Bombay
	1703	Incorporated into Bombay	Now in India
Singapore	1824	Purchased
	1824	Part of Straits Settlements (as residency of the Presidency of Bengal)
	1867–1946	Part of Straits Settlements (crown colony)
	1946–1955	Crown colony
	1955–1959	self-governing colony
	1959–1963	State of Singapore
	1963–1965	Part of Malaysia
	1965	Independence
Transjordan	1920	Part of Palestine Mandate	Now known as Jordan
	1923	Formally separated from Palestine
	1928	Emirate independent, except military and finance control
	1946	Formal independence
Trucial States	1892	Protectorate
	1971	Formation of Federation of Arab Emirates	Now part of the United Arab Emirates
Weihaiwei	1898–1930	Leased from China
	1930	Returned to the Republic of China	Now part of the People's Republic of China
West Bengal ("Bengal")	1905–1912	Province of British India	Established by the partition of Bengal. Abolished with the reversal of the partition and the creation of the new province of Bihar and Orissa.

In Asia Territorial evolution of the French Empire[]

• French Indochina
  • French Indochinese Union (1887–1954)
    • Laos (protectorate) (1893–1953)
    • Cambodia (protectorate) (1863–1953)
    • Vietnam
      • Cochinchina (Southern Vietnam) (1858–1949)
      • Annam (protectorate) (Central Vietnam) (1883–1949)
      • Tonkin (protectorate) (Northern Vietnam) (1884–1949)
      • State of Vietnam (1949–1954)
      • Spratly Islands (1933–1939)
      • Paracel Islands (1933–1939)
    • some territories on the eastern of Thailand (Independent State,but After Franco-Siamese War in 1893.Thailand has lost 3 territories in total in the past 15 years,for example)
      • Chanthaburi Province (1893–1904)
      • Trat Province (1904–1907)
      • Dan Sai District (in the area of the Loei Province:1903–1907)
• India and Sri Lanka
  • French India
    • French Establishments of India, composed of Pondichéry (1765–1954); Karikal (1725–1954); Mahé (1721–1954) Yanaon (1723–1954); Chandernagor (1673–1952)
• Taiwan
  • The city/port of Keelung (1884–1885)
  • Pescadores Islands (1885)
• Basilan (1845)
• China
  • The territory of Kouang-Tchéou-Wan, a dependency of French Indochina) (1898–1945)
  • The foreign concessions : French Concession of Shanghai (1849–1946), Tianjin (1860–1946) and Hankou (1898–1946)
  • The Spheres of French influence officially recognized by China on the provinces of Yunnan, Guangxi, Hainan, Guangdong
  • Shamian Island (1859–1949) (a fifth of the island)
• Palestine
• Syria or French Syria (1920–1946) (French Mandate of Syria)
  • Alawite State (1920–1936)
  • State of Aleppo (1920–1924)
  • State of Jabal Druze (1921–1936)
  • State of Damascus (1920–1924)
  • Sanjak of Alexandretta (now part of Turkey)
  • State of Greater Lebanon (now it is Lebanon) (1920–1946)
• Lebanon or French Lebanon (1920–1946) (French Mandate of Lebanon)
  • Mount Lebanon (An international protocol fixes the autonomy of the mount Lebanon under the protection of France)
• Yemen
  • Cheikh Saïd (Some French atlases and history books claimed the territory was French, but France never occupied it and never claimed jurisdiction or sovereignty over the territory, which therefore was never French, remaining under Turkish, then Yemeni control.

See also[]

• United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories
• List of dependent territories
• Colonialism
• Persian Gulf Residency
• Imperialism in Asia
• Taiwan under Japanese rule
• Decolonization
• Decolonisation of Africa
• Wars of national liberation

Notes[]

References[]

Further reading[]

• Panikkar, K. M. (1953) Asia and Western Dominance, 1498–1945, London: G. Allen and Unwin.