Introduction:
By the 1890s, Southeast Asia, by and large, was already colonised by the Western Powers. The manner in which these countries were colonised generally differed from country to country. In Vietnam and Indonesia, a lot of force were used before the French and the Dutch took over the areas respectively. In Malaya, the British arrived with much consent of the locals.
Main Body:
Local resistance were encountered by the French, the Dutch and the British in general. The three European powers all experienced revolts and rebellions from the locals. In Vietnam, the French went to war with the Vietnamese military in 1859 and the Chinese troops in 1883 before they took over Vietnam successfully. Even after the Vietnamese court had surrendered in 1885, local resistance continued, such as the “Aid the Emperor” Movement. In Indonesia, the Dutch were involved in the Aceh War for many years before managing to subdue the state. There were also revolts from the Balinese, who preferred to die than to accept Dutch influence. In Malaya, Resident Birch was assassinated in an attempt to resist British administrative takeover of the Malay states.
However, there were differences too. Some locals chose to collaborate with the West while others continued to resist passively. In the Malay States, the locals did not resist the arrival of the British very much. In fact, British relations with the rulers and locals in Malaya were generally cordial as they were generally welcomed to remain in Malaya. However, in Vietnam and Indonesia, there was a great deal of xenophobia. In Vietnam, Confucianism was used to resist the influence of French culture. Canton teachers would actually adopt anti-Catholic tone in teaching the Vietnamese. In Indonesia, the Wahhabism, a strict form of Islam, was used to gather supporters to overthrow Dutch rule.
