Changes

=== Southeast Asia ===

=== Southeast Asia ===

As trade expanded beyond Africa and India to Southeast Asia, so did imperialism.  Britain established a trading post and supply station at Singapore, the French acquired influence over Indochina, the Dutch grabbed Indonesia, and the Germans dominated New Guinea, the Marshalls, and the Solomons.  The United States also engaged in imperialism, as it acquired the Philippines and Hawaiian Islands.  The only country that successfully resisted western imperialism was Siam, which is now Thailand.  It was respected as a buffer zone between the British colony of Burma and the French colony of Indochina.  In a sense that gave Siam (Thailand) the best of both worlds:  it enjoyed western advances in technology (hospitals, railroads, communications, etc.) while retaining its own culture.  Let’s look at the influence of each Western European nation Southeast Asia in detail: France, the Netherlands (Dutch), Britain, and the United States.

As trade expanded beyond Africa and India to Southeast Asia, so did imperialism.  Britain established a trading post and supply station at Singapore, the French acquired influence over Indochina, the Dutch grabbed Indonesia, and the Germans dominated New Guinea, the Marshalls, and the Solomons.  The United States were imperialistic by acquiring the Philippines and Hawaiian Islands.  The only country that successfully resisted western imperialism was Siam, which is now Thailand.  It was respected as a buffer zone between the British colony of Burma and the French colony of Indochina.  That gave Siam (Thailand) the best of both worlds:  western technology (hospitals, railroads, communications, etc.) without losing its own culture.

The story of French imperialism in Southeast Asia is simple:  since the 1800s France has dominated several countries, including Vietnam, known as French Indochina.  Rubber and rice were the key crops for France, and the harvesting and exporting of these crops caused Vietnamese to resent the French.  In the mid-1900s, communists in Vietnam overthrew French influence and forced the United States to pull out of the country also.

The story of French imperialism in Southeast Asia is simple:  since the 1800s France has dominated several countries, including Vietnam, known as French Indochina.  Rubber and rice were the key crops for France, and the harvesting and exporting of these crops caused Vietnamese to resent the French.  In the mid-1900s, communists in Vietnam overthrew French influence and forced the United States to pull out of the country also.