An outline, era by era

Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia

independence

20th Century · 1914 – 2000

Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia are the main states of maritime Southeast Asia. In the early twentieth century nearly all of this region was under outside rule, though in different forms: the Dutch ruled the East Indies, the United States held the Philippines after 1898, and Britain controlled Malaya and Singapore, with northern Borneo divided among protectorates, a chartered company and a ruling dynasty. Each country reached independence by a different road, between 1946 and 1963.

The Philippines became independent from the United States in 1946. Indonesia declared independence in August 1945 and won Dutch recognition in 1949 after an armed and diplomatic struggle. Malaya became independent in 1957, and in 1963 it joined with Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia, which Indonesia opposed in a period of confrontation. Singapore left the federation in 1965. These changes created three of the largest and most diverse states of Southeast Asia, and they shaped regional politics for the rest of the century.

Things happened, and the rest is history

  1. Background: the Philippine Revolution and the American takeover

    Event

    What happened

    In August 1896 the Katipunan, a secret society, begins an uprising against Spanish rule in the Philippines. In June 1898 Emilio Aguinaldo proclaims independence, but Spain cedes the islands to the United States under the Treaty of Paris in December 1898. Fighting between Filipino and American forces begins in February 1899.

    The rest is history

    These events fall just before the twentieth century but explain how the Philippines came under American rule. The Philippine-American War ended in defeat for the Philippine Republic's forces, with Aguinaldo captured in 1901 and fighting continuing in places for years after. The United States then governed the islands as a colony, with growing Filipino participation in government. Independence was promised later, in the Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934.

    Sources

    1. BookLinn, Brian McAllister. The Philippine War, 1899-1902. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2000.
    2. BookIleto, Reynaldo C. Pasyon and Revolution: Popular Movements in the Philippines, 1840-1910. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1979.

  2. The Philippine Commonwealth and independence in 1946

    Event

    What happened

    In 1934 the US Congress passes the Tydings-McDuffie Act, promising Philippine independence after a ten-year transition. The Commonwealth begins in 1935 under President Manuel Quezon. Japan invades in December 1941 and occupies the islands until 1945. On 4 July 1946 the United States recognises the Republic of the Philippines.

    The rest is history

    Independence came with close ties to the United States, including trade arrangements and American military bases. The new republic faced the Huk rebellion and the damage of the war. Manila was heavily destroyed in the 1945 battle for the city.

    Sources

    1. BookSteinberg, David Joel. The Philippines: A Singular and a Plural Place. Boulder: Westview Press, 1982.
    2. PrimaryTydings-McDuffie Act (Philippine Independence Act). United States statute, 24 March 1934.

  3. Japanese occupation of the East Indies

    Event

    What happened

    In early 1942 Japanese forces invade the Dutch East Indies and the Dutch surrender in March. Japan rules the islands until August 1945. It allows Indonesian nationalists such as Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta a public role, and trains Indonesian auxiliary and military forces.

    The rest is history

    The occupation ended Dutch authority and gave Indonesians organisation and arms. Its harsh economic demands also caused hardship, including forced labour. These conditions help explain why independence was declared so quickly after Japan's surrender.

    Sources

    1. BookReid, Anthony. The Indonesian National Revolution, 1945-1950. Hawthorn: Longman, 1974.
    2. BookRicklefs, M. C. A History of Modern Indonesia since c. 1200. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2001.

  4. Indonesia declares independence and fights the Dutch

    Event

    What happened

    On 17 August 1945, days after Japan's surrender, Sukarno and Hatta proclaim Indonesian independence in Jakarta. The Dutch try to restore their rule and launch large military actions in 1947 and 1948. International pressure, including from the United Nations and the United States, grows against them.

    The rest is history

    At a conference at The Hague the Netherlands agreed to transfer sovereignty, and this took place on 27 December 1949. Western New Guinea stayed under Dutch control until the 1960s. Indonesia became a large republic whose early politics were led by Sukarno.

    Sources

    1. BookReid, Anthony. The Indonesian National Revolution, 1945-1950. Hawthorn: Longman, 1974.
    2. BookKahin, George McTurnan. Nationalism and Revolution in Indonesia. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1952.

  5. The Malayan Emergency

    Event

    What happened

    In 1948 the British declare an Emergency in Malaya after violence by the Malayan Communist Party, whose fighters were mostly ethnic Chinese. British and Commonwealth forces carry out a long counterinsurgency, including resettling rural villagers into guarded new villages. The Emergency is officially declared over in 1960.

    The rest is history

    The Emergency shaped the path to independence. Britain worked with moderate leaders, and the Alliance of Malay, Chinese and Indian parties won elections in 1955. Malaya became independent on 31 August 1957 under Tunku Abdul Rahman.

    Sources

    1. BookStubbs, Richard. Hearts and Minds in Guerilla Warfare: The Malayan Emergency, 1948-1960. Singapore: Eastern Universities Press, 2004.
    2. BookHarper, T. N. The End of Empire and the Making of Malaya. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.

  6. The formation of Malaysia

    Event

    What happened

    In 1961 Tunku Abdul Rahman proposes a federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei. A United Nations mission and the Cobbold Commission test opinion in Borneo. Malaysia is formed on 16 September 1963, without Brunei.

    The rest is history

    Indonesia and the Philippines objected, and Indonesia pursued Konfrontasi, a low-level conflict, until 1966. Singapore separated from Malaysia on 9 August 1965 amid political and communal tensions. Malaysia continued as a federation of Malaya and the Borneo states.

    Sources

    1. BookMackie, J. A. C. Konfrontasi: The Indonesia-Malaysia Dispute, 1963-1966. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1974.
    2. BookAndaya, Barbara Watson, and Leonard Y. Andaya. A History of Malaysia. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2001.

  7. Sukarno's fall and Suharto's New Order

    Event

    What happened

    On 30 September 1965 a group of army officers kills several senior generals in Jakarta. General Suharto takes command, and the army blames the Communist Party. In the following months large-scale killings of suspected communists take place across Indonesia. Suharto takes over the presidency, formally in 1967.

    The rest is history

    Estimates of the dead run from hundreds of thousands upward and are debated. Suharto's New Order ruled until 1998, combining economic growth with authoritarian control. Mass protests and the Asian financial crisis forced his resignation in May 1998.

    Sources

    1. BookRicklefs, M. C. A History of Modern Indonesia since c. 1200. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2001.
    2. BookRoosa, John. Pretext for Mass Murder: The September 30th Movement and Suharto's Coup d'Etat in Indonesia. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2006.

  8. Marcos, martial law and People Power

    Event

    What happened

    Ferdinand Marcos, elected president of the Philippines in 1965, declares martial law in September 1972. He rules by decree for years, and opponents are jailed. After the killing of Benigno Aquino in 1983 and a disputed election in February 1986, mass protests and military defections force Marcos to leave.

    The rest is history

    Corazon Aquino became president in 1986, and a new constitution followed in 1987. The episode, called the People Power Revolution, became a model for later peaceful protests elsewhere. Marcos died in exile in Hawaii in 1989.

    Sources

    1. BookThompson, Mark R. The Anti-Marcos Struggle: Personalistic Rule and Democratic Transition in the Philippines. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995.
    2. BookSteinberg, David Joel. The Philippines: A Singular and a Plural Place. Boulder: Westview Press, 1982.

  9. The Philippines was the only Asian Christian country because of Magellan

    Popular belief

    The legend

    It is often said that the Philippines is Christian because Magellan converted the islands in 1521, and that the country is uniquely Catholic in Asia.

    The rest is history

    Magellan reached the islands in 1521 and baptised some local people, but he was killed at Mactan that April. Sustained Spanish colonisation began with Legazpi in 1565, and Catholicism spread over the following centuries, mostly in the lowlands. Muslim communities in the south, such as the Moro peoples, and upland groups largely kept their own faiths. East Timor, which became independent in 2002, is also majority Catholic.

    Sources

    1. BookPhelan, John Leddy. The Hispanization of the Philippines. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1959.
    2. PrimaryPigafetta, Antonio. Account of Magellan's voyage. Written c. 1522.

  10. Sukarno proclaimed independence by himself

    Popular belief

    The legend

    Indonesian independence is sometimes told as a gift from Japan or as a single moment proclaimed by Sukarno alone.

    The rest is history

    The 17 August 1945 proclamation was signed by Sukarno and Hatta, after pressure from younger activists who had held them briefly at Rengasdengklok. Japanese officials had earlier promised independence and helped set up a preparatory committee, but the declaration was made by Indonesians. Recognition took four more years of fighting and negotiation, ending on 27 December 1949.

    Sources

    1. BookAnderson, Benedict R. O'G. Java in a Time of Revolution: Occupation and Resistance, 1944-1946. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1972.
    2. BookReid, Anthony. The Indonesian National Revolution, 1945-1950. Hawthorn: Longman, 1974.

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