Decolonization is an important part of Southeast Asia’s history. An understanding of the evolutionary patterns of Europe’s and Japan’s empires in Southeast Asia from the late nineteenth century through World War II provides important insights into the specific events of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. In turn, the political, economic, and cultural currents of the “post-colonial†era – including Southeast Asia’s gradual adjustment to globalizing forces ...
