What this lesson teaches
I can weigh up how independence was won in Southeast Asia, through fighting, talks or cooperation.
Syllabus K330, Decolonisation and establishment of newly independent nations in Southeast Asia, Learning Outcomes. Assess how independence was achieved in Southeast Asia.
Make a guess
The Netherlands handed over sovereignty to Indonesia in December 1949. What do you think made it give up?
- Indonesian resistance plus pressure from the UN and the USA.
- The USA on its own ordered the Dutch to leave.
- The Dutch won the war and then chose to leave.
Show the answer
Indonesian resistance plus pressure from the UN and the USA.
Resistance made a Dutch return impossible, and world pressure, including US leverage through aid, made the war too costly.
Indonesian resistance and pressure from the UN and the US made Dutch rule too costly, so the Netherlands handed over power in 1949.
The Dutch attack of December 1948 drew strong criticism around the world. The United Nations (UN) pressed for a political settlement. The USA could put pressure on the Netherlands through diplomacy and the aid it gave the Dutch after the war. Asian countries also kept Indonesian independence on the world's agenda. These pressures made the war more costly for the Dutch, while resistance made a simple Dutch return impossible.
A US State Department note to the British government on 4 March 1949 shows why simply freeing Republican leaders was not enough. US officials wanted the leaders to have a base from which to reach the resistance forces. Leaders who could talk to the fighters and win their support could make a deal work. A signature from leaders cut off from the fighters might not stop the war.
The Round Table Conference met in The Hague, in the Netherlands. On 27 December 1949, the Dutch transferred sovereignty, the right to govern independently, to a federal United States of Indonesia. West New Guinea, the western half of the island of New Guinea, was left out. It stayed under Dutch control and remained disputed.
In 1950, the federation became a single, unitary Republic, run by one central government. That later change is background; this chapter explains the 1949 settlement.
- 27 December 1949
- Dutch transfer sovereignty after the Hague talks.
- Pressure
- UN, US aid and Asian support for Indonesia.
- West New Guinea
- Left under Dutch control and disputed.
Worked example: Why pressure worked
Outside governments press the Netherlands to negotiate.
- Indonesian resistance means the war will not end quickly.
- UN criticism and US pressure raise the cost of fighting on.
- Together, these push the Dutch to agree to hand over power.
Watch out for this
The US alone gave Indonesia independence.
US pressure mattered, but it worked alongside Indonesian resistance, UN action and talks.
Check your understanding
Which factors together pushed the Dutch to hand over power in 1949?
- Continued Indonesian resistance plus pressure from the UN and the US.
- The US acting on its own, with Indonesian resistance playing no part.
- The Dutch capture of Yogyakarta, which ended the fighting.
Show the answer
Continued Indonesian resistance plus pressure from the UN and the US.
Yes. Resistance and outside pressure worked together.
Check your understanding
How did the United States pressure the Netherlands to settle with the Indonesian Republic in 1949?
- By sending American troops to Java to protect the Republic's leaders.
- By blockading Dutch ports until the Netherlands agreed to talk.
- By threatening to cut Marshall Plan aid, which the Dutch needed.
Show the answer
By threatening to cut Marshall Plan aid, which the Dutch needed.
American pressure helped force the Round Table Conference.