Why did Britain give Indonesia back to the Netherlands (Short Animated Documentary)
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On hearing this tale, a work colleague asked "If your uncle's mule got stubborn, he chinned it"
Date: 2024-01-17
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Comments and reviews: 19
altaccaltacc7652
For people who think that indonesia is better off to be colonized by britain instead of the netherlands, think again. India, ireland and south africa has been proven to be the worst victims of british colonization. Indian and south african unity remained a disaster to this very day. And ireland remained incapable of restoring their pre potato famine population of 1845-1852. Not to mention their rule of their colonies in central africa. Giving your country a beautiful union jack flag is indeed a nice thing. But the way of ruling is practically another. Now i'm not saying that the dutch colonization is better than the british. The VOC rule resulted in years of incompetencies in the indonesian leadership like corrruption and cronyism that lasted for centuries. Nothing is 'reasonable' or 'benevolent' about imperialism but somehow it also influenced the foundation of modern nation states and how we can lead them.
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For people who think that indonesia is better off to be colonized by britain instead of the netherlands, think again. India, ireland and south africa has been proven to be the worst victims of british colonization. Indian and south african unity remained a disaster to this very day. And ireland remained incapable of restoring their pre potato famine population of 1845-1852. Not to mention their rule of their colonies in central africa. Giving your country a beautiful union jack flag is indeed a nice thing. But the way of ruling is practically another. Now i'm not saying that the dutch colonization is better than the british. The VOC rule resulted in years of incompetencies in the indonesian leadership like corrruption and cronyism that lasted for centuries. Nothing is 'reasonable' or 'benevolent' about imperialism but somehow it also influenced the foundation of modern nation states and how we can lead them.
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user-dd9ek8sj5m
At WW2 wars end Britain returned weapons to defeated Japanese soldiers & fought with them against Indonesian independence fighters. They lost. These Japanese were responsible for war crimes against Indonesian and Dutch civilians. The Dutch returned and also lost.
Sukarno declared independence and did an amazing job forming a democratic republic comprised of 17, 000 islands and 180 million people. No thanks to Britain, Japan or the Netherlands which had little regard for human rights.
No thanks either to the dictator Sukarno either whose military coup cost between 500k and 1 million lives. Thankfully democracy reigns there now and it’s a great place to visit and travel.
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At WW2 wars end Britain returned weapons to defeated Japanese soldiers & fought with them against Indonesian independence fighters. They lost. These Japanese were responsible for war crimes against Indonesian and Dutch civilians. The Dutch returned and also lost.
Sukarno declared independence and did an amazing job forming a democratic republic comprised of 17, 000 islands and 180 million people. No thanks to Britain, Japan or the Netherlands which had little regard for human rights.
No thanks either to the dictator Sukarno either whose military coup cost between 500k and 1 million lives. Thankfully democracy reigns there now and it’s a great place to visit and travel.
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MrHasugur
Having done my bachelor thesis about the Dutch colonialism in Indonesia, I just want to add/correct an interesting part to this. The Dutch republic (actually the Stadholder) and the British crown actually made a deal (the so called Kew Letters) to secure each others colonies when either of them would be invaded by France.
As the French did invade the Dutch republic and installed their puppet regime in the Nederlands (Batavian republic, the British did invade Dutch Indonesia. However they felt the right to do so because of the Kew Letters.
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Having done my bachelor thesis about the Dutch colonialism in Indonesia, I just want to add/correct an interesting part to this. The Dutch republic (actually the Stadholder) and the British crown actually made a deal (the so called Kew Letters) to secure each others colonies when either of them would be invaded by France.
As the French did invade the Dutch republic and installed their puppet regime in the Nederlands (Batavian republic, the British did invade Dutch Indonesia. However they felt the right to do so because of the Kew Letters.
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maxerd
As a followup, why did the Dutch give Indonesia West New Guinea in 1962
Indonesia was planning to launch an invasion of Western New Guinea in the late 50s and the Netherlands had guarantees from Allen Dulles under Eisenhower that the US would provide Dutch marines with logistical support if an invasion proved imminent. However, when JFK entered office he revoked those guarantees in order to placate Indonesia and pull them away from the USSR's sphere of influence.
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As a followup, why did the Dutch give Indonesia West New Guinea in 1962
Indonesia was planning to launch an invasion of Western New Guinea in the late 50s and the Netherlands had guarantees from Allen Dulles under Eisenhower that the US would provide Dutch marines with logistical support if an invasion proved imminent. However, when JFK entered office he revoked those guarantees in order to placate Indonesia and pull them away from the USSR's sphere of influence.
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itwaswalpole
In fact there was an even earlier time when the Anglos controlled parts on Indonesia. In the mid 17th century England controlled a small Indonesian island called Pulau Run and the Dutch really wanted it. After a few years of fighting and most of the Royal Navy being destroyed in Chatham England sued for peace. In exchange for this island and a few other colonies England was given New Amsterdam, later renamed as New York.
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In fact there was an even earlier time when the Anglos controlled parts on Indonesia. In the mid 17th century England controlled a small Indonesian island called Pulau Run and the Dutch really wanted it. After a few years of fighting and most of the Royal Navy being destroyed in Chatham England sued for peace. In exchange for this island and a few other colonies England was given New Amsterdam, later renamed as New York.
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tip0019
Well, you should turn around your question completely. Why did Britain NOT give back part of Guyana, Ceylon and the Cape Colony to a country which was unlawfully occupied by your enemy
Because they STOLE as much as they could get away with Internationally!
Edit: It could be an exchange of terrotory overseas for Belgium and Luxembourg but that's not adressed in the vid. The question posted is still very wrong
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Well, you should turn around your question completely. Why did Britain NOT give back part of Guyana, Ceylon and the Cape Colony to a country which was unlawfully occupied by your enemy
Because they STOLE as much as they could get away with Internationally!
Edit: It could be an exchange of terrotory overseas for Belgium and Luxembourg but that's not adressed in the vid. The question posted is still very wrong
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abi_abdurrahman
Not to mention there are a lot of volcanoes in Indonesia. Raffles doesn't like colonies with volcanoes and earthquakes. Why Because the same as building forts and bases to prevent rebellion, maintenance is very costly. Therefore, Britain consider Indonesia a cursed colony. So when the opportunity comes for Britain to relinquish their Indonesian territory back to The Netherlands, it's a no brainer for them.
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Not to mention there are a lot of volcanoes in Indonesia. Raffles doesn't like colonies with volcanoes and earthquakes. Why Because the same as building forts and bases to prevent rebellion, maintenance is very costly. Therefore, Britain consider Indonesia a cursed colony. So when the opportunity comes for Britain to relinquish their Indonesian territory back to The Netherlands, it's a no brainer for them.
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Ooilei
One thing I've learned from all these history clips is the British government can be, or at least seems to be, extremely generous sometimes, like giving Indonesia to the Dutch, letting France be a victorious nation after WWII, etc, but it's all usually because they either don't have the man power to keep controlling something indefinitely or it costs too much money and they don't want to fork over the extra cash
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One thing I've learned from all these history clips is the British government can be, or at least seems to be, extremely generous sometimes, like giving Indonesia to the Dutch, letting France be a victorious nation after WWII, etc, but it's all usually because they either don't have the man power to keep controlling something indefinitely or it costs too much money and they don't want to fork over the extra cash
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KangaKucha
To be fair, being taken by France (as Nazi did, you can't just occupy their overseas territories without giving them back, at least not all of them.
I wish it was so until 1900s.
But given that the UK asked and had the Americans take control of European territories in the Americas (Greenland and Iceland for example) they took after occupation by Nazis, what does that tell you
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To be fair, being taken by France (as Nazi did, you can't just occupy their overseas territories without giving them back, at least not all of them.
I wish it was so until 1900s.
But given that the UK asked and had the Americans take control of European territories in the Americas (Greenland and Iceland for example) they took after occupation by Nazis, what does that tell you
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maartentoors
2: 08 "Nutmeg" the only reason for me making this comment.
The "Netherlands" and by extension my existance is due to this nutty pepper-like delicacy.
My granddad (he had access to 'nutmeg-oils'as a laborant for "RedBand") traded this for food during the hunger winter in 1945.
Nutmeg was a bigger player in world trade/politics than most will ever understand.
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2: 08 "Nutmeg" the only reason for me making this comment.
The "Netherlands" and by extension my existance is due to this nutty pepper-like delicacy.
My granddad (he had access to 'nutmeg-oils'as a laborant for "RedBand") traded this for food during the hunger winter in 1945.
Nutmeg was a bigger player in world trade/politics than most will ever understand.
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jamestang1227
Also part of the reason was Stanmford Raffles (British governor of Java) shit the bed so much in terms of governining and profiting off the colony that the heads of the EIC in Calcutta and London wanted nothing more to do with it. For context, he implemented the system of land taxation that killed millions of Bengalis through famine to Java with predictable results.
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Also part of the reason was Stanmford Raffles (British governor of Java) shit the bed so much in terms of governining and profiting off the colony that the heads of the EIC in Calcutta and London wanted nothing more to do with it. For context, he implemented the system of land taxation that killed millions of Bengalis through famine to Java with predictable results.
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jibster8849
Funny thing is that napoleon dismantled the VOC and since it was the biggest enterprise to ever exist (it even having its own army) it had major influence around europe and remnants of it still exist to this day (though its difficult to find where these went. The VOC literally invented the stock market and therefore had many investors around europe.
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Funny thing is that napoleon dismantled the VOC and since it was the biggest enterprise to ever exist (it even having its own army) it had major influence around europe and remnants of it still exist to this day (though its difficult to find where these went. The VOC literally invented the stock market and therefore had many investors around europe.
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louisiananlord17
Britain sure never apologized for the concentration camps in Boer lands after 1902 but it will hand back Indonesia like a dangling carrot for the Dutch to have. Dutch colonization of Oceania is very interesting too; they sort of melded together strongly with the Asian culture going more into the European one there.
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Britain sure never apologized for the concentration camps in Boer lands after 1902 but it will hand back Indonesia like a dangling carrot for the Dutch to have. Dutch colonization of Oceania is very interesting too; they sort of melded together strongly with the Asian culture going more into the European one there.
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lukaswilhelm9290
If the British keep Indonesia and make it their colony there will be huge chance that Malaysia wouldn't be created but absorbed into Indonesia, Papua New Guinea wouldn't also be a thing. So being a British colony would be very good for Indonesians in case of independence or being part of commonwealth.
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If the British keep Indonesia and make it their colony there will be huge chance that Malaysia wouldn't be created but absorbed into Indonesia, Papua New Guinea wouldn't also be a thing. So being a British colony would be very good for Indonesians in case of independence or being part of commonwealth.
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history_matters
Alternate universe: If the UK kept Indonesia as its colony, it could have become one country with Malaysia into for argument’s sake, East Indies; there would be two official languages: English and Malay; and the country would have a strong geopolitical force as they operate the Strait of Malacca.
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Alternate universe: If the UK kept Indonesia as its colony, it could have become one country with Malaysia into for argument’s sake, East Indies; there would be two official languages: English and Malay; and the country would have a strong geopolitical force as they operate the Strait of Malacca.
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douglasboyle6544
And the British only gave back half of Guyana and decided they wanted to expand its borders to the west taking land from the Spanish colony that would later become Venezuela leading to the stand off that's going on between Venezuela and Guyana right now over who owns the Esequibo area
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And the British only gave back half of Guyana and decided they wanted to expand its borders to the west taking land from the Spanish colony that would later become Venezuela leading to the stand off that's going on between Venezuela and Guyana right now over who owns the Esequibo area
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quuaaarrrk8056
The map in the beginning seems odd. Shouldn't the Duchy of Warsaw and Denmark-Norway be blue as allies of France
Edit: They seem to be different shades of red. So the colours chosen might be based on traditionally used colours and accidentally imply a connection with Britain
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The map in the beginning seems odd. Shouldn't the Duchy of Warsaw and Denmark-Norway be blue as allies of France
Edit: They seem to be different shades of red. So the colours chosen might be based on traditionally used colours and accidentally imply a connection with Britain
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nguyenkhoi3010
I really enjoyed the much higher quality animations in the latest videos. This one was outstanding: the high-definition borders, the attention to details with the clothing and hairstyle of the characters, the country silhouettes on walls and army regalia, Thank you!
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I really enjoyed the much higher quality animations in the latest videos. This one was outstanding: the high-definition borders, the attention to details with the clothing and hairstyle of the characters, the country silhouettes on walls and army regalia, Thank you!
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AloisAgos
Britain: "Hey Netherlands, be my buffer from neighboring nations. "
Netherlands: "We are too poor for that. We kinda lost a lot of land in overseas territories. "
Britain: "Then here is some of that land we took from you, now go be a wall against Germany. "
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Britain: "Hey Netherlands, be my buffer from neighboring nations. "
Netherlands: "We are too poor for that. We kinda lost a lot of land in overseas territories. "
Britain: "Then here is some of that land we took from you, now go be a wall against Germany. "
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