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Parts
of Essay |
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Task
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|  | | NOTES
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| Introduction |
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gives an overview of topic/theme |
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Who colonised Southeast Asian countries? Why? |
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How did they intervene? |
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What political changes took place ? |
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What was the impact? |
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western powers such as British, the Dutch and the French colonised
Southeast Asia predominantly for economic benefits |
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intervention was in many forms and each colonial power adopted
a different approach of rule for each colony under its control |
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political changes – transformation of traditional Southeast
Asian states into modern states; political centralisation; secular
administration; modern bureaucracy etc. |
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Define the key words/phrases |
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Explain the concept of political changes in relation to the
essay focus |
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political changes refer to changes in administrative, political
and legal systems brought about by western colonialism |
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specify the time frame of essay |
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refers to later half of 19th century |
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after 1870 colonialism was intensified |
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most countries in Southeast Asia were colonised by the western
powers e.g. Burma and Malaya by the British, Indonesia by the
Dutch, Indo-China by the French and the Philippines by the US. |
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| BODY-Organise Main Points |
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Select 1st main point that is relevant to the essay
focus
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western bureaucracy (administration) in the colonized
countries |
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Include the topic sentence |
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Add in the supporting details by comparing pre-1870 period
with the period after 1870 |
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Assess the impact of the changes |
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Topic Sentence:
Example:-
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“Colonialism brought about a change in the system of
government in Southeast Asian countries that were dominated
by western powers and with it came the trappings of western
bureaucracy.“ |
Supporting Details
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Pre-1870 period
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Administration of Southeast Asian countries was one
of patron-client relationship e.g. the thugyis or headmen
in Burma who were respected by the villagers and remained
as link between king and his subjects |
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After 1870 period
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became secular administration which was impersonal compared
to the past e.g. salaried government officials took on
task of tax collection, law enforcement, land management,
public works etc. according to clearly defined rules and
roles; In short formal and centrally determined procedures. |
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Village became an artificial administrative entity:
villages as a base of support and village headmen as point
of reference lost their relevance; these were replaced
by the ‘new’ bureaucracies and civil servants.
E.g. in Burma: villages regrouped by the British and traditional
headmen replaced by government civil servants, myo-oks |
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Control of colonial affairs lay with new colonial bureaucracy:
e.g. British Colonial and Indian Office, the French Colonial
Ministry and Colonial Ministries in the Netherlands |
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‘New’ bureaucrats were mainly Westerners
appointed by the Home governments: occupied all the top
and higher ranking positions |
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Junior and middle ranks were filled by the non-Westerners |
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(Remember to make direct references to at least 3 Southeast Asian
countries)
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IMPACT:-
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Secularization of colonial administration led to mobility
of the indigenous population: they were able to secure
lower level positions which were formerly monopolized
by the aristocrats |
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Centralization of colonial administration led to tighter
control of colonies and disregarding of village administrative
units leading to frustration and insignificant role of
village headmen. |
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Administrative Efficiency
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Formation of ‘formal’ Western bureaucracies
in Southeast Asia with its new features brought
about administrative efficiency |
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Led to the rise of Western educated local elites
due to the development of the western education
system: the colonial masters found it necessary
to enlist the help of local subjects in the administration.
An important side-effect of this was the development
of education systems that trained potential administrators.
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Select 2nd main point that is relevant to the essay focus
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Impact of western education on the polity of Southeast
Asia |
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Include the topic sentence |
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Add in the supporting details by comparing pre-1870 period
with the period after 1870· |
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Assess the impact of the changes |
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Topic Sentence:-
Example:-
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“Introduction of Western education by the colonial powers
was politically motivated. It was aimed at creating a literate
native class to work in the middle and lower ranks of the civil
service but this had far reaching social and political impact.
“ |
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Pre-1870 period
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Education provided by the indigenous schools e.g. sekolah
desa in Indonesia |
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After 1870
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Western education was introduced: to fill many of the
new jobs created by the colonial administration |
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Indonesia: Dutch in 1913, introduced the requirement
that to be promoted to rank of Regent (highest indigenous
rank), one must be capable of speaking and understanding
Dutch |
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Dutch embarked on setting up Dutch-language primary
and secondary schools for the children of the aristocracy
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IMPACT
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Social Mobility
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modern educated Southeast Asian civil servants
moved from the life of peasantry to a new ‘social
class’ as they joined civil service |
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Discontentment led to Nationalist movement
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BUT many confined only to middle or lower ranking
jobs with hierarchy of Europeans on top and Southeast
Asians below |
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Many increasingly became discontented as they
were not given the higher-ranking jobs they qualified
for; hence fuelled nationalist movements |
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Select 3rd main point that is relevant to the essay focus:-
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Change in political legitimacy |
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Include the topic sentence· |
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Add in the supporting details by comparing pre-1870 period
with the period after 1870. Elaborate on divine rights and role
of traditional leadership in the pre-1870 period; and the secular
basis of legitimacy after the 1870 period. |
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Assess the impact of the changes |
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After studying two examples above, you should be able to key
in your notes here using your lecture notes and reference books
such as :
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Nicholas Tarling (ed), Cambridge History of Southeast Asia
(Cambridge University Press, 1992) |
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David Joel Steinberg, In Search of Southeast Asia: A Modern
History (University of Hawaii Press, 1987) |
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Select 4th main point that is relevant to the essay focus
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Change in form of legal system |
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Include the topic sentence |
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Add in the supporting details by comparing pre-1870 period
with the period after 1870.
For the Pre-1870 period, include the flexible and arbitrary
laws of the natives; and the concept of land ownership. For
the period after 1870, include imposition of laws based on western
legal system |
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Assess the impact of the changes |
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| CONCLUSION |
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Sum up evaluation of the political changes |
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Reiterate your stand or the direction you have taken in your
essay. |
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Did western colonialism alter the polity of Southeast Asia
in the areas discussed? |
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