Britain, China and the End of Empire

Abstract

'Whatever the ultimate outcome of the Pacific War, 15 February 1942 was the end of the British Empire; it was also the end of European Colonialism in Asia'.1 This is Jan Pluvier's view of the wide historical and psychological significance of the military setbacks which western colonial powers suffered at the hands of the Japanese before and after the fall of Singapore. Was this really the case? Did the British Empire come to so abrupt an end? Can it not be argued that, despite Britain's loss of prestige and lands in Asia, there still lingered an imperial ideology, colonialist affiliations and even plans to restore the former position; and that an imperial hangover marked the dawn of the post-imperial period? In the former South-East Asian colonies, Britain's post-war reoccupation, the reinstatement of her regime, as well as those of the French and Dutch, all strengthen such a belief. That this attitude was not confined to former colonies is shown by British attitude to China.