Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

asia, history of

44

EuropEan domination

in 1498, portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama sailed to

india around the southern tip of africa. He was the first

European to reach asia by sea. other Europeans

followed, and over the next 400 years

Europeans dominated much of asia,

first as traders and merchants,

then as conquerors and

colonizers. only persia

(present-day iran),

afghanistan, thailand,

and Japan remained

free from

European

control.

tiGEr EconomiEs

Japan and other countries began

rebuilding their economies after

World War ii. they concentrated

on heavy industries such as car

manufacturing and shipbuilding,

and on hi-tech industries such as

computers and electronics. today,

Japan is the world’s third-biggest

economy, while taiwan, south

Korea, and singapore have

become industrial powerhouses.

World War ii

during World War ii (1939-45),

the Japanese invaded china and

much of southeast asia in order to

create an empire. some welcomed

the Japanese invaders, because the

Japanese threw out the European

colonial masters and sometimes

gave the people a greater degree

of independence. after Japan’s

defeat in 1945, Britain, France, the

netherlands, and the us returned to

take control of their former colonies.

indEpEndEncE

Following World War ii, the European

countries began to grant their asian

colonies independence. india became

independent from Britain in 1947-48, and

indonesia gained its independence from

the netherlands in 1949. the last colony—

the portuguese territory of macau—was

handed back to china in 1999.

communist asia

in 1949, the communist party finally gained power in

china after years of civil war. communists also took

control in north Korea, mongolia, north Vietnam,

cambodia, and laos. the communist governments

hoped to improve people’s living standards but failed

to match the economic success of

Japan and other asian

countries.

Chinese demonstrate

their revolutionary

fervor in 1967

ASIA

c. 2,500 bce Hinduism

is founded in india.

c. 563-c. 483 bce life of

the Buddha.

500s bce the silk road

is established.

250 bce Buddhism

spreads to sri lanka

and southeast asia.

100 ce monks take

Buddhism to china and

into central asia.

850-1200 chola kings

of india take Hinduism

to sri lanka and into

southeast asia.

1279 mongol Empire

under Kublai Khan

reaches greatest extent.

1369 tamerlane the

Great creates a new

mongol Empire in the

city of samarkand.

1498 Vasco da Gama

sails to india.

1600 British merchants

establish the East india

company in order to

trade with india.

1619 dutch begin to

control the East indies.

1757 British take over

Bengal and expand

their rule in india.

1850s French begin to

control southeast asia.

1937 Japanese troops

invade china.

1941-45 World War ii

rages in eastern asia

and the pacific.

1947-48 British rule in

india comes to an end.

1949 indonesia

becomes independent.

1999 portuguese hand

macau back to china.

Portuguese

colonial house

in Macau

asia

china

communism

india and subcontinent

Japan

World war ii

Find out more

Chinese students

bearing a portrait

of Mao Zedong

(1893-1976)

The Red Guard,

followers of Chinese

Communist leader

Mao Zedong

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