Alternatives to colonialism

[La Rouge Beret]

So towards the end of the 19th century the majority of the world had become a colony of a Great Power. There were notable exceptions to this such as Japan (which became a colonising power), Siam / Thailand and Ethiopia.

My question would be, what characteristics are required for a country to remain independent into the start of the 20th century.

I am considering a TL on another country remaining independent.

 

[Flocculencio]

Siam escaped colonisation mainly by playing a very canny political game as a conscious buffer between French and British spheres of influence. This is probably the most practical situation- where you're a buffer between two powers and not really valuable enough to justify either side pissing off the other.

 

[La Rouge Beret]

Yeah that's what I was thinking acting as a buffer between two competing great powers or even introducing a third power into the equation with a naval base on the coastline.

 

[Ganesha]

Are there any countries other than Japan which avoided colonization through modernization?

I was thinking about Ethiopia, but they were eventually conquered. China was colonized in all but name, while Thailand, as you say, was nothing more than a buffer. The Turks managed to fight of the Greeks, but calling the Treaty of Sévres outright colonialism is pushing it.

Cheers,
Ganesha

 

[Flocculencio]

What about limited sorts of colonization? Things like Hong Kong?

Hong Kong was very much a full colony.

Do you mean China as a whole with the concessions and unequal treaties?

 

[Æsir]

Madagascar might be able to pull it off; the Merina Kingdom at times attempted to modernize and like Thailand was caught between British and French interests and perhaps could've played this to their advantage, and it has the geographic advantage of, as America, Britain, and Japan all benefited from, being separated from it's rivals by the sea. It also has substantial agricultural potential both in staple crops like corn and maize and many valuable cash crops like cacao, coffee, cloves, cotton, pepper, sisal, sugar, tobacco, and vanilla and apparently also has deposits of coal and iron and substantial hydropower potential, which are helpful resources for industrialization.

Population may be a problem however; in 1900 Japan had 42 million people, Thailand had 7.2 million, Ethiopia 4 million, and Madagascar only 2.7 million.

 

[twovultures]

I've imagined that in a scenario where the 13 colonies disunite after the revolutionary war, a Cherokee micro-nation could form as a buffer between North Carolina and Georgia.

I'd like to rephrase the question a little: What alternatives did the colonizing countries have to taking and controlling territory in order to gain wealth? Could vassalage and 'tribute empires' be more common than conquest empires for Western European countries looking to get spices, gold, etc?

 

[Flocculencio]

Madagascar might be able to pull it off; the Merina Kingdom at times attempted to modernize and like Thailand was caught between British and French interests and perhaps could've played this to their advantage, and it has the geographic advantage of, as America, Britain, and Japan all benefited from, being separated from it's rivals by the sea. It also has substantial agricultural potential both in staple crops like corn and maize and many valuable cash crops like cacao, coffee, cloves, cotton, pepper, sisal, sugar, tobacco, and vanilla and apparently also has deposits of coal and iron and substantial hydropower potential, which are helpful resources for industrialization.

Population may be a problem however; in 1900 Japan had 42 million people, Thailand had 7.2 million, Ethiopia 4 million, and Madagascar only 2.7 million.

Madagascar's other major problem is that it's smack on the main trading route round the Cape to India and the East Indies. Thus, it's a clear secondary target for colonisation- Britain or France would have to take it. Compare this to Siam which while certainly having access to the major East Indies trade routes is geographically off the line of said trade routes running up from Singapore between Vietnam and the Philippines to China and Japan.

Secondly IIRC Madagascar's terrain is very rugged which means that developing the interior isn't quite as easy as it would be otherwise, which again leads to a problem with unity where the inland monarchy isn't able to exert power over the coasts (compare Sri Lanka where the Dutch and British did what they liked on the coast while the Kings of Kandy sat on their mountaintop fortress sulking) leaving them less able to present a unified front.

 

[Flocculencio]

I've imagined that in a scenario where the 13 colonies disunite after the revolutionary war, a Cherokee micro-nation could form as a buffer between North Carolina and Georgia.

I'd like to rephrase the question a little: What alternatives did the colonizing countries have to taking and controlling territory in order to gain wealth? Could vassalage and 'tribute empires' be more common than conquest empires for Western European countries looking to get spices, gold, etc?

Arguably this is still OTL- about 50% of British India wasn't directly ruled and the same was true of much of Malaya and the Duth East Indies. Basically so long as the local kings didn't interfere with British trade and did what they were told the were allowed t run their kingdoms as they wished internally.

 

[La Rouge Beret]

I am after specifically how can a country avoid being gobbled up by the rapacious powers.

So what we've gathered here is:

a) if you are larger, you stand a better chance,

b) if you can act as a buffer it is better, and

c) you need to exist outside of a trade route.

Essentially I was thinking of developing a Belgium proxy for a developing country.

 

[Socrates]

d) You get yourself covered by some sort of "Monroe doctrine", where one country doesn't want you, but is prepared to stop anyone else getting you.

 

[La Rouge Beret]

Yeah I was thinking of a South East asian state.

The problem is the area was dominated by the French, British and the Dutch.

So how could I go about introducing another player such as the Russians to counter balance the other parties?

My thoughts are perhaps after the Crimean War, the Russians look for a forward base to sortie from in the event of another conflict.

I guess the question is how can I have great power protection without become a colony or a protectorate?

 

[Grey Wolf]

One could create scenarios which work for :-

- Hawaii
- Madagascar
- Korea
- Vietnam (Tongking)
- Abyssinia

As a note don't forget Persia or Afghanistan, or for that matter Tibet

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

 

[La Rouge Beret]

Well continuing my love affair with SE Asia, I was considering Cambodia being utilised as a buffer state for Siam.

The Pattani Sultanate or the Sultanate of Atjeh.