Smooth transition? Dismantling and accommodating colonial rule in late 1940s South China

Lopes, Helena F. S. 2023. Smooth transition? Dismantling and accommodating colonial rule in late 1940s South China. Cold War History 10.1080/14682745.2023.2231855

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Abstract

This article explores connections and continuities between the Second World War and the early Cold War in three territories under European colonial rule in South China. It argues that the dismantling of French power in Guangzhouwan and the maintenance of British and Portuguese rule in Hong Kong and Macau owed as much to the specific wartime experience of these territories as to the convergence of competing post-war interests in China and Southeast Asia. Drawing on multilingual sources, this comparative study sheds new light on the challenges and opportunities posed by remnants of colonialism in South China for the Kuomintang, the CCP, and other actors in a context of Chinese Civil War, early Cold War and decolonisation.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > History, Archaeology and Religion
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D731 World War II D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D839 Post-war History, 1945 on D History General and Old World > DS Asia
Publisher:	Taylor and Francis Group
ISSN:	1468-2745
Funders:	Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship (reference: ECF-2020-514)
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	15 September 2023
Date of Acceptance:	27 June 2023
Last Modified:	14 Mar 2025 02:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/162571

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