WORLD HISTORY FINAL PART FIVE - Shifts In World Power: The Growth of Global Nationalism

India's role in WWI

Indians volunteered to fight for Britain (and the Allies), expecting to be granted self-government after the war's conclusion for doing so.

India's anger after WWI

When the war ended in 1918, India got nothing from the Treaty of Versailles AND Britain refused to grant Indians a higher degree of independence → as a result, Indians protested

India: the Rowlett Act

• Britain passed this to squash the growing nationalist movement in India after WWI (where Indians were not granted self government nor got anything from the Treaty of Versailles)
• granted Britain the right to jail protestors for up to TWO years without trial
• Indians were even more angered by Britain's hypocracy → Britain had habeas corpus (laws regarding lawful imprisonment) in the English Bill of Rights, but they had just TAKEN IT AWAY from India!
• Gandhi urged his followers to fight this unfair law through peaceful fasting and prayer

India: the Amritsar Massacre

• aka the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
• Britain jailed two Indian protest leaders from Amritsar without providing them a fair trial → their supporters petitioned for the leaders' release and British troops fired on them
• In response to the shooting of the petitioners, a furious Indian mob burned British banks and killed several British citizens
• three days later, around 10,000 Indians gathered in Amritsar for a Hindu festival
• a small group of nationalist was also in the crowd for the festival, there to protest the ban on public gatherings
• General Dyer urged his troops to use this as an opportunity to "teach the Indians a lesson" (to not protest or break British law)
• Dyer blocked all exits to the square and ordered his troops (~90 INDIAN soldiers) to open fire for 10 minutes
• nearly 400 people were killed
• around 1,200 people were wounded
• rather than silencing all nationalist demands, this turned peaceful, uninvolved Indians into active nationalists (backfired on Britain)
• Britain tried to soothe nationalists after this by passing the Government of India Act which created an Indian Legislature to share power with the viceroy, BUT still allowed Britain to control foreign policy and security matters
• Indian nationalists REJECTED the Government of India Act → Britain disappointed

India: Mohandas Gandhi

• studied law in Britain
• first job in South Africa where he fought racial discrimination and social injustice endured by non-whites because of Apartheid
• raised Hindu but developed political and religious philosophies by combining themes from Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity
• treated people of the untouchables caste like social equals, surprising Hindus
• referred to as "The Mahatma" ("Great Soul") by followers
• worked to heal the divide among Hindus and Muslims to strengthen the Indian Nationalist Movement
• arrested in 1922, faced a six year sentence in prison, but only served two
• urged followers to fight Rowlett Act by fasting and prayer
• His Four General Principles: Live life simply without seeking material rewards, be tolerant of others religious beliefs, spend life in service of others (help people), always battle injustice without violence
• encouraged civil disobedience: boycott British goods, refuse to pay British taxes, not obeying immoral British laws, not attending British courts when asked, avoiding public transportation, LARGE marches, speeches, make and wear their own clothes from homespun cloth (khadi), fasting/hunger strikes, sit-ins, signs → all to PEACEFULLY secure change
• killed January 30th, 1948 by a Hindu extremist for being "too nice" to Muslims

India: passive resistance

• draws on the power of non-violent moral force to peacefully secure change
• examples: boycotting, refusing to pay taxes, refusing to attend court, refusing to obey laws, avoiding public transport, marches, speeches, fasting, sit-ins
• what Gandhi called his followers to rely on while nationalist tension flared
• hurt Britain's economic strength in India by bringing their trains and factories close to shutting down
• to protect their industry from this, Britain arrested and jailed ALL protestors, including Gandhi (he faced a 6 year sentence!)

India: religious tension

• Hindus and Muslims did not see eye-to-eye on many things
• Hindus were POLYTHEIST
• Muslims were MONOTHEIST
• Hindus believed people were NOT equal (caste system)
• Muslims believed every Muslim was equal before God
• Hindus believed cows were sacred and drank alcohol
• Muslims believed pigs were sacred, ate beef, and were forbidden to drink alcohol
• Hindus complained about Muslims praying 5 times a day, saying the calls for prayers were disrupting
• Muslims complained about how Hindus' music and processions disturbed their prayers

India: An Example of Civil Disobedience in the Salt March

• Indians were protesting an unfair tax Britain put on salt
• marchers planned to walk to the salt mines and collect salt, but they faced a violent opposition
• Madame Naidu told the marchers that they must not use any violence, no matter the circumstances. They must not resist, nor raise a hand to block the blows of the police's lathis
• when attacked by the police, the marchers did not attempt to defend themselves against the police's blows
• the marchers on the ground were carried off to a makeshift hospital by stretchers (blankets)
• other march participants stepped over their comrades fallen bodies into the swinging lathis
• the marchers were not afraid. They knew they had to show the world the brutal violence they suffered because they just tried to get salt.
• marchers finally stopped at 11 am because the heat was too much (it was 116 degrees in the shade)

India: the Year 1947 and the ones following it

• the British Raj ended!
• end of British rule and India split into India and Pakistan
• Raj ended because: the rise of Indian nationalism, WWII bankrupting Britain (they couldn't afford their empire or had enough troops to manage their global empire where nationalism soared), and the INC grew stronger
• Britain divided the Indian Subcontinent into India and Pakistan, but also left without a clear exit strategy, one year earlier than planned
• Indo-Pakistani War of 1947-1948: several hundred thousand to 2 million died
• around 15 million people mass migrated (very quickly) → Hindus and Sikhs to India, Muslims to Pakistan
• because of the mass migration, violence occurred: militias trying to wipe out the other religion, murder, r*pe, trains very crowded
• Jawaharlal Nehru was independent India's first Prime Minister, he served for 16 years
• Muhammad Ali Jinnah was independent Pakistan's first Governor-General, he died one year later, but that didn't stop him from starting to use Islamic culture as the backbone of law
• January 30, 1948: Gandhi was assassinated in New Delhi by a Hindu extremist because he was "too kind" to South Asian Muslims
• TODAY conflicts: conflict over Kashmir: India says its theirs, Pakistan says its theirs, multiple wars over it have occurred; India and Pakistan both have nukes so a close eye has to be kept on them

Middle East's role in WWI

• Turkey was the only land that remained in the control of the Ottoman Empire after WWI
• Palestine was the subject of the Balfour Declaration in WWI (so Britain could gain popular support for the war they were already 3 years into)
• Palestine named a mandate of Great Britain after WWI → Jewish people and Arabs expected Great Britain to fulfill the promise of the Balfour Declaration (they did not…)

Turkey Before Mustafa Kemal

• the remains of the Ottoman Empire
• 1919: Greece attacked and threatened to conquer
• Sultan was too weak and corrupt to stop the Greeks → people believed their only hope for survival was to overthrow him

Mustafa Kemal's Rise to Power

• part of Turkish nationalists
• led a revolution that overthrew the last Ottoman Emperor in 1922
• helped establish the Republic of Turkey in 1923 (the first republic in the Middle East)

Middle East: post-WWI westernization in Turkey

• make Turkey a modern nation/great power!
• broke off connection between church and state which existed under Sultan
• replaced Islamic laws with laws from European nations
• replaced religious courts with secular ones
• build railroads and factories in many parts of the country, despite there being limited natural resources
• women given equal political and legal rights: allowed to vote and be elected in office
• women NOT required to wear veils in public
• made secular schools, closed Islamic religious ones
• students learned to read and write Roman alphabet, not Arabic script
• Kemal (Atatürk, leader of Turkey and the revolution that overthrew the last Ottoman emperor in 1922, helped establish the Republic of Turkey in 1923) made a point to dress European
• grew their national identity

Persia (Iran) Before Reza Shah Pahlavi

• no autocratic government
• Great Britain and Russia had spheres of influence and by the 1900s they virtually controlled Persian government
• NEVER came under the Ottoman Empire's control

Reza Shah Pahlavi's Rise to Power

• a Persian army officer who overthrew the ruling Shah in 1921
• took the title of "shah" for himself by 1925

Middle East: post-WWI westernization in Iran

• Pahlavi held all power for himself (autocratic)
• industry growth encouraged
• roads and railroads built
• public schools set up
• more rights were given to women
• 1935: A name change! Persia → Iran

Arabia (Saudi Arabia) Before Abd Al-Aziz Ibn Saud

• a harsh desert ruled by many nomadic families called Bedouin
• a Shaykh, man selected from one of the leading families, ruled the family and commanded respect

Abd Al-Aziz Ibn Saud's Rise to Power

• had the support of a small group of Islamic traditionalists
• used his good military skills and strategic marriage of his daughters to other Shaykhs → to take control of Eastern Arabia (pre-WWI)
• after WWI, he headed west, overthrowing local families there
• proclaimed himself King of an Arab nation called Saudi Arabia

Middle East: Islamic traditions in Saudi Arabia

• keep Islamic traditions alive in Saudi Arabia!
• a theocracy (government based on religion) based on Islam
• laws of Islam were the laws if the Kingdom (rules from the Koran)
• loyalty to the government was based on customs, religion, and family ties
• REFUSED to modernize
• modernization was frowned upon by Saudi government
• alcohol was banned
• NO cars, bicycles, and telephones
• women had to wear veils in public, like Islamic law required
• legal penalties for crimes were based on the Koran
• followed the simple question "What would Muhammad do?" → wanted to bring back the "purest" form of the religion, the one that existed back when Muhammad walked the Earth

Middle East: shifts in Palestine

• traditional homeland for Jewish people based on 1000 years of history
• religious significance: where God and Abraham made their covenant (sacred promise)
• The Kingdom of Israel existed here (previously region known as Canaan) and was destroyed twice: by Babylonians in 586 BC AND by the Romans in 70 AD → causing Jews to scatter and settle into other countries both times
• used to be a part of the Ottoman Empire
• subject of the Balfour Declaration made by Great Britain
• in 1920, it was named a mandate by the League of Nations, supervised by Great Britain
• by 1936 only this mandate was NOT granted independence
• after WWI, hopeful Jews immigrated here hoping Great Britain would hold up their promise in the Balfour Declaration, alarming Arabs living here
• Jews who were forced out of Eastern Europe by pogroms, returned here only to not be able to buy the best land, so they created kibbutzim
• by 1939: 25% of the population of this was Jewish
• Arabs living here staged violent protests after Britain failed to fulfill the promises they made in the Balfour Declaration

Middle East: Palestine's Importance to Jewish People

• the covenant: Abraham would only worship God (monotheistic), God would give Sarah (Abraham's wife, they were an older couple) children → a long family line, God would protect Abraham's family, God would give Abraham's descendants land (the sacred, promised land, Canaan, PALESTINE)
• The Kingdom of Israel: what Abraham's descendants established in Canaan, considered a holy nation by God- chosen to be a light to the nations, a source of blessings, attacked frequently (so they had a military) because they were monotheistic and their neighbors were polytheistic their capital city, Jerusalem, had a beautiful, expensive, large temple that showed off the Kingdom's strength, unfortunately it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE
• Kingdom of Israel was destroyed TWICE, once by the Babylonians in 586 BC and once by the Romans in 70 CE (starting the diaspora)
• after being forced out of Palestine, many Jewish people's goal was to return to their holy land

Middle East: the Dreyfus Affair

• an example of antisemitism in Western Europe in 1894
• Captain Alfred Dreyfus was accused of selling secrets to Germany
• the evidence for the trial was flimsy, yet Dreyfus was still convicted to life in prison
• Dreyfus spent 12 years in prison while France tried to cover up the whole incident and Dreyfus' friends tried to clear his name (W friends)
• Dreyfus' friends uncovered new evidence that another man was the spy → France declared Dreyfus innocent
• directly contributed to the development of Zionism

Middle East: Zionism

• a global Jewish nationalist movement
• goal: a Jewish homeland in the land promised in the covenant between God and Abraham (Palastine)

Middle East: the Balfour Declaration

• British Zionists secured Britain's Foreign Secretary's support for their goal with this
• Stated the British government supports Palestine being a Jewish homeland and would help make it that BUT not if it too away anything (civil and religious rights) of the people already living in Palestine
• language of this was ambiguous ON PURPOSE
• issued during WWI to make sure Britain had full popular support for the war effort
• Jewish people were happy → they got a homeland in Palestine!
• Arabs in Palestine were happy! → they wouldn't lose anything!
• After WWI, Palestine was a mandate under Britain, and Jews and Palestinian Arabs expected this to be fulfilled
• as more Jews came into Palestine (25% of population) Palestinian Arabs staged violent protests against Britain for failing to fulfill this
• Britain tried to appease Arabs by restricting Jewish immigration to Palestine → thousands of Jews were unable to flee Nazi Germany

Middle East: Post WWII

The United Nations created Israel, after seeing the sheer atrocities of WWII, for Jewish people. But Israel was attacked shortly after its creation. Neighboring Muslim governments acknowledged the horror the Jewish people suffered in WWII, BUT they didn't do it.

Latin America: Mexico's various causes of discontent

• 800 aristocrats own 90% of the land!
• Porfirio Díaz's (President of Mexico in 1910) corrupt government: had elections but they were not free ones. Díaz controlled who voted, who ran, and how the votes were counted → reelected 7 times!
• caudillos: did not help the average people, confined money and power within a small autocratic social circle, supported by the upper classes who felt threatened by political change, encouraged and promoted foreign investment in their nations → made themselves richer
• LOW wages
• POOR factory conditions

Latin America: Mexico's 1910 Revolution

• aka Mexican Civil War
• Mexico's poor population rose up against the wealthy aristocrats
• wealthy were killed and their large homes were burned down
• did not have one singular leader, rather each region had a local rebel leader with a personal army
• MAIN GOALS: better working conditions in urban areas, limit the wealth of the Catholic Church, get rid of foreign ownership of businesses in Mexico, get rid of caudillos, more peasant land, fair democratic elections, a constitution
• NOT over in a short amount of time: Díaz's government toppled in 1911, but no single rebel leader could unite the whole country so a civil war dragged on for nearly a decade! Different rebel leaders all fought for control of Mexico

Latin America: Mexico's new constitution

• aka the Mexican Constitution of 1917
• Venustiano Carranza tried to gain popular support by drafting this
• REFORMS: breakup of large estates, a labor cod to protect worker's rights, rules for foreign investment (did not eliminate them), limited the Catholic Church's role in politics and education, forced the Catholic Church to give up some of its property
• ultimately, Carranza's rule was full of corruption as he ruled oppressively and peasant armies and rebel leaders continued their revolutionary struggle → he failed to carry out the reforms promised in this and was overthrown in 1920

Latin America: Slogans that Reflected the Major Goal of Nationalism from 1900-1933

• "It is better to die on one's feet than to live on one's knees"
• "Tierra y Libertad!" ("Land and Liberty!")

Latin America's relationship with the US

• Monroe Doctrine: European powers could not establish any more colonies in the Americas
• Roosevelt Corollary: USA had the right to act as the international police officer of the Americas → justified US military interference in Latin America
• 1912: Marines sent to Nicaragua during a civil war to protect US business interests there
• 1933: Last Marines officially left Nicaragua and declared US businesses safe
• 1929: 35% of all US foreign business was based in Latin America
• Latin America responded to US investment and involvement with resentment because profits from US businesses kept dictators in power (EX: US oil companies in Venezuela were on friendly terms with dictator Juan Vincente Gomez)
• 1933: Franklin Roosevelt wanted to change US' relationship with Latin America → created the Good Neighbor Policy
• Good Neighbor Policy tried to improve US-Latin America relations by promising that the US would respect the rights of Latin American countries
• Good Neighbor Policy DID NOT radically improve US-Latin American relations → Latin Americans did not forget how the US had treated them before (resentment remained). US businesses still controlled property worth millions and Latin Americans remained uneasy over the power US had in their countries

China: KMT with Sun

• established by Dr. Sun Yat-Sen
• in 1911, they overthrew the last emperor of the Ch'ing Dynasty
• after 1911, Sun took on the title/job of the President of new Republic of China
• Sun centered his political ideas on the "Three Principles of the People:" Nationalism, People's Rights, and People's Livelihood
• early in this regime, CIVIL WAR struck China: warlords fought each other with their personal armies to gain control of disputed territories, in doing so they hurt the CHINESE PEASANTS the most → pillaged, looted, crops destroyed (millions dies of famine), roads and bridges fell into disrepair, farms (property) ruined (stomped on, burned)
• chose to support the Allied Powers in WWI → hoping they would return control of China to the Chinese as thanks
• out of frustration over the Treaty of Versailles, many young Chinese people joined the "May Fourth Movement" under his rule
• Sun Yat-Sen died in 1925 and leadership of the KMT passed down to his son-in-law, Chiang Kai-Shek

the "Three Principles of the People"

1. Nationalism - end all foreign control in China (all spheres of influence and different territories)
2. People's Rights - give people the right to vote! (to have a republic)
3. People's Livelihood - form of non-Marxist socialist and land reform that benefited peasant farmers (redistribute land from the rich to the peasants)

China: KMT with Chiang

• took control in 1925 when Sun Yat-Sen died
• FIRST GOAL: defeat all the warlords and unite all of China under the Kuomintang (nationalists)
• did not trust the CCP but had to work with them to get rid of the warlords
• thought the USSR and the CCP were potting to overthrow the KMT and take control of China
• the son of a wealthy landowner → so did not agree with the CCP's goal of a socialist economy (his friends and family would lose their land and could be killed
• made an alliance with the CCP to have access to more troops for fighting the warlords with
• after defeating the warlords seemed inevitable, he set his eyes on getting rid of the CCP
• 1927: KMT troops and armed gangs killed many CCP leaders, trade union members, and people with connections to the CCP in the streets of Shanghai. Similar killings took place in other cities and the CCP was nearly wiped out. → Survivors went into hiding in the mountains where they connected with the peasants
• 1928: Chiang took job/title of President of the Nationalist Republic of China (Soviet Union refused to acknowledge it)
• promised to give all Chinese people democracy and political rights
• became less democratic and more corrupt
• people that disagreed with this were thrown in jail or killed
• set up new factories and businesses
• built railroads
• updated China's laws
• opened new schools and hospital
• IGNORED the rural peasants of China → they turned to support the CCP, disliked Chiang and the KMT

China: KMT's policies

• promised to give all Chinese people democracy and political rights
• became less democratic and more corrupt
• people that disagreed with this were thrown in jail or killed
• set up new factories and businesses
• built railroads
• updated China's laws
• opened new schools and hospital
• IGNORED the rural peasants of China → they turned to support the CCP, disliked Chiang and the KMT

China in WWI

• Sun Yat-Sen voluntarily supported the Allied Powers
• Sun hoped that the Allies would return control of China to the Chinese people as thanks
• Treaty of Versailles: Allies did not give their territories and commercial interests back to China, allowed Japan to keep the Chinese territory it had seized in the war → outraged Chinese students, led to the May Fourth Movement

China: May Fourth Movement

• happened on May 4, 1919, almost immediately after the terms of the Treaty of Versailles were revealed
• around 3,000 angry western-style educated Chinese students gathered in the center of Peking to protest the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
• the students were angry because the Allies had refused to give up their territories and spheres of influence in China (even though the Chinese had voluntarily fought in WWI for them) AND Japan was allowed to keep the Chinese territory it had seized in the war
• the young people who joined this shouted "Down with the European imperialists!" and "Boycott Japan!"
• spread BEYOND China's capital city
• it was a truly national movement
• showed how much China's young people wanted a strong, modern nation

China: CCP with Lenin

• this man lead the FIRST Communist Revolution in the world
• this man wanted to help China's nationalist movement
• believed China's student protesters and the USSR had common enemies: the European Powers and the US
• 1920: this man helped the KMT by sending military advisors and equipment to them, additionally several KMT leaders traveled to Moscow for military training
• 1921: the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) formed thanks to the efforts of this man and Comintern

China: CCP with Mao

• also known as Mao Zedong
• finished high school at 25 because his father wanted him to work once he turned 13, so he had to run away to attend school
• after his education, he worked as a librarian and schoolteacher
• a member of the CCP who fled to the countryside after the Shanghai Massacre of 1927 nearly wiped out the all of the CCP
• he actively participated in the May Fourth movement
• admired the USSR (a devoted communist) but believed a Marxist Revolution could happen in the rural country and the peasants would be the true revolutionaries
• 1934: led 100,000 loyal CCP members on the Long March
• he one of the few leaders of the CCP who survived the Long March
• when World War II began in Asia, this man fought off the Japanese in every way he knew in the countryside because Chiang and the KMT only protected the cities, this earned him a lot of respect
• on October 1st, 1949, he stood in Tienanmen Square, victorious, declaring China the People's Republic of China
• he led the World's second Communist Revolution

China: CCP's goals

creating a socialist economy in China

China: CCP's policies

• during the Civil they made sure to: divide the land they won with peasant farmers, help farmers out with their harvest, protect women and children, teach basic education, and pay for the food offered to them
• during the Japanese invasion they: protected the countryside in every way they knew how

China: Civil War

• 1930: another civil war broke out in China; Kuomintang VS Chinese Communist Party
• the KMT operated out of bases in the cities
• the CCP operated out of bases in the distant mountains
• KMT had the advantage of more money, better supplies & weapons, and better official training
• CCP had less financial resources and official training, but troops used guerrilla warfare tactic
• Mao told his troops that fighting in this war was only possible because of the peasants, they would not survive without them
• CCP gave peasants the land they won, helped them with their harvests, respected peasant property, protected women and children, taught basic education, and paid for the food they ate
• 1933: the war grew more intense as Chiang and the KMT were focused on completely destroying the CCP → Chiang Kai-Shek gathered an army of nearly 1 million men
• 1934: Mao led 100,000 loyal CCP members on the treacherous Long March in response to Chiang's new offensive (1 million soldier army)

China: the Long March

• in 1934, Mao led 100,000 loyal CCP members on this- their goal: to escape the grasp of the KMT
• a long, treacherous journey which lasted about 6,000 miles
• only 30,000 to 10,000 people survived and settled in caves in northwestern China, quickly gaining new followers
• crossed at least 24 rivers
• climbed over 18 mountain ranges, some covered in snow
• fought 15 major battles along the way, as well as daily minor skirmishes
• crossed miles of swampland where they had to sleep sitting up, back-to-back in pairs to avoid drowning in the mud
• traveled on this at night to avoid detection from the KMT's airplanes
• 70% to 90% of people who began this journey died

China: Japanese invasion

• 1931: Japan invaded Manchuria (northeast province of China rich in coal and iron)
• 1931 to 1938: Japan's forces expanded rapidly across China
• by 1938: Japan controlled a large part of China → KMT and CCP had no choice but to call a truce and unite to fight against Japan
• despite the truce with the CCP, Chiang continued to think the Communists were a greater threat than the Japanese → saved resources (money and weapons) from the US meant for fighting the Japanese with, to use to fight against Mao and the CCP
• Chiang and the KMT only protected China's cities! (small percent of China's population, full of the upper classes, Chiang's friends and families)
• Chiang and the KMT did not intervene in the countryside where the Japanese were committing atrocities
• Mao and the CCP, however, fought the Japanese in every way they knew how → looked like the heroes defending China from foreigners, protecting the peasants

China: Post-WWII

• the Civil War between the KMT and CCP resumed immediately
• US gifted the KMT around $2 billion of weapons and aids
• October 1, 1949: the CCP won the war (they had the support of the common people because of their actions in WWII), Mao stood upon the steps of Tianamen Square and declared the People's Republic of China
• Chiang moved to Taiwan and established a government there, stating they were the true government of China
• 40 to 80 million Chinese people died because of Mao's policies → yet Chinese people still respect him and his body is on display (like Lenin's)

Africa: Colonial Rule

• could only grow cash crops
• had to pay heavy taxes
• homelands
• lost control of their marketplaces and farmland
• could never get the best jobs
• had 2 possible jobs: work on European-run plantations or in their mines
• had to carry identification cards EVERYWHERE, could be stopped by any white person and asked to show them
• restricted places they could live and where they could travel
• because they could only grow cash crops and not food, famine was common
• not part of their own political life AT ALL

Africa: Resistance and Protests

• squatted on white-owned plantations
• formed unions to get better wages, shorter hours, and safer worker conditions
• the Women's War: protested with machetes and sticks
• the Women's War: mocked British troops
• the Women's War: shouted down officials when they were told to go home
• burning ID passbooks (identification cards), Nelson Mandela did this
• marches
• boycotts
• strikes
• non-violent protest
• armed struggle
• leaving South Africa to fight for freedom abroad
• went underground (Sphere of the People)

Africa: South Africa

• 1910: Britain granted them independence
• the Dutch Netherlands was first European nation to claim control of South Africa as a colony
• Dutch Netherlands' descendants were known as the Afrikaners
• 1948: the Afrikaner National party won a majority in a "whites-only" parliament → place severe new limits on blacks
• Apartheid was put in place by the Afrikaners here
• May 1994: Nelson Mandela elected President of this nation

Africa: Apartheid

• a system of harsh laws against black people, the separation of the races
• white politicians passed these laws in South Africa (Afrikaners)
• overall goal: place severe new limits on black people and maintain their control over black people
• all South African registered by race: Black, White, Colored (people of mixed descent), and Asian
• Afrikaners claimed this would allow each race to develop its own culture, when in reality, it was designed to give whites control over South Africa.
• designed to chip away a black people's dignity and independence: ID-passbooks or identification cards
• black South Africans had to get permission to travel and carry passbooks or face arrest
• black South African WOMEN had to get permission from their parents / guardians / husband AND the authorities to move from district to district
• black South Africans were assigned "homelands" based on ethnic group which were located in arid and unproductive parts of the country
• banned mixed marriages
• set up segregated restaurants, beaches, and schools
• paid less than whites for the same work in factories, mines, and other jobs
• Black schools received less funding than white schools
• the African National Congress (ANC) protested this with marches, boycotts, and strikes
• this government responded to the growing opposition with VIOLENCE
• AFTER the Sharpeville Massacre people protested this through non-violent protest, armed struggle, leaving South Africa to fight for freedom from abroad, and going underground
• Nelson Mandela was a protest leader and public figure against this

Africa: the Sharpeville Massacre (1960)

• 69 men, women, and children who were participating in a peaceful demonstration were shot dead by police
• 140 more were wounded in this
• a key turning point in the South African nationalist movement
• after this, protesters began taking different approaches to opposing Apartheid regime: armed struggle, non-violent protest, leaving South Africa to battle for freedom from abroad, going underground

Africa: Nelson Mandela

• protest leader and public figure against the Apartheid
• spend 27 years in jail
• became President of South Africa in May of 1994
• helped end the Apartheid laws
• influenced other African nations
• ran away to avoid a pre-arranged marriage
• helped organize ANC Youth League, mobilizing young South Africans into taking part in civil disobedience against apartheid laws, a Chief volunteer there as well
• set up a cheap law firm just for black people
• went underground after the Sharpeville Massacre and formed "Sphere of the People" which used violence against the apartheid
• Joined ANC militants calling for an armed struggle against the white regime
• Arrested, tried, and condemned to life in prison for conspiracy against the government in 1964, remained in prison for 27 years with little communication outside it. But, remained a popular leader and powerful symbol of struggle against apartheid
• refused to defend himself on trial because it meant he admitted and accepted his charges
• refused to be freed from jail when offered many times (all he had to do was admit to his crimes, which he refused to do)
• awarded the Nobel peace prize
• inspired young South Africans to continue the struggle in his absence
• In May 1994 he was inaugurated as South Africa's first president elected by voters of ALL races. His election set the country on a new track, the END of 342 years of white domination and being denied basic civil rights!
• after his presidency, he dedicated himself to humanitarian causes (like AIDS)
• he's a reminder to never give up hope on freedom. He sat in prison for 27 years before he finally saw South Africa gain independence and he was the president!