Newly Independent States Notes

Newly Independent States

Learning Objective

  • Explain how political changes from c. 1900 to the present led to territorial, demographic, and nationalist developments.

Historical Developments

  • Redrawing political boundaries after the withdrawal of former colonial authorities led to the creation of new states.

  • Redrawing political boundaries in some cases led to conflict, population displacement, and/or resettlements.

    • Examples include the Partition of India and the creation of the state of Israel.

Cambodian Independence

  • King Norodom Sihanouk declared Cambodian independence on November 9, 1953, after France relinquished control two days earlier.

Vietnam

  • The Mekong River Delta is comprised of 12 Vietnamese Provinces

  • Border differences between modern-day Cambodia and pre-French colonial rule of Indochina exist.

Khmer vs. Khmer Rouge

  • Khmer Empire:

    • A Hindu-Buddhist empire in Southeast Asia, generally in the area of modern Cambodia, from the 9th to the 15th centuries.

  • Khmer:

    • A person whose ancestral heritage comes from those of the Khmer Empire.

    • The official language of Cambodia.

  • Khmer Rouge:

    • A radical communist movement that ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979.

    • Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge were responsible for the deaths of about 2 million people in Cambodia.

Cambodia-Vietnam Border Dispute

  • The Champa Empire gradually spread into the Khmer territory of what is present-day southern Vietnam between the 10th and 18th centuries, resulting in conflicts.

  • The French drew borders between Cambodia and Vietnam but had to change the borders frequently.

  • Upon the exit of the French in 1954, serious border disputes between Cambodia and Vietnam occurred over gulf islands, the Mekong River Delta, and along the border.

Khmer Rouge to Official Demarcation

  • The Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in 1975 and renamed it Democratic Kampuchea.

  • Though previously allies with North Vietnam, the nationalist Khmer Rouge sought to regain control of historically Khmer territory.

  • Vietnam invaded Democratic Kampuchea in 1978 and ousted the Khmer Rouge.

  • Border discussions began and official demarcation ended in 2012.

Indian Independence and Partition

  • Partition created the states of West Pakistan and East Pakistan for Muslims.

  • India remained a majority Hindu state.

  • Kashmir was led by a Hindu ruler but had a majority Muslim population, so they did not choose a side.

  • Kashmir is still disputed territory today.

Impacts of Partition

  • An estimated 15 million people were uprooted and had to flee based upon their religion and location in either India or the new state of Pakistan.

  • An estimated 1 million people were killed from violence that took place as a result of Partition.

Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu

  • An armed uprising against Hari Singh in Poonch was followed by the 1947 Jammu Massacres. Kashmir joined India, and this sparked the first Indo-Pakistani War.

Indo-Pakistani Wars

  • Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 - Kashmir

  • Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 - Kashmir

  • Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 - East Pakistan (Bangladesh)

  • Indo-Pakistani War of 1999 - along the Line of Control

United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine

  • In 1947, the UN created a plan to divide Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states with Jerusalem as a special international center.

Context: The Ottoman Empire and World War I

  • The area that encompasses Israel and Palestine was under Ottoman rule for centuries before the fall of the empire in 1922.

  • Waves of Jewish immigration to the area occurred from the late 1800s through World War I.

  • The Ottoman Empire fell in 1922, and the British gained control of Palestine at the end of World War I.

Context: Zionist Aliyah

  • Zionism: A nationalist movement to establish and support a homeland for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel (Palestine).

  • Aliyah: Immigration of Jews to Israel; Hebrew term meaning "ascent" or "going up".

    • 1st Aliyah: 1882-1903

    • 2nd Aliyah: 1904-1914

    • 3rd Aliyah: 1919-1923

    • 4th Aliyah: 1929-1939

Context: The Path to Creating a Jewish Homeland

  • 1917 Balfour Declaration: The British government issued this public statement in support of the creation of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine in 1917.

  • Arab Reaction: The Balfour Declaration was seen as a violation of the McMahon-Hussein Correspondence (1915-1916) in which Britain had agreed to recognize Arab independence.

Context: Tension and Violence Builds

  • Violence between Arabs and Jews began to grow since 1920.

  • The Great Palestinian Revolt from 1936 to 1939 was in opposition to Zionist settlements and British control.

  • British crackdown was harsh.

  • Worldwide sympathy for Jews grew after WWII and the Holocaust.

    • The problems in Palestine were turned over to the UN from the British.