Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization

Main Events

1914-1918: World War I

• Done in un 7

1919: Gandhi’s first satyagraha

• The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was the first Satyagraha movement led by Gandhi in India 

  • farmer's uprising that took place in Champaran district of Bihar, India, during the British colonial period.

1919: Egyptian Revolution

• Its independence in 1922 but kept close ties to britain

• 1950s Gamal Abdel Nasser, military general overthrew king and established republic

  • Nationalized egyptian industries like the suez canal

    • (1956) British forces left Suez Canal Zone and Nasser then Egypt’s nationalized the canal

  • Europeans wanted control over the suez canal for access to india

    • (1956) Suez Crisis occurred when Britain, France, and Israel seized canal (eventually forces withdrew and Egypt retained control)

      • Britain needed suez canal for access to middle eastern oil

      • Nasser defied the West by accepting financial aid from the USSR to build Aswan Dam on Nile River

1919: May 4th Movement

• Intellectual and sociopolitical movement in china for rebuilding society and culture and national independence

  • Attacked tradition and moved to western ideas (science, democracy)

  • May 4, 1919, students held a demonstration against decision of treaty of versailles which turned violent

    • Against the territories china had which were given to Japan and with japanese and chinese tensions

    • Many died, wounded, over 1,000 arrested,

    • Pro japanese government officials were killed or put out of office by students

1929: Great Depression begins

• Done in un 7

1929-1947: Indian protest for independence

• Satyagraha was the usage of peaceful resistance against government

• Non-cooperation movement to boycott british goods and institutions

  • Movement to create own clothes and not use british imported clothes

    • Use your own cotton movement

    • Boycotted goods 

  • Salt march

    • They had to pay for salt even though they could get it form the sea (which was illegal) 

    • Gandhi led a march which attracted followers as it passed through cities to collect salt from the ocean

• Gandhi was part of indian national congress

• 1919 amritsar massacre against peaceful protestors who were killed by british 

  • News spread creating nationalist thought and opposition to britain

  • Led by indian national congress by Gandhi

• Gandhi wanted male dominated society and did not involve women in the indian national congress even though they assisted in maintaining order during his salt march

• India and Pakistan still fighting over Kashmir Region

  • World War II further weakened British Empire and Jawaharlal Nehru (Gandhi’s successor) called for independent, industrial India

  • Muhammad Ali Jinnah (leader of Muslim League) rejected Nehru’s plan and called for separate states for Hindus and Muslims

    • (1946) Jinnah called for Day of Direct Action (demanding separate states) leading to violence (6,000 killed in Great Calcutta Killing)  

  • (1947) Britain gave India its independence but partitioned the subcontinent into India (for Hindus) and Pakistan (for Muslims)

    • West Pakistan and East Pakistan

      • East pakistan became bangladesh after 1971

  • the partition forced 12 million Hindus and Muslims to migrate amid terrible violence (500,000 killed)  

  • Migration was very violent and many people died from fighting between migrators if not from exhaustion, dehydration, sickness, or hunger

• Gandhi was assassinated in 1948 by a fellow Hindu who rejected his views of Hindu-Muslim unity

  • Pakistan and India remain bitter enemies today (both nation claim state of Kashmir which is controlled by India but has Muslim majority

1931-32: Japanese invasion of Manchuria

• Japan wanted to imperialize throughout asia since the 1930s, but the war in europe allowed them to expand further

  • They were given control of South Pacific Mandate by the league of nations because they had worked with the allies in WW1 (treaty of versailles)

    • What the may 4 movement was protesting

  • They used this power to invade manchuria in 1931 creating Manchukuo and started an invasion through the rest of china

• Invasion was devastating to population

• Rape of Nanjing infamous for slaughtering of 100,000 civilians and rape of thousands of chinese women from dec 1937 to feb 1938

1933: Great Depression ends

• Done in un 7

1939: World War II starts

• Done in un 7

1945: World War II ends/Yalta and Potsdam conferences

• Yalta Conference

  • Nov. 1943:  FDR U.S., Churchill GB, Stalin USSR met at Tehran conference to discuss USSR liberating east europe and US/Britain liberating western europe

• Feb. 1945: Big Three met at Yalta conference to discuss reorganization of europe after the war (victory was certain)

  • FDR wanted free democratic elections in eastern europe (hoped for diplomatic solution with USSR thinking US would not support war)

  • Stalin hoped eastern European countries under Soviet control could act as a buffer against the west

    • Stalin assured allies there would be free elections in soviet controlled eastern europe

• July 1945 at the potsdam conference, the allies issued an ultimatum to japan (surrender or be destroyed)

  • US and Britain finally informed soviets of atomic weapons (although Stalin already knew of the Manhattan project from spies)

  • Truman demands free elections in eastern europe (states occupied by the soviet union)

    • Stalin refuses and installs communist dictatorships in the countries

  • Disagreements set stage for cold war

• Separated germany into east and west sides and also partitioned berlin in east germany

  • The Federal Republic of Germany (FDR or West Germany), allied to the Western democracies, and the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany), allied to the Soviet Union

1947: Marshall Plan

• U.S. wanted to have more democratic powers in Europe so Truman gave military and economic aid to create a capitalist future for Europe

  • Policy of containment from Truman 

  • Secretary of State General George C. Marshall created Marshall Plan that gave over 13 billion dollars to help rebuild Europe and its economy

• Stalin felt threatened by the Marshall plan and rejected it because it would make eastern bloc loyal/dependent on west

  • Also felt threatened by NATO

1948: Israel created

• Created for jewish people because they wanted a homeland where they lived

  • Especially after holocaust in WWII, growing world sympathy for jews and many people wanted them to have a home

• Displaced many of the Muslim-arab people living in the area who felt that their lives and jobs were being taken by the jews so either disliked them or left

  • There were growing tensions between muslims and jews. Muslims didn’t want them in the land they lived in, while jews did not mind sharing

  • Resulted in a war with muslims backed by surrounding arab countries

1949: NATO formed

• NATO = north atlantic treaty organization

  • Between U.S. and western european countries as a military pact

  • What did they do?

• Stalin and russia established Warsaw Pact in response which was a union of Russia and eastern bloc states

1949: China established as a communist country

• Done in unit 7

1950-53: Korean War

• Example of proxy war with communist funded north and NATO/democratic funded south 

  • U.S. and USSR didn’t officially fight in war but provided significant aid to their respective sides

• 1950 north korea suddenly invaded SK

  • With aid from U.S. and NATO troops SK responded with a strong military and pushed NK all the way back to [pyongyang?]. 

  • China felt threatened by how close they were getting so provided aid to NK

  • SK troops pushed back to around same spot war began and war treaty signed at 38th parallel

  • Tensions high between SK and NK today

1954-1962: Algerian War

• (1954) French colony of Algeria began war of independence (many French people lived in Algeria complicating independence efforts)

• Independence movement led by the National Liberation Front (FLN) used guerilla tactics to fight french

  • Algerian nationalist party who wanted to fight for independence from france

• (1958) Algeria granted independence (intense violence broke out as FLN forces killed up to 150,000 French people)

• the FLN established a dictatorship but military overthrows and religious tensions between Muslims and Christians intensified

1955: Bandung Conference (non-aligned movement)

• Conference created to promote afro-asian economy and culture

  • Oppose colonialism and Non-aligned movement 

1957: Ghanaian independence

• (1957) Ghana (formerly the Gold Coast) became 1st independent black African country (led by US educated Kwame Nkrumah)

  • Nkrumah relied on civil disobedience (non-violent strikes & boycotts) to oppose British

  • Nkrumah supported Pan-Africanism (promoting unity of culture and ideas across Africa without European intervention)

    • (1963) Nkrumah founded the Organization of African Unity (OAU) furthering Pan-African goals and encouraging the end of colonialism

    • (1964) Nkrumah claimed dictatorial powers and was accused of economic corruption (pattern seen in subsequent African dictatorships)

    • (1967) Nkrumah overthrown in military coup (Ghana didn’t experience a peaceful election again until 2000)

1959-1975: Vietnam War

• 1954, Vietnamese led by Ho Chi Minh defeated the French in the battle of Dien Bien Phu earning its independence

  • Ho Chi Minh’s communist forces controlled north Vietnam and French and US supported democratic government in the south

    • Ho Chi Minh claimed not to be communist and instead he followed the “vietnamese party”

    • Created The Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

• Vietnam became center of great Cold War tensions culminating in the Vietnam War (1955-1973)

  • (1964) the Vietnam War began when North Vietnamese boats allegedly fired on American warship in Gulf of Tonkin (another proxy war)

  • US fought Viet Minh (communists in north) and Viet Cong (communist in south) hoping to prevent a communist takeover of Vietnam

  • (1966) the US dramatically increased efforts in Vietnam as the Chinese indirectly supported the Viet Minh and Viet Cong  

  • Vietnam War lacked territorial goals, a clear enemy, yet more and more troops committed and casualties began to mount

    • (1968) US troops massacred innocent civilians in Mai Lai Massacre (US lost the moral high ground in war)

  • (1968) North Vietnamese successfully launched the Tet Offensive (enemy was growing stronger and so was opposition to war at home)

    • Many coordinated attacks against soldiers in south vietnam, used Ho Chi Minh trail along laos and cambodia to attack from west

    • President Richard Nixon adopted policy of “Vietnamization” (training South Vietnamese troops allowing for slow US withdrawal)

  • (1973) Vietnam War ended and US withdrew troops (the North defeated the South and united country under communism in 1975)

  • U.S. was humiliated because they had put all their troops and weapons into the war yet lost

1960: Year of Africa (independence of 17 African nations, such as Nigeria and Cameroon)

• Decolonization in Africa

  • African independence movements arose after world wars (Africans fought for mother countries) led by intellects educated in the West

  • African discontent over imperial conditions fueled movement (working conditions, brutality of Europeans, notions of racial superiority)

  • five Pan-African Conferences held between the world wars 

    • Asks for independence for all african people and to have foreign forces leave Africa

• African leaders made little progress towards independence until 5th congress in 1945 (Europe could no longer afford colonies)

  • Britain and France hoped to maintain profitable economic ties with former African colonies (invested in infrastructure and education)  

  • African economies remained weak and dependent on former mother countries (producing raw materials and cash crops)

• (1960) Britain granted independence to Nigeria but the nation’s borders forced three hostile groups together (Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo)

  • the Muslim Hausa tribe dominate the north and the Christian Ibo and Yoruba tribes control the south

  • (1966) the Hausa controlled government massacred 20,000 Ibo 

    • the Ibo attempted to form separate country of Biafra

    • (1967-1970) a civil war between the Hausa and Ibo left over one million dead

    • the ethnic and religious tensions seen in Nigeria occurred in many other African nations after decolonization

• Many african nations gained independence peacefully from european powers 

  • Many felt they deserved independence for fighting for them in WWII

  • Colonies became harder to manage as many of the european powers were recovering from WWII

• 1956) France gave African colonies choice to remain in French Empire or independence (many remained in empire for economic benefits)

1962: Cuban Missile Crisis

• Missiles placed in Cuba, a communist state by Russia because they would have direct access to USA 

• Kennedy had to respond in order to remove missiles while not starting a war

  • Created naval blockade, blocking missiles and weapons from entering but allowing food

  • Tensions were very high, but after meeting with khrushchev they agreed to remove missiles from cuba and USA from turkey and remove blockade

1963: Kenyan independence

• Jomo Kenyatta led independence movement in Kenya (he represented the Kikuyu people who were driven off their lands by European settlers)    

  • (1952-1960) the Kikuyu turned violent during the Mau Mau Uprising (Kenyatta imprisoned by British despite being a moderate)

  • (1963) Kenya given independence and Kenyatta became president (soon had complete control of Kenya)

1974-1990: Pinochet in Chile

• Communist revolution originally backed by USA

• Economic Liberalization in Chile

  • Augusto Pinochet in 1973 took power in a U.S. backed coup against socialist leader 

    • Ruled from 1974 to 1990 and he was ousted for his violent crimes

      • He was criticized for “burying democracy”

    • Chile also had a free-market economy during this time

      • State-run businesses were privatized and inflation was curbed

    • Economists from chicago helped with Chile’s reforms

      • Unpopular because they didn’t address poverty

      • Pinochet repressed people in order to pass the laws

    • Following administration helped the economy grow from free trade and reduce poverty through government programs

1975-2002: Angolan Civil War

• (1975) Angola independent after war with Portugal (civil war between Mbundu, Bankongo, and Ovimbundu tribes)

  • Fight between two anti-colonial guerrilla movements

    • Communist MPLA, anti-communist UNITA

    • Communist funded by USSR, U.S. funded anticommunist

1989: Year of independence of many countries from the Soviet bloc/collapse of the Berlin Wall

• Gorbachev wanted to improve socialism but destabilized it

  • Eastern bloc countries wanted to leave soviet union

    • Gorbachev told eastern bloc nations to deal with problems themselves

  • Soviet union broke apart into independent states as elites abandoned the cause of soviet union

  • Permitted elections for communist party posts, relaxed censorship, civic associations, legalized small non state businesses, autonomy to state firms

  • Also worked to reduce arms burden of soviet union

  • Withdrew troops from afghanistan

• Soviet Union collapsed as a result of Mikhail Gorbachev’s liberal policies of perestroika and and glasnost

  • Glasnost = openness, more freedom of press and speech

  • Perestroika = reconstruction, reform in economic system

  • Democratic process but listed as a change to socialism

  • Allowed soviet bloc countries to gain their own independence

• Some policies met with anger and Gorbachev was overthrown

  • Communist party and soviet military tried to attempt a coup in 1991 but communist party boss of moscow and elected president Boris Yeltsin fought back opposition and took power

• Berlin wall torn down november 9, 1989 and symbolized the fall of the iron curtain 

Discussion Questions: 

1. How did the results of WWII lead to the Cold War and decolonization?

2. What were the long- and short-term causes of the Cold War?

3. What factors led to the different organizations of new states and how?

4. How was the Cold War similar in the Western and Eastern Hemispheres? How was it different?