Chapter 25: The End of Empire in an Era of Cold War
India
¡ the Jewel of the Crown
§ Legacy of British colonialism
¡ Deep division between Hindus, Muslims
¡ Role of Mohandas Gandhi
“Vivisection” of India (Gandhi)
¡ Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Muslim League
¡ Jawaharlal Nehru, Congress Party
¡ 1947 partition
§ 500,000 killed
§ 10 million refugees
¡ India moves toward nonalignment position
§ The “third path”
Jawaharlal Nehru
¡ In 1950: New Constitution & Official Independence from Britain
¡ The prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru
¡ Today, India is the world’s largest democracy
¡ Nehru had to deal with the many religions, many languages and the caste system in India
¡ Outlawing the caste of untouchables and the right for women to vote and hold political office
¡ Nonalignment
Nationalist Struggles in Vietnam
¡ French reassert control after WW II
¡ Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969), Communist leader mounts guerilla war, defeats France in 1954
¡ Vietnam divided at 17th parallel
¡ Civil war between north (Communist) and south
¡ President Lyndon Johnson (1908-1973) begins increasing US involvement
The Issue of Palestine
¡ After World War II, Arab states increasingly gain independence
¡ Palestine ruled by Great Britain between the wars
¡ Proclaims support for Jewish “homeland” in Palestine (Balfour Declaration, 1917)
¡ Growing Jewish immigration from Europe from 1880s
¡ Arab protests in 1920s and 1930s
Creation of the State of Israel
¡ Jewish, Arab pressure drives British to hand Palestine over to United Nations for a resolution
¡ Partition Plan of 1947 divides Palestine into seven regions: 3 Jewish, 3 Arab, Jerusalem internationalized
¡ May 1948 Jews declare independence of State of Israel
¡ Arab states invade, Israel successfully defends itself
The Six-Day War (June 1967)
¡ In 1952 Gamal Abdel Nasser (Egypt, 1918-1970) takes leadership position in Arab world. He promised land reform, industrialization, greater government control over the economy and expanded women’s rights. Attempts to block Suez traffic, conflict with Israel
¡ Threatens invasion of Israel in 1967, Israel launches hugely successful pre-emptive strike
§ Conquers and annexes East Jerusalem, Golan Heights
§ Conquers Sinai Desert, returned to Egypt after peace treaty signed
§ Conquers Gaza Strip and West Bank, status unresolved
The Palestinian Liberation Organization
¡ The Palestinian Liberation Organization was led by Yassar Arafat. It represented many Palestinian groups and used terrorist tactics while fighting a guerilla war against Israelis at home and abroad. With the rise of the PLO, the US, Britain and the Soviet Union began to search for peace alternatives for the area.
Decolonization in Africa
¡ 19th century “scramble for Africa”
¡ Legacy of colonial competition
¡ Internal divisions
§ Tribal
§ Ethnic
§ Linguistic
§ Religious
France and North Africa
¡ Abandonment of most territories
§ 1956 Morocco and Tunisia gain independence, 13 other colonies in 1960
¡ But Determination to retain Algeria
§ Longer period of French colonization
§ 2 million French citizens born or settled in Algeria by WW II
Algerian War of Liberation
¡ 1954 Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) begins guerilla warfare against France
§ Simmering conflict since French massacre in Sétif, 1945
¡ 500,000 French soldiers in war by 1958
¡ War ends with Algerian independence in 1962
¡ Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth (1961), manifesto against colonial rule
France and North Africa
¡ In 1958, French President Charles de Gaulle gave the African colonies a choice. They could be members of a new organization called the French Community and accept French control of their foreign affairs, or they could become independent.
¡ By continuing to remain with the French, they would continue to receive French aid, while those that chose independence would be immediately cut off from all aid and contacts with France. Guinea was the only French colony to choose independence.
¡ In 1960, after Guinea turned to the Soviet Union for aid, de Gaulle change his policy, granting all members of the French Community independence without losing the benefits of the French
Ghana
¡ The first sub-Saharan colony to gain independence was the British colony of the Gold Coast, which, upon its independence in 1957, became Ghana.
¡ One young nationalist leader was Kwame Nkrumah of the Gold Coast. By 1947, he was a leading politician in the Gold Coast, and inspired by the writings of Mohandas Gandhi, began a campaign of civil disobedience, with the hope of achieving full African independence.
Zimbabwe
¡ In the British colony of Rhodesia, after almost 20 years of violence and guerilla warfare, the Rhodesian government, under the authority of the British, held free elections open to all in 1980.
¡ Robert Mugabe, the most radical of all the candidates, won. In April of 1980, Rhodesia became the nation of Zimbabwe, named after the ancient southern African kingdom of Great Zimbabwe.
¡ Mugabe is still the President of Zimbabwe and has been criticized for widespread corruption, and the deteriorating human rights of the people of Zimbabwe, which has led to the starvation of millions.
Négritude: “Blackness”
¡
¡ Revolt against white colonial values, reaffirmation of African civilization
¡ Connection with socialism, Communism
¡ Geopolitical implications
Post-Independence Difficulties
¡
¡ Civil wars in Rwanda, Burundi, Angola
¡ Economic hardship
¡ Instability of democratic regimes
Afrocentrism
¡ Kwame Nkrumah, leader of Ghana
¡ Celebrated visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1961, affirmation of Ghanese independence and equality
Kenya
¡ Jomo Kenyatta, leader of the largest ethnic group in Kenya, the Kikuyu ethnic group led attacks on British and “collaborationist” Africans, 1947
¡
¡ Overwhelming British military response, 12,000 Africans killed vs. 100 Europeans
¡ Bloody, but negotiated withdrawal, independence 1962
Tarnishing of Independence
¡ Decline of democratic regimes, rise of dictatorships
¡ Partial reflection of artificial European boundaries
¡ Political immaturity of colonies
Communism and Democracy in China
¡ Massive, pervasive policies of economic and cultural engineering
§ Great leap Forward (1958-1961)
§ Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)
¡ Both huge failures
¡ Deng Xiaopeng (1904-1997) comes to power in 1981, moderates Maoism
¡ Tiananmen Square pro-democracy rallies nevertheless subdued, 1989
Indian Democracy
¡ Indian democracy flourishes under Indira Ghandi (1917-1984)
§ Daughter of Nehru, no relationship to Mohandas
§
§ Repressive policies to slow population growth, including forced sterilization
¡ Assassinated by Sikh bodyguards after attack on Sikh extremists in Amritsar, 1984
Muslim Revival and Arab Disunity
¡
¡ Israel defeats Egypt and Syria in 1973 Yom Kippur war
§ Attacked on Jewish holy day
¡ Anwar Sadat (Egypt, 1918-1981) negotiates peace treaty with Israel
§ Assassinated 1981 by Muslim extremists
The Yom Kippur War
· Under Sadat, Egypt and Syria began a war against Israel on October 6, 1973, the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, which caught Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and her military off guard.
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· In September 1978, Sadat and Meir’s successor Begin came to Maryland to Camp David, the presidential retreat for what came to be known as the Camp David Accords. These ended the Yom Kippur War between Egypt and Israel, but only enflamed the rift between Arabs and Israelis.
Movements toward Peace in the Middle East
¡ Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (1922-1995) signs peace accord with Palestinian Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat (1929-2004)
§ Yitzhak Rabin assassinated by Jewish extremist
¡ Creation of Palestine authority in West Bank and Gaza
Islamism
¡ Muslims increasingly regard America in negative terms, move towards radicalism
¡ Jihad: holy war
¡ CIA support of Iranian Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (1919-1980), overthrown in Iranian Revolution of 1979
§ Led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
§ Held U.S. diplomats hostage for two years
§ Shut down US facilities, confiscated economic ventures
Reza Shah Pahlavi
¡ __________________________________________ with strong nationalist feelings, overthrew the ruler of Persia, known as the shah. At this point he takes the title Reza Shah Pahlavi, establishing the Pahlavi dynasty.
Persia becomes Iran
¡ Reza Shah modernize his country and free it from domination of outsiders.
¡ In 1935, Reza Shah announced that the country would officially be called what the people called it – Iran.
¡ Unlike Kemal though, Reza Shah strictly controlled the press and suppressed other political parties. His secret police ruthlessly put down any opposition to his rule.
¡
Iran
¡ In Iran during the 1970’s, opposition to the US and Britain supported Shah Reza Pahlavi. This opposition was led by Ayatollah Khomeini. Ayatollah is a title given to educated Shiite legal experts. In 1979, the shah fled and Khomeini declared Iran an Islamic republic.
The impact of the Iranian Revolution was widespread:
§ The new government was hostile to the West. All western music, movies, and books were banned
§ Strict Muslim religious tradition had to be upheld.
§ Women lost most rights.
§ At the American embassy, American hostages were held for more than a year.
§ Iranian encouragement of Muslim’s to overthrow secular governments
Iraq
¡ Ba’ath Party seized power in Iraq in 1968, led by Saddam Hussein
¡ The influence of revolutionary Shi'ite Islam
¡ In 1980, Iran/Iraq War
¡ Kurdish Genocide
¡ Saddam invades Kuwait, 1990.
¡ Operation Desert Shield
¡ Desert Storm
¡ Sanctions
¡ 2003 Invasion of Iraq
· Execution of Saddam
The Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)
¡ Saddam Hussein (Iraq, 1937-2006) uses oil, US support to build huge military machine
¡ Attacks Iran, 1980
¡ Massive destruction, ends in stalemate
¡ Hussein attacks Kuwait, provokes Gulf War (1991)
¡ US-led coalition drives him out, imposes sanctions
¡ President George W. Bush (1946- ) attacks in search of Weapons of Mass Destruction, 2003, occupies Iraq
Developments in Latin America
¡ Mexico: failed attempts to redistribute land
¡
§ Juan Perón (1895-1974) elected president, 1946
§ Wife Eva (Evita) especially popular (1919-1952)
¡ Guatemala and Nicaragua: US intervention as local governments attempt to control US economic interests
¡ Under Reagan, US supports anti-communist Contra forces
Establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU)
¡ Formed 1962
¡ Declared boundaries permanent
§ Despite arbitrary nature, necessary to forestall conflicts
¡ Promotion of Pan-Africanism
¡ Failure to prevent ethnic strife, even Nkrumah deposed 1966
South Africa
¡ Apartheid (1948)
§ 87% of territory for whites
§ The Afrikaans word for “apartness.” Africans were segregated to only the most barren lands and the Africans were completely dependent upon the government for survival
§ Division of Africans into tribes, settlement in “homelands”
¡ African National Congress publishes Freedom Charter (1955)
¡ Repression of ANC causes worldwide ostracism of SA
Nelson Mandela
¡ The African National Congress (ANC) was the best known of several groups that fought apartheid, launching a campaign of civil disobedience in the 1950’s, openly breaking apartheid law.
¡ The response was violent attacks on peaceful protesters. Some ANC leaders, among them a black lawyer, Nelson Mandela, now felt that they would have to confront violence with violence. In response, the government banned the ANC.
¡ In 1961, an Afrikaans led government proclaimed South Africa fully independent from Britain and immediately arrested Mandela and other ANC leaders, found them guilty of treason and sentenced them to life jail terms.
· Leaders such as Desmond Tutu, a teacher, and later a priest (who later became the first black archbishop) continued to speak out against apartheid. He and others convinced foreign nations and businesses to limit trade and investment in segregated South Africa.
· Over time, these acts of civil disobedience had a strong effect, In 1989, F.W. de Klerk was elected president of South Africa and he immediately lifted a 30 year ban on antiapartheid rallies, legalized the ANC and other banned organizations. He also ordered the release of Nelson Mandela after 27 years in prison.
Dismantling of Apartheid
¡ Release of Nelson Mandela, 1990
¡ Negotiation of end of white minority rule
¡ 1994 elections bring ANC (Mandela) to power
¡ Relatively calm transition to democratic society
¡ Strength of SA economy
Rwanda: Perils of Ethnicity
¡ Characteristic of ethnic divisions in African societies
¡ Civil war in 1994 after moderate President killed
¡
¡ Nearly 1 million killed
Rwanda and Burundi
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• In 1994, an estimated 500,000 Rwandans were killed. Most were Tutsi slaughtered by Hutu. A Tutsi army then captured the capital of Rwanda, Kigali, leading some 2 million to flee to refugee camps in Zaire and other neighboring countries. Thousands died due to disease and starvation.
· The presence of so many Rwandans destabilized Zaire and in 1995, the government stood by as Hutu refugees forcibly expelled Tutsi whose ancestors had settled in the area.
· The Tutsi then responded with force. The Tutsi forces seized the capital of Zaire, Kinshasa, and being led by Laurent Kabila, staged a coup. Kabila renamed Zaire the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997.
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