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Chapter 37. The End of Empire. The Process of De-Colonization. European Global Power Ending Decline of Empires: By the mid-20 th century, a series of developments undermined European global hegemony:
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Chapter 37 The End of Empire
The Process of De-Colonization • European Global Power Ending • Decline of Empires: By the mid-20th century, a series of developments undermined European global hegemony: • World War I: Sapped the strength and prestige of colonial powers like Great Britain and France, and eliminated the German Empire. • Great Depression: Undermined the economic ability of imperial powers to maintain their grip on their colonies. • World War II: Exhaustion, depletion, and chaos caused by World War II—the upheaval the Japanese caused by taking over most of Southeast Asia, for example—made the reassertion of colonial authority look almost impossible after the war. • Leaders Educated in Europe and U.S.: Many independence leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Ho Chi Minh were educated in the West and were exposed to concepts like national sovereignty and individual rights.
The Process of De-Colonization • European Global Power Ending • Decline of Empires: By the mid-20th century, a series of developments undermined European global hegemony: • War-Weary Populations: Citizens of the imperial powers were no longer willing to make the sacrifices necessary to maintain overseas colonies. • Superpowers: Both postwar superpowers at least ideologically opposed to European imperialism. • Colonialism Swept Away: Between 1945 and 1990, national independence movements had swept away swept away colonialism and created over 90 new countries. • Decolonization: Nations gaining political independence and freedom was not guarantee of stability and security; periods of bloody struggle often followed independence.
Independence in Asia South Asia: India and Pakistan Southeast Asia: Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, and the Philippines Arab Nations in Southwest Asia: Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan gained independence, although the former British mandate of Palestine remained contested.
Independence in Asia • India’s Partitioned Independence • 1930s: Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) and the Congress Party and Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876-1948) of the Muslim League helped to pressure British authorities to pass the India Act of 1935, which granted a limited self-rule; at same time, calls for a separate Muslim state intensified. • World War II: The war put the independence struggle on hold, especially as the Japanese pulled close to the Indian border.
Partition and Violence Nehru and Gandhi • Churchill Rejected • Winston Churchill (1874-1965): The wartime prime minister despised Gandhi and said he would never preside over the liquidation of the British Empire, but was voted out of office in July 1945 in favor of Labor Party candidate more willing to let go of the empire. • Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964) • Nehru was Gandhi’s political apprentice during the independence struggles of the 1920s and 1930s. • Spoke against “communalism”: putting religious identity in front of Indian national identity.
Partition and Violence • Great Calcutta Killing • In Aug. 1946, the Muslim League called for a Day of Direct Action during the negotiations with the British over independence, knowing these protests might trigger violence. • About 6,000 people died in rioting in Calcutta as a result, leading to rise communalist feeling. • 1947 Partition • To gain the cooperation of the Muslim League, the British create a plan in which various regions would vote on whether or not to go forward with partition; the regions of what are now Pakistan and Bangladesh voted to separate. • Gandhi and Nehru were vehemently opposed to the idea. • 10 million Hindu and Muslim refugees relocated by mid-1948 • 500,000 killed in the violence during the migrations, creating a bitterness between the two countries that exists to this day.
The Nonalignment Movement • India Moves toward Nonalignment • India’s independence—despite its violence—was a big turning point for decolonization movements; it had been the “crown jewel” of the British Empire. It inspired many other independence movements. • The “Third Path”: Nehru encouraged a “nonalignment strategy” that encouraged newly independent countries to remain neutral in the Cold War struggles. • Bandung Conference of 1955: Representatives from twenty-three Asian countries and six African ones met in Bandung, Indonesia, in April 1955 to discuss strategies for maintaining Cold War neutrality. President Achmad Sukarno (1901-1970) of Indonesia proudly called the meeting, “the first international conference of coloured peoples in the history of mankind.”
Partition and Violence Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt and Jawaharlal Nehru of India speaking at the Bandung Conference in Indonesia in 1955
Nationalist Struggles in Vietnam Vietnam had a more difficult time than India keeping out of Cold War complications. Japan had invaded the French colony in Sept. 1940. French send troops to reassert control after WWII. Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969), a nationalist communist leader, initially thinks he would have U.S. support against the France, but does not. He mounts a guerilla war, and forces France to surrender in 1954 after the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.
Nationalist Struggles in Vietnam Geneva Accords: Peace agreement gives Vietnam independence, but it is divided at 17th parallel: Communist North led by Ho Chi Minh and Pro-West South led by Ngo Din Diem. An election in 1956 was supposed to decide the government of a unified country, but Diem refused to let this happen knowing he would lose as his rule did not gain popular support. National Liberation Front (NLF): The North sponsored this guerilla group starting in 1960 to fight the unpopular southern government, and channeled Chinese and Soviet aid to them.
Dissolution of French Indochina Ngo Dinh Diem, first president of South Vietnam, who served from 1955 until 1963. Ho Chi Minh of North Vietnam
Nationalist Struggles in Vietnam President Lyndon Johnson (1908-1973): In 1965, he escalates U.S. involvement, and send troops to South Vietnam and bombing North Vietnam. War Unpopular in U.S.: By 1968, the war had become increasingly unpopular. Richard Nixon was elected on a platform of getting the U.S. out of the war, and once in office, started the process of Vietnamization, or turning the fighting over to South Vietnamese troops. Widespread anti-war protests break out in the U.S. and President Johnson decides not to run for reelection, and stops the intensive bombing campaign of the North by October 1968. Extending the War: Yet Nixon also expanded the war into Cambodia with invasion and bombing in 1969 and 1970, and resumed heavy bombing of North Vietnam (Johnson had stopped this in Oct. 1968). Despite heavier firepower, the U.S. was only able to fight the North Vietnamese to a draw. The Paris Peace Accords: Orchestrate U.S. withdrawal in 1973. South Vietnam Lost: Without U.S. troops, the South fell to the Northern forces in 1975, and Vietnam was unified under communist rule.
The Issue of Palestine After World War II, several Middle Eastern Arab states gain complete independence: Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, etc. Palestine had ruled by Great Britain between the wars. Britain had proclaimed support for Jewish “homeland” in Palestine with the Balfour Declaration in 1917, which was supported by the Allies as well at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. The British attempted to limit the growing Jewish migration so as not to alarm Arab Palestinians. Pan-Arab Nationalism: Opposition to the Jewish state was a rallying point for the newly independent Arab states.
Creation of the State of Israel • Jewish and Arab pressure drove the British to hand Palestine over to United Nations for a resolution to the growing crisis. • U.N. develops a partition plan of 1947 divides Palestine into two distinct states, but this is not acceptable to Arabs in and outside of Palestine, sparking a civil war. • May 1948: Jews declare independence of state of Israel while fighting Arabs and as British withdraw. • Sparks series of conflicts spanning five decades • Arab-Israeli Wars in 1948-49, 1956, 1967, 1973, and 1982. • Israel greatly expands territory beyond U.N. partition during wars. • Intifada: A Palestinian mass movement against the Israeli presence in Gaza and other occupied territories was sparked in 1987.
Egypt and Arab Nationalism • Gamal Abdel Nasser (Egypt, 1918-1970) takes leadership position in Arab world • Gained power in a coup in 1952 that overthrew King Farouk; eschewed democratic principles in favor of a secular militarism and pan-Arab nationalism. Cracked down on communists and the Muslim brotherhood. • Nasser attempts to nationalize the Suez Canal (1956) • British, French, and Israelis respond with an invasion, but they did not alert the U.S. or U.N. ahead of time, so both condemn it. • U.S. was concerned about driving oil-rich Arabs into Soviet hands. • Nasser complicated bipolar cold war power politics, especially by splitting Britain and France from the U.S.
Decolonization in Africa • Legacy of Colonial Rule • Different conditions in each nation led to different paces of decolonization. • African countries adopted non-European, pre-colonial names upon independence: Ghana, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, etc. • Internal Divisions • These complicated decolonization and the creation of a national identity: tribal, ethnic, linguistic, religious, as well as arbitrary national boundaries. • In places were the colonial government had support of settlers—as in Algeria and Kenya— decolonization became violent.
France and North Africa • Abandonment of Most Territories • In 1956, Morocco and Tunisia gain independence. • Thirteen other colonies in West and Equatorial also declare independence in 1960, “The Year of Africa” • But determination to retain Algeria • Longer period of French colonization (since 1830) • Two million French citizens born or settled in Algeria by WWII: called “pied-noirs”
Algerian War of Liberation Frantz Fanon • Front de Libération Nationale: In 1954, the FLN begins guerilla warfare against France • Simmering anger since French massacre of peaceful protesters in Sétif in May 1945 • France deploys 500,000 French soldiers by 1958 • War ends with Algerian independence in 1962 • Frantz Fanon (1925-1961) who treated patients during the war, published The Wretched of the Earth, a manifesto against colonial rule, in 1961.
Négritude and African Nationalism Cultural and political movement in former French West African colonies. Influence of “black is beautiful” from U.S. Revolt against white colonial values and reaffirmation of African civilization Black elites organize protests Cold War complicated decolonization: authorities could label nationalists as subversive communists
Ghana “Gold Coast” had been a British crown colony since 1874; exporting cacao was key to the economy. First sub-Saharan colony to achieve independence in 1957; takes the pre-colonial name “Ghana” Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), leader of Ghana and advocate for Pan-African unity Celebrated visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1961, which affirmed Ghana’s independence and equality Few transitions to independence went as smoothly as Ghana’s.
Ghana President Nkrumah dancing with Queen Elizabeth during her 1961 visit
Kenya Rebels from the Kikuyu ethnic group—one of the largest in Kenya—begins to attack on British settlers and “collaborationist” Africans in 1947. British authorities declare a state of emergency in 1952, while settlers refused to see the revolt as an expression of discontent with colonial rule, but rather as communist subversives. Arrested nationalist leader Jomo Kenyatta (1895-1978) in 1953, giving no room for dialogue Overwhelming British military response crushes Kikuyu by 1956: 12,000 Africans killed vs. 100 Europeans A bloody, but negotiated withdrawal, followed by independence is completed by Dec. 1963.
South Africa • “Internal Colonialism” in South Africa: Political system set up to keep blacks in a state of economic and political subservience • Apartheid or “Separateness” • Instituted by the Afrikaner National Party in 1948, which sought to crush all black independence movements. • 87 percent of territory for whites • Division of Africans into tribes and settlement in “homelands” • African National Congress publishes Freedom Charter (1955), articulating a goal of a multiracial democracy • Repression of ANC causes worldwide ostracism of South Africa
Dismantling of Apartheid When F.W. de Klerk (1936-) became president of South Africa in 1989, he pushed the National Party to begin to dismantle apartheid and legalized the ANC. De Klerk has Nelson Mandela (1918-) released from prison on Robben Island in 1990 Negotiations begin to end of white minority rule 1994 elections bring African National Congress (ANC) to power and Mandela Relatively calm transition to democratic society Truth and reconciliation investigations used
Chinese Communism • Massive, pervasive policies of economic and cultural engineering • First Five-Year Plan (1955) • Great Leap Forward (1958-1961) • Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) • The first two are economic failures, leading to mass famine; the third persecutes the educated classes and pushes China’s development behind. • The Cultural Revolution could not be sustained after Mao’s death • Deng Xiaoping (1904-1997) comes to power in 1981, moderates Maoism • Tiananmen Square pro-democracy rallies in 1989 are put down in a brutal fashion
Indian Democracy • Indian democracy flourishes under Indira Gandhi (1917-1984) • Daughter of Nehru, no relationship to Mohandas; takes over leadership of Congress in 1966; served as prime minister from 1966 to 1977, and then from 1980 to 1984 • “Green revolution” increases agricultural yields, benefitting wealthy peasants but increasing rural poverty • Declares a state of emergency from 1975-1977; institutes repressive policies to slow population growth, including forced sterilization • Assassinated by Sikh bodyguards after her government’s attack on Sikh extremists in Amritsar in 1984.
Islamism • Some Middle Eastern Muslims became increasingly wary of secular foreign influences; often seeing them as yet another form of imperialism. • CIA support of Iranian Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (1919-1980), overthrown in Iranian Revolution of 1979 (the CIA had overthrown the democratically elected president of Iran in favor of the Shah in 1953) • Coalition of religious people and political radicals who wished to throw off the Shah’s oppression • Led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini • Held U.S. diplomats hostage from the Teheran embassy for two years • Shut down U.S. facilities, confiscated economic ventures
The Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) Saddam Hussein (Iraq, 1937-2006) uses oil, U.S. support to build a huge military machine Attacks Iran in 1980 Massive devastation for both sides; ends in stalemate Hussein attacks Kuwait and provokes the Gulf War (1991) U.S.-led coalition drives him out, creating further hardships for Iraqi people
Colonial Legacies in Sub-Saharan Africa • Organization of African Unity (OAU): Formed 1962 with thrity-two member states • Declared boundaries permanent • Despite arbitrary nature, necessary to forestall conflicts • Promotion of Pan-Africanism • Failure to prevent ethnic strife; even Nkrumah was deposed in 1966 • Falling commodity prices increase poverty in the continent • New International Economic Order (NIEO): Coalition of developing nations proposing more equitable sharing of global wealth in the 1970s.
Developments in Latin America • Mexico: failed attempts to redistribute land • Argentina: military dominate politics • Juan Perón (1895-1974) elected president, 1946 • Wife Eva (Evita) especially popular (1919-1952) • Guatemala and Nicaragua: U.S. intervention as local governments attempt to control U.S. economic interests • Under Reagan, U.S. supports anti-communist Contra forces in Nicaragua
Revolutionary Ideologies • Liberation Theology: Mixture of Marxism and Catholicism that rises in popularity in Latin America • Agitation for women’s liberation, especially in Nicaragua • Search for economic equality • Dependency theory: Argentine economist Raul Prebisch puts forth the idea that developing countries needed to replace raw exports with domestic manufacturing and industrialization.
