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Decolonization: Chapter 39
Decolonization and the Third World
• The Third World consisted of nations in
Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle
East that had:
– lagged behind countries in the West in
economic and political development
– or had been kept under the political and
economic thumb of foreign powers
– or had been directly colonized.
Factors Leading to Decolonization
• After World War II, decolonization and national
liberation became major agents of change in
Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
• After the world struggle against dictatorship,
many leaders argued that no country should
control another nation.
• Others questioned the high cost and
commitment of holding colonies.
• Nationalist movements among native peoples.
Factors that Impacted the Economic and Political
Success of Newly Liberated Nations:
• Did the nation fight to become free?
• How enlightened had the colonizing power been? Had it
educated a native elite, leaving behind politicians,
economists, and trained personnel with practical skills?
• Were there serious ethnic, cultural, or religious
divisions?
• Did a country have natural resources to exploit? Did the
government exploit them efficiently or were they unable
to diversify its economy?
• Did a newly liberated country take sides in the Cold War,
i.e. the United States or the Soviet Union? Superpowers
often intervened in the affairs of decolonized nations.
India
• Britain handed over power freely to India.
• Mohandas Gandhi used passive resistance to
accomplish his goals.
• In 1935, the British Parliament passed the
Government of India Act which increased
suffrage and turn provincial governments over to
Indian leaders.
• In 1947, the British granted India its
independence.
• India followed a path of nonalignment with either
superpower.
India
• Although the British did not have to be expelled
by force, independence still led to violence.
• Hindu-Muslim conflict cost at least a million lives.
• In 1948, Mohandas Gandhi, spiritual leader of
the Indian freedom movement, was
assassinated by a Hindu extremist who opposed
his rhetoric of tolerance between the two faiths.
What factors led to the division of India?
• Muhammad Ali Jinnah led the Muslim League in
pushing for the division of Indian into two
separate nations: Pakistan (Muslim) and India
(Hindu)
• Pakistan was then divided into eastern and
western regions separated by Indian territory.
• Unequal distribution of wealth between the two
Pakistans ended in civil war in the early 1970’s.
East Pakistan became the independent nation of
Bangladesh.
What were the goals of the nonaligned movement?
• Led by Indian Prime Minister Nehru
• Bandung Conference (1955)
• Leaders from 23 Asian and six African nations met in
Bandung, Indonesia.
• Goal: Find a path, a third alternative between choosing
between the U.S. and the Soviet Union; maintain
neutrality.
• Stressed struggle against colonialism and racism
• “first international conference of coloured peoples in the
history of mankind.”
Nonaligned Movement
• “The preservation of peace forms the central aim of
India’s policy. It is in the pursuit of this policy that we
have chosen the path of nonalignment in any military or
like pact of alliance. Nonalignment does not mean
passivity of mind or action, lack of faith or conviction. It
does not mean submission to what we consider evil. We
believe that each country has not only the right to
freedom but also to decide its own policy and way of life.
Only thus can true freedom flourish and a people grow
according to their own genius.”
»
Nehru’s Speech at Bandung Conference
Patterns in the Postwar Middle East
• The region’s strategic and economic importance as the
world’s key source of petroleum. Two-thirds of the
world’s crude oil is produced in the Middle East.
• Contradictions between the urge to modernize and a
desire to preserve Islamic tradition. One of the difficult
questions facing the Middle East is how to balance
Islamic heritage with progressive social and political
practices. In particular how women are treated depends
on how this issue is resolved.
• Competition between the United States and the U.S.S.R.
for influence in the region during the Cold War.
• Authoritarianism. Dictatorship and human rights abuses
have persisted.
• The destabilizing effect of the Arab-Israeli conflict since
1948.
What events contributed to the Arab-Israeli
conflict?
• The land called Palestine now
consists of Israel, the West Bank,
and the Gaza Strip.
• To Jews, their claim to the land
dates back 3,000 years, when
Jewish kings ruled the region.
• To Palestinians (both Muslims and
Christian), the land has belonged
to them since the Jews were
driven out around 135 C.E.
What events contributed to the Arab-Israeli
conflict?
• After being forced out of Palestine
during the second century, the
Jewish people were not able to
establish their own state and lived
in different countries throughout
the world.
• The global dispersal of Jews is
known as the Diaspora.
• During the late 19th and 20th
centuries, a group of Jews began
returning to the regions. They
were known as Zionists, people
who favored a Jewish homeland
in Palestine.
What events contributed to the Arab-Israeli
conflict?
• At the time, Palestine was still part of the Ottoman Empire,
ruled by Islamic Turks.
• After the defeat of the Ottomans in World War I, the
League of Nations asked Britain to oversee Palestine until
it was ready for independence
• In 1917, British Foreign Secretary Sir Arthur Balfour
promoted the idea of creating a Jewish homeland in
Palestine.
• Despite the Balfour Declaration, efforts to create a Jewish
state failed.
• Hostility between Palestinians and Jews continued to grow.
What events contributed to the Arab-Israeli
conflict?
• In 1947, the Untied Nations voted for a partition of
Palestine into a Palestinian state and a Jewish state.
• The terms of the agreement gave Jews 55 percent of the
area even though they made up only 34 percent of the
population.
• In the wake of the war and the Holocaust, the U.S. and
many Europeans felt great sympathy for the Jews.
• All of the Islamic countries voted against the partition.
• On May 14, 1948, the state of Israel was established.
• The day after it was proclaimed a state, six Islamic
states—Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and
Syria—invaded Israel. This was the first of many ArabIsraeli wars.
What factors have united the Arab nations since
independence? What factors have divided them?
• Egypt became an independent republic in 1952.
• Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser encouraged Arab
nationalism.
• Nasser was a proponent of pan-Arabism. He wanted to
create a United Arab Republic to join all Arab nations
together.
• Nasser also condemned states that joined with foreign
powers in military alliances.
• Nasser dedicated himself to ridding Egypt and the Arab
world of imperial interference
Describe the Suez crisis of 1956. What was the outcome?
• The Suez Cana, which runs along Egypt’s eastern border,
was controlled by British interests for many years.
• In 1956, Egypt declared ownership of the Suez Canal.
• French, British and Israeli troops tried to seize the canal.
• The United States and USSR, however, did not want a
conflict and forced the British, French and Israelis to
withdraw, leaving the canal in Egyptian hands.
• The end result was a huge blow to the diplomatic prestige
of France and Britain.
Revolution in Iran
• Since the 1920’s Iran has been ruled by the secular,
modernizing shahs.
• The last shah of Iran ruled form 1941 to 1979. He used
Iran’s oil wealth to industrialize and modernize.
• Like the Turkish government, the shah’s regime opposed
Islamic traditionalism, encouraging Western dress,
Western education, the unveiling of women, and the
eradication of Islamic law. He became an ally of the United
States.
• Unfortunately, the shah relied on repression to carry out
modernization.
• By 1979, the shah was in poor health, and his popularity
had plummeted. He was viewed as an American puppet.
Revolution in Iran
• In 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini, an Islamic fundamentalist the
shah had exiled years before, returned to Iran and took
control of the country.
• This Iranian Revolution transformed the country into an
anti-Western (anti-U.S.) dictatorship.
• The new regime held American hostages captive for many
months from 1979 to 1981.
• At the same time, Iran went to war with Iraq.
• The Iran-Iraq War lasted from 1980 to 1988 and
devastated both countries.
• The Iranian Revolution is unusual in that it is anti-modern
and religiously based.
What about Iraq?
• Iraq came under control of Saddam Hussein in
1979.
• Hussein was one of the most powerful dictators.
• Hussein turned his brutality against hiw own
people, his neighbors, and the United States.
• During the war with Iran, he used poison gas,
drafted teenaged children to fight, and killed many
civilians.
Decolonization in Africa
• Decolonization began in
Africa mainly during the
1950’s and 1960’s.
• By the late 1990’s, Africa
would contain 46
countries.
• Security and economic
stability in most of them
are still affected by the
legacy of colonialism.
National Liberation in North Africa
• North African states had several advantages over
sub-Saharan Africa when it came to
decolonization.
• They were largely homogeneous in terms of
religion, ethnicity, and language.
• They had existed as meaningful political units for a
long time, making the transition to nation-state
easier.
• Their colonizing powers left behind technology and
industrial infrastructures (railroads, telegraphs,
canals, roads, etc.)
Decolonization in North Africa.
• Egypt and Libya declared independence in
1952.
• Morocco and Tunisia gained freedom from
France in 1956.
• The long and painful Algerian War of
Independence against France completed
the process of independence in North Africa.
• Algeria gained its independence in 1962.
Independence in Sub-Saharan Africa
• For the most part, the movements were
nonviolent.
• They were led by intellectuals and labor
activists.
• Kenya was an exception.
GHANA
• Following World War II, the British began making
preparations for Ghana’s independence. For example,
they allowed more African to be nominated to the
Legislative Council.
• In 1947, Kwame Nkrumah led a nonviolent movement to
liberate the Gold Coast (Ghana) from the British.
• He organized strikes and boycotts.
• On receiving it independence in 1957, the Gold Coast took
the name Ghana.
GHANA
• Nkrumah pushed for new roads, new schools, and
expanded health facilities.
• These costly projects crippled the country and
undermined the economy and strengthened his
opposition.
• In 1966, while Nkrumah was in China, the army
and police in Ghana seized power.
• Since then, the country has shift back and forth
between civilian and military rule.
• In 2000, Ghana held its first open elections.
KENYA
• Kenya, in contrast to Ghana had to take up arms against
their European rulers in order to win their freedom.
• Mau Mau was a secret society that was made up of native
Kenyan farmers forced out of the highlands by the British.
• Mau Mau used guerrilla war tactics to push white farmers
from the highlands.
• By the time the British granted Kenya independence in
1963, more than 10,000 Africans and 100 settlers had
been killed.
• Jomo Kenyatta became president of the new nation.
• He worked hard to unite the various ethnic and language
groups.
• Ethnic conflicts in Kenya resulted in hundreds of deaths
and thousands homeless.
Varying Transitions of Freedom in Africa
• For the most part, decolonization in the parts of African that
had been British and French went smoothly.
• Both Britain and France prepared their colonies for
freedom by educating native elites, allowing greater native
representation in transitional governments, and minimizing
the possibility of interethnic conflict.
• The worst transitions to independence were made by
Belgian and Portuguese colonies who had been
exploitative and did not prepare colonies for independence.
South Africa
• Decolonization in South Africa was tainted by the clash
between white and black citizens of the newly free country.
• The government that declared freedom from Britain was
controlled by the white minority, largely descended from
the Dutch Boers.
• These Afrikaners practiced the policy of apartheid (extreme
racial segregation).
• South Africa is one of the world’s richest sources of gold
and diamonds.
• Between the 60’s and 90’s, the white government of South
Africa turned the country into the wealthiest, most modern,
and most industrialized on the continent.
South Africa
• By the 1980’s, internal unrest, economic problems, and
international revulsion were placing pressure on the South
African government to abandon apartheid.
• Nelson Mandela, who was the leader of the African
National Congress, was imprisoned form 1964 to 1990 by
the white authorities.
• In 1990, Nelson Mandela was released.
• In 1994, free elections resulted in Mandela becoming the
country’s president.
Problems Facing Independent Africa
• Dictatorship (Uganda 1971-1979) and Zaire (1965-1977)
• Corruption: Many African regimes tended to function under
unlawful systems.
• Failure to modernize and diversify economies.
• The Cold War: Many nations became pawns in the “global
chess game between the United States and USSR.”
• Rapid population growth and food shortages (Somalia and
Ethiopia)
• The HIV/AIDS pandemic
• Lack of cultural or linguistic unity: Most borders were
drawn by European colonizers for their own benefit and
convenience, leaving behind confusing varieties of
ethnicities, languages, cultural practices and religions in
each country.
Problems Facing Independent Africa
• Intertribal and interethnic conflict: Nearly all African wars
have been fought within national borders, not between
different countries.
• Uncontrolled flow of small arms and light weapons:
Thousands of children have been forcibly drafted into
militias and paramilitaries.
• Treatment of women: In African’s more developed
countries and especially in cities, women have attained a
certain degree of economic and social equality.
• However, progress has been slow and women are still
dominated by men, especially in rural areas.
What about Latin America?
• Latin America had freed itself form colonial domination in
the 1800’s.
• National liberation and modernization involved the struggle
against dictatorship at home and the political and economic
influence of the United States.
• World War II forced a number of the dictators out of power.
• From 1950-1980, many Latin American countries reverted
to exploitative economies and dictatorial governments.
• In Latin America, modernization often led to a
concentration of wealth in the hands of a few and weak
social justice for the working classes and indigenous
peoples.
• By the mid 1970’s, only Colombia, Venezuela, and Costa
Rica could be considered democratic.
What about Latin America?
• Argentina – military rule from 1976-1983. This regime
ruthlessly purged intellectuals and dissidents, causing at
least 30,000 to disappear over a decade and a half.
• Brazil and Chile had military regimes form the mid 1960’s
through the mid 1980’s.
• Mexico was an authoritarian oligarchy during the 50’s and
60’s.
• Cuba was led by dictator Fidel Castro beginning in 1959.
Latin America as a Cold War Battlefield
• Almost all of the military dictatorships in the 70’s and 80’s
found themselves heavily in debt, especially to the U.S.
• The U.S., fearing the spread of Marxist ideas, made a
practice of supporting any Latin American regime that
opposed communism.
• Unfortunately, the pro-US regimes in Latin America tended
to be right-wind and dictatorial.
• Nicaraguan Revolution: In 1979, the Marxist, Soviet
supported movement
China Under Mao Zedong
• 1953-1957 – Five Year Plan: Industry grew 15 percent a
year; agricultural output grew slowly.
• 1958-1961 – Great Leap Forward: China suffered
economic disaster; industrial declines and food shortages.
Mao lost influence.
• 1966-1976 – Cultural Revolution: Mao regained influence
by backing radicals. Purges and conflicts among leaders
created economic, social, and political chaos
Describe China after Mao Zedong’s death in 1976..
• 1970’s – Zhou Enlai tried to form ties to the West.
• 1971 – The U.S. reversed its policy and endorsed UN
membership for the People’s Republic of china.
• 1972 – President Nixon made a state visit to China. He
met with Mao and Zhou.
• In 1979 – the U.S. and China established diplomatic
relations.
• 1980 – Deng Xiaoping, a lifelong communist, supported
moderate economic policies. He used capitalist ideas to
help China’s economy.
Deng eliminated Mao’s communes and leased land to
individual farmers. He called for progress in agriculture,
industry, defense, and science and technology.
Describe China after Mao Zedong’s death in 1976..
• 1970’s – Zhou Enlai tried to form ties to the West.
• 1971 – The U.S. reversed its policy and endorsed UN
membership for the People’s Republic of china.
• 1972 – President Nixon made a state visit to China. He
met with Mao and Zhou.
• In 1979 – the U.S. and China established diplomatic
relations.
• 1980 – Deng Xiaoping, a lifelong communist, supported
moderate economic policies. He used capitalist ideas to
help China’s economy.
Deng eliminated Mao’s communes and leased land to
individual farmers. He called for progress in agriculture,
industry, defense, and science and technology.