C 37: The End of Empire

Wars of liberation. Cold war politics. Ethnic and religious conflicts. Fragile new democracies. Creation of Israel.

Post World War II = sometimes brought newly independent states autonomy and self-determination andsometimes pressures from the Cold War forced these new nations to choose sides (capitalism OR communism) often at the expense of their own independence

NATO and the Warsaw Pact = Militarization of the Cold War

Establishment of United Nations 1946: 50 original members, 5 permanent Security Council members (China, France, GB, US, Soviet Union) =

Post War Migrations

Great Leap Forward 1949

Cultural Revolution 1966:

“its stated goal was to enforce socialism in the

country by removing capitalist, traditional and

cultural elements from Chinese society”

Four Pests Campaign 1958

Mao Zedong1893-1976

Deng Xiaoping1904-1997

This has caused shortages and higher costs for these resources on the global market, as well as air and water

pollution within China.

China’s economy has grown rapidly as market reforms have continued. Today, China’s economy is the second largest in the world, behind only the United States. As the economy has improved, so has the standard of living for many Chinese.

• Economic growth has not reached all China’s 1.3 billion people

• To prevent further population growth, Chinese government encourages families to have only one child

Economic Development

China Today

• Large population, rapidly expanding industries

• High demands on resources, environment

• Imports coal, iron ore, oil, natural gas to meet energy needs

Other Challenges

• The Jewel of the Crown– Legacy of British

colonialism• Deep division between

Hindus, Muslims• Role of Mohandas

Ghandi

• Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Muslim League

• Jawaharlal Nehru, Congress Party

• 1947 partition (civil war over Kashmir: Muslims v Hindus)–500,000 killed–10 million refugees

• India moves toward nonalignment position–The “third path” (but does accept aid from USSR)

Pre-WarAreas of Influence

Pakistan lost

Muslims leave India 1947Great Britain grantsIndia full independence in 1947

India becomes member ofDominion Commonwealthlike Canada (ENGLISH language)

Zealously protected India’sright to remain non-aligned

VERY different from the response of the French to

declarations of Independence by the Vietnamese in former

French IndochinaMISSED opportunity:

Ho Chi Minh and Truman

COMMUNIST

PAN-ARABISM

US pressures France, Israel and Great Britain to withdraw from Suez Canal

NATIONALISM

Nationalism in Egypt

EGYPT RETAINS CONTROL

Conflicts in the Middle East

Regional Issue #1=

Oil

2/3 of the world’s oil comes from the Middle East

Regional Issue #2 = Islamism

OPEC= Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

By 1978: Iranians protested the Shah’s oppressive rule

1979: Iranian Revolution:Islamic republic under the Ayatollah Khomeini

1979: Iranian revolutionaries seized the US Embassy in Tehran

Took 66 American hostages and held (55) of them for 444 days1980: Iraq attacked Iran because of border disputes and because Iran’s government calls for revolution

Iraq used chemical weapons against Iran and Kurdish troops who supported Iran

Path toward conciliation was complicated by rise of Islamisn in Middle East (fundamental Islam: peaceful but start to see extremists)

The M

andat

e Sys

tem

1920

Regional Issue #3 = Conflict with Israel

1917 Balfour Declaration1947 State of Israel and Palestine established

by United Nation1948 Israel rejected plan, established as

independent state

After 1948, most Middle East countries refused to accept Israel’s right to existSeries of wars = Israel controlled more land than in 19481967= Six Day War (Israel took control of Gaza, Golan Heights, Sinai Peninsula, East and West Jerusalem

Before and After the Six Day War 1967

Egypt and Syria fight back with Yom Kippur War 1973

Until late 1970s, NO Arab nation recognized Israel’s right to exist…

Camp David Accords 1978 The main features of the agreement were the mutual recognition of each country by the other, the cessation of the state of war that had existed since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the complete withdrawal by Israel of its armed forces and civilians from the rest of the Sinai Peninsula which Israel had captured during the 1967 Six-Day War ( Sadat/ Begin = Nobel Peace Prize 1978)

October 6, 1981

March 9, 1992

Over 500 Israeli civilians died in 140 Palestinian suicide bomb attacks from 2000 to 2007. More than 4,500 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the same period.

Yassar Arafat (1929-2004)

Established PLO 1964Intifada 1987Oslo Peace Accords 1993 (w Itzhak Rabin)Received Nobel Peace Prize 1994Second Intifada 2000President Obama/ Secretary of State Clinton:renewed interest in peace process 2011

Nationalism in North Africa and the Middle East

North Africa: Morocco and Tunisia granted independence from theFrench in 1956

Algeria granted independence in 1962(many French settlers there)

Present Day (Arab Spring): Tunisia: 12/2010-1/2011Egypt: 1/2011-2/2011Libya: 2/2011 – 10/2011Syria: 1/2011- ????

Ghana= first sub-Saharan African nation to receive its independence (1957) most independence battles werebloody and prolonged depended in part on nature ofEuropean presence (settler colony?) 1947 Kikuyu rebels vs. BritishSettlers = years of fighting untilIndependence finally won in 1963 SOUTH AFRICA1989 = President F.W. de Klerk Dismantled the apartheid system African National Congress legalized and Mandela freed after 27 Years in jail 1994 Nelson Mandela = First democratically elected president of South Africa

1 million French

Former French and British colonies more successful transition than Belgium and Portuguese(civil war/ violence in Rwanda, Angola…)

Problems Facing Independent Africa:

•Dictatorships/ Corruption•Failure to modernize and diversify their economies•The Cold War (they are pawns)•Population growth/ food and water shortages•Low literacy rates/ access to education•HIV/AIDS•Lack of cultural/ linguistic unity•Intertribal/ inter ethnic conflict•Rights of women