CH 8, Key 1Location of States

Introduction

A. Definitions1. A state is an area organized into a political

unit and ruled by an established government that has control over its internal and foreign affairs.

2. A state has sovereignty which means it has independent control of its affairs from other states. It is also recognized by other states

3. There are 191 independent states that are members of the United Nations

I Problems in Defining StatesA. Korea, one state or two

1. Formerly a colony of Japan2. Divided after WWII and both sides had separate governments3. North invaded south in 1950 and cease-fire divided nation along

the 38th parallel4. Admitted to the U.N. in 1992 as separate countries

B. China and Taiwan1. Nationalist fled to the island of Taiwan when Communist took

over China in the 1940s2. Both sides considered themselves the real China.3. United States supported Taiwan until 1971 and the Peoples

Republic of China was admitted into the U.N.4. Taiwan is still recognized as a sovereign state, but it is not part

of the UN

Problems continuedC. Western Sahara

1. Most African countries consider Western Sahara to be a sovereign state, but Morocco claims it and built a wall around it

2. Spain withdrew in 1976 and Morocco gained control. The opposition known as the Polisario Front controls the portion outside the wall.

3. U.N has tried to hold a referendum to let people decide but it keeps getting delayed.

4. With this the cities of Ceuta and Melilla in Northern Morocco have some autonomy but favor remaining part of spain

D. State Sizes1. Size varies widely. Russia is the largest with 11% of the worlds

land. Followed by China, Canada, USA, Brazil and Australia2. At the opposite end are Microstates, or very small countries. The

Smallest in the U.N is Monaco3. Many microstates are islands or old sovereign states in Europe

II Development of the State Concept

A. Ancient and Medieval States1. States are a new idea. Before 1800 the earth was

divided in ways such as city-states, empires, and tribes. Most of it was unorganized.

2. The Fertile Crescent formed an arc between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea

3. The first states evolve in Mesopotamia and were City States where a city was sovereign and ruled the surrounding countryside. Sometimes the conquering of several city-states would form an empire

4. Egypt to the west emerged as a separate empire. They built an empire along the Nile River that lasted almost 3000 years.

B. Colonies1. A colony is a territory that is tied to a sovereign state rather than

being independent2. Colonialism is the effort by one country to establish settlements

and impose its political, economical, and cultural principles on other territories. Europeans established colonies for three reasonsa. Missionaries spreading the wordb. Resources for the economyc. Create image of power

3. Colonialism Begins in the 1400s when Europeans sail west to find new route to Asia.

4. In Africa it was termed imperialism because they took control of areas already occupied by indigenous peoples.

5. United Kingdom becomes the largest empire where the “Sun never set” followed by the French. Portugal, Spain, Germany, Italy, Denmark, The Netherlands, and Belgium all controled colonies

C. Colonial practices varied between the European States. 1. France tried to assimilate its colonies and spread

their culture and many remained loyal to France after independence

2. The British created different governments in each area which helped protect the local cultures better and lead to generally peaceful independent movements

3. Most African and Asian colonies became independent after WWII and now have 109 members of the U.N.

D. Remaining Colonies1. There are only a few remaining colonies and

most are Islands in the Pacific and Caribbean Sea

2. Puerto Rico is the most populous which is a commonwealth of the USA

3. Refer to map on pages 246 for others

4. Smallest population is Pitcairn islands which was settled by mutineers from the British ship the Bounty. It has only 54 people.