The End of Empire
Chapter 37
Intro: Independence in Asia
• Post WWII: increasing nationalism
• New nations emerged
• -> independence and end of empire in Asia
India’s Partitioned Independence
• 1930s: progress toward self-rule, but problem =
call for separate Muslim and Hindu states
• After WWII, empire became economic burden to
Britain
• Muslim League called for separate states,
Congress Party Leaders (Nehru and Gandhi)
disagreed
– Muslim demonstrations -> massacre -> support for
separation
India’s Partitioned Independence
• 1947: independence for India and Pakistan
– Hindus migrated to India, Muslims to Pakistan (E and
W): violence, death
• Nonalignment: Bandung Conference (1955) – new
African and Asian countries trying to remain
neutral in Cold War
– Nehru proposed nonalignment
Nationalist Struggles in Vietnam
• French rule ended with Japanese invasion
• Communist leader Ho Chi Minh ousted Japanese
at end of WWII and issued Declaration of
Independence
• 1945: France captured south and Saigon; north
under communist control (= Viet Minh) fell after
heavy bombing
– Viet Minh began guerilla warfare in countryside (with
China’s aid)
• 1954: defeated French
Nationalist Struggles in Vietnam
• 1954 peace conference: temporarily divided
Vietnam at 17th parallel
– North: communists under Ho Chi Minh
– South: supported by US (domino theory), little
popular support
• 1960: National Liberation Front fought south
Vietnamese rule under leadership and aid from
north, USSR, and China
• => Cold War stalemate
Nationalist Struggles in Vietnam
• North was winning
• 1965: LBJ increased US involvement (bombing,
troops) -> still a draw
• Opposition to war grew in US
• 1968: Nixon pledged end of US involvement through
Vietnamization and diplomacy with USSR and China
• 1973: Paris Peace Accords, but war continued
• 1975: North defeated South
• 1976: reunified
Arab National States and the Problem
of Palestine
• Post WWII easy independence from mandate
system (except Palestine)
• But, need for oil -> continued foreign
interference
Palestine and Israel
• G. B. made conflicting promises:
• 1917: Balfour Declaration – support of Zionist
movement
• 1919: supported by Allies at Paris Peace Conf.
• But, Palestinian opposition -> British limited
Jewish migration and promised to protect Arab
rights
• End of WWII: Jewish commitment (and Arab
opposition) to Jewish state grew
Palestine and Israel
• 1947: G.B. turned Palestine over to UN
• 1948: creation of Israel -> military conflicts with
Palestinians in 1948-49, 56, 67, 73, 82
• Israel grew -> Palestinians became refugees
• 1987: Intifada = demonstrations, strikes, riots,
against Israeli rule in Gaza and other “occupied”
territories
• Violence continues
Egypt and Arab Nationalism
• 1952: Gen. Nasser overthrew King Farouk
– Econ dev, mil modernization, Egypt as leader of panArab nationalism
– Neutral foreign policy, but took assistance from USSR
and US
• 1956: nationalized Suez Canal to raise money for
Aswan Dam
– British, French, Israelis reclaimed it, but US forced
them to withdraw -> prestige for Nasser
Intro: Decolonization in Africa
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Various methods and paces of decolonization
Problems with internal divisions
Violence, esp. areas with white settlers
New names to shed colonial past and reclaim
pre-colonial glory
Forcing the French out of North Africa
• France did not want to give up Algeria (lots of
settlers)
• Post WWII nationalist movement developed
• 1954: Front de Liberation Nationale – guerilla
tactics in rural, then urban areas
• France sent troops, plus had Algerian soldiers
• 1962: independence
Black African Nationalism and
Independence
• Pre and post WWII nationalism: pan-Africanism,
Negritude -> African pride and celebration of culture
• Independence movements organized by urban elites
and religious prophets
• Imperial powers preferred slow transition to self-rule
assuming they couldn’t handle it
– Plus, complicated by white settlers, oppression to control
communism
• Eventually, independence spread
Freedom and Conflict in Sub-Saharan
Africa
• Ghana was first: under leadership of Kwame
Nkrumah (inspired nationalist movements
elsewhere and became spokesperson for panAfrican unity)
• Others were violent: Kenya – white settlers
clashed with Kikuyu rebels (Mau Mau)
– Brits jailed leaders (Kenyatta) and crushed resistance
– But, Kikuyu gained international support and in 1963
became independent
South Africa
• White settlers delayed independence, as blacks
had no political power = internal colonialism, but
white were afraid
• 1948: Afrikaner National Party came to power
and enforced apartheid (white supremacy and
institutionalized racial segregation)
• African National Congress, with leaders like
Mandela called for protest and multiracial
democratic rule
South Africa (cont.)
• Gov’t declared ANC communists and sought to
repress them (Sharpeville massacre)
• International opposition grew
• 1961: withdrew from British Commonwealth
• 1970s-80s: protests, international boycott
• 1989: dismantling began under de Klerk: released
Mandela, legalized ANC, new constitution
• 1994: free elections: Mandela elected president
Intro: After Independence: Long-Term
Struggles in the Postcolonial Era
• New nations faced difficulties in creating stable
political and economic systems, plus avoiding
foreign domination
• Success in South Africa and India
• Tightly centralized rule in Asia and Islamic world
• Religious rule in Iran
• Many wars and revolutions in post-colonial era
Communism in Asia: China
• First Five Year Plan: rapid industrialization and
agricultural collectivism
• Social reforms: eliminated some traditions (child
marriage, divorce, footbinding, abortion)
• Great Leap Forward (1958-1961): increase
production, collectivize the economy (no private
ownership) -> failed
– Farming: peasants couldn’t meet quotas, famine,
blamed sparrows -> insects increased
China (cont.)
• Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976): to
reinvigorate spirits
– Targeted elites and intelligentsia to avoid communist
revisionism: beaten, killed, jailed, labor camps
• Deng Xiaoping (1981): “Deng’s Revolution” – entry
into global economy, improved US relations, students
sent abroad (pro-democracy demonstrations in
1989)
• Issue: economy benefits and growth with
compromising identity and authoritarian political
system?
Indian Democracy
• Stable democracy, post-independence: guided by
Nehru, then his daughter (Indira Gandhi)
• Green revolution: to improve agricultural yields,
but didn’t really help peasants ->
demonstrations, + overpop + sectarian conflicts
• 1975-77: “state of emergency” – involuntary
sterilization
• 1980: Gandhi faced lots of problems – ordered
attack on Sikh temple (bodyguards assassinated
her)
Islamic Resurgence in SW Asia and N.
Africa
• Increasing Arab nationalism, led by Nasser and
opposition to Israel, but not really unified (divisions
and shifting alliances)
• Various gov’ts: military dictators, monarchies,
Islamist revolutionaries
• Islamism: revival of Islamic values – call for sharia
law, pan-Islamic unity, elimination of non-Muslim
influences
– Blamed foreign influence and secularization for problems
– Sought change, usually through peaceful means, but
sometimes through violence
Iranian Revolution
• 1953: CIA helped Shah Mohammad Reza take
power –> oil money, US military aid ->
industrialization
• Late 1970s: opposition grew – secular regime, US
influence, repressive policies
• 1979: Shah fled and Ayatollah Khomeini took
power (anti-US – embassy hostages, shut down
US bases, confiscated economic interests)
• -> inspired others, but did not unify due to
Sunni/Shia issues
The Iran-Iraq War
• 1980: Iran attacked Iraq (strong military, oil
money, Saddam Hussein) -> war of attrition until
1988
• Late 1990s: recovery, relaxation of Islamic
strictness
• 2000s: growing Islamism, conservative
leadership, nuclear program, hatred of Israel,
tension with US
Iraq
• 1990: invasion of Kuwait -> Gulf War -> defeat by
U.S. and International coalition and further
hardship for Iraqi people
Colonial Legacies in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Independence -> civil wars and territorial disputes due to
legacies of colonialism
• Organization of African Unity (OAS) in 1963 to prevent
conflict that could lead to intervention from former
colonial powers
• Internal conflicts still prevalent
• Coups have led to military dictatorships
• High poverty rate: no capital to build infrastructure =
financial links to ex-colonial powers to tap resources
• 1970s problems: drop in commodities prices, increase in
import costs, high foreign debt, drought, famine, pop
growth
• Attempts to integrate into global economy continue
Politics and Economics in Latin
America
• Still dealt with colonial issues (creole elites’ hold
on pol and econ power, plus neocolonialism and
US intervention)
• Mexico: prosperity after land redistribution,
nationalization of oil industry; poverty issues in
Chiapas; drug cartels
Argentina
• Strong economy: cattle, agriculture, urban life,
industrial base, growing middle class with lots of
European migrants
• Few issues with US intervention
• After WWII: military dictators (Juan Peron: popular
support of working class; industrialization,
protection from foreign control and wife Evita –
helped the poor, much loved)
• Late 1970s and 1980s: brutal dictators, dirty war,
calls for democracy
Guatemala
• President Arbenz seized UFC land to redistribute
to peasants and offered compensation
• Due to this (and belief he was communist), CIA
engineered overthrow by arming neighbors and
training anti-comm to attack gov’t
• 1954: gov’t fell, military dictator (friend to US)
took over – brutally suppressed opposition
• 1957: assassinated -> civil war into 1990s
Nicaragua
• Pres. Somoza (anti-comm, US ally): weapons from
US; controlled gov’t (with sons) for 40+ years with US
support, but brutal and corrupt
• 1960s: Sandinista Front for National Liberation –
guerilla attacks to overthrow gov’t and took power in
1979 (recog by Carter, but not Reagan -> US aid
stopped, economic boycott, support of Contras in
war)
• Central American leaders tried to end war and
negotiate peace
• Late 1900s: democracy, normalization of US relations
Other developments
• Liberation theology: Catholicism + Marxism to
help masses through revolutionary salvation
– -> assassination of many priests
• New political opportunities for women in various
movements
• Economic equity: not reality