Decolonization
Ch 34
India
Section 1
Congress Party
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Who: Hindus & Muslims
What: India’s national political party
Where: India
When: 1940s
Why: India had 350mill Hindus & 150 mill
Muslims; most of Congress party were Hindu,
but some Muslim; advocated for
independence against GB & fought for Indian
interests
Mohandas Gandhi
• Who: leader of the Congress party
• What: launched the 1st nonviolent campaign for
independence
• Where: India
• When: 1920s
• Why: his ideas inspired Indians of all ethnic,
religious backgrounds to achieve independence;
he puts the thoughts of independence in Indians’
heads; a Hindu who doesn’t like his peacefulness
b.n Hindus & Muslims extremist assassinated him
in 1948
1. What were the major concerns of
the Muslim league?
• They thought that the mainly Hindu Congress
party looked out primarily for Hindu interests,
not Muslim interests
• Wanted to ensure a safe & secure region for
Muslims
Muslim League
• Who: Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Indian Muslims
• What: an organization founded to help protect
Muslim interests; rival group to the Congress
party
• When: 1906
• Where: India
• Why: they felt the Congress party only looked out
for the Hindus; they stated they would never
accept independence if it meant rule by the
Hindu-dominated Congress party
2. What problems had to be resolved
in the months prior to independence?
• Division of India- who should be in power?
How should we divide the land? Where would
ppl go and how would the gov’t be run?
Partition
• Who: British officials, Muslims & Hindus
• What: the term given to the division of India
into 2 separate Hindu and Muslim nations
• Where: India & Pakistan
• When: 1946
• Why: British officials were convinced that
partition was the only way to ensure a safe
region; the NW & Eastern regions of India
where most Muslims lived = Pakistan
3. What were the terms of the cease
fire?
• 1/3 of Kashmir under Pakistan control & the
rest under Indian control
4. How did Nehru contribute to India’s
modernization?
• He led new independent nations in neutral
alliances
• He industrialized
• Pushed for social reform
• Expanded human & women’s rights
Jawaharlal Nehru
• Who: Prime Minister
• What: the independent nation of India’s first Prime
Minister
• Where: India
When: 1947-1964
• Why: he was one of Gandhi’s devoted followers;
he led other newly independent nations of the
world in following an alliance of countries that
were neutral in the Cold War; he pushed for
industrialization & sponsored social reforms; he
tried to elevate the lower castes; his death left the
Congress party w. no strong leader= divisions in
India
5. What events led to the creation of
Bangladesh?
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E. Pakistan was hit by huge tidal wave
W. Pakistan didn’t transfer aid quickly enough
Demonstrations broke outCivil war in Pakistan
2 separate nations
6. What major problem did Indira
Gandhi face?
• Disarming the Tamil rebels
• Challenges from Sikh extremists that wanted
to be an independent state
Indira Gandhi
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Who: Nehru’s daughter, Prime minister
What: took control of India after her father died
Where: India
When:1966-1984
Why: she faced many threats from Sikh
extremists & other political factions throughout
India; sent Indian troops to overrun Golden
Temple= killed 500 sikhs & destroyed sacred
property = assassinated by Sikhs in 1984
7. What was the cause of turmoil in Sri
Lanka?
• Group of militant Tamils fought for their own
country of Tamil
Benizir Bhutto
• Who: Bhutto’s daughter; Prime minister
• What: took over Pakistan after her father was
executed
• Where: Pakistan
• When: 1970s- 1996
• Why: she was removed from office by a
military coup = the military rules Pakistan =
continues to struggle w. challenges from
Muslim militants & ongoing disputes w. India
Southeast Asia
Section 2
Bell Act
• Who: Americans & Filipinos
• What: established free trade b.n US & the
Philippines
• Where: Philippines
• When: 1960s
• Why: this est. & had to be passed b4 the US
would pay the $620million in war damages it
promised to the Philippines; Filipinos were
worried that this would allow US to exploit their
resources- but they passed it anyway
a. Why did the Filipinos object to this
act?
• Filipinos were worried that this would allow
US to exploit their resources
b. Why did they agree to sign it?
• To have free trade w. the US & get the $$ the
US promised them
Why did the US demand a long lease
on it’s military and naval bases in the
Philippines?
• To maintain military presence in Asia w. the
start of the Cold War
• To get valuable resources
Ferdinand Marcos
• Who: President of the Philippines
• What: President who imposed an authoritarian
regime & stole billions of $$ from Philippines
• Where: Philippines
• When: 1965-1986
• Why: stoles millions of $$ from public treasury;
limited to 8 years of presidential office but
imposed a law to keep power; an election brought
Corazon Aquino who challenged him- he refused to
acknowledge her victory = the public overthrew
him =he fled to Hawaii & died
3. Why does the Philippines restrict
the Pres. To a single term?
• To prevent the abuse of power that occurred
under Marcos’ rule
Corazon Aquino
• Who: Benigno Aquino’s widow, opponent to Marcos
• What: challenged Marcos to presidency of Philippines
& won
• Where: Philippines
• When: 1986
• Why: she won the presidency decisively- Marcos
refused to acknowledge it- he made a law to stay in
power = ppl were mad = kicked him out & made her
president; promised a more open & democratic form
of gov’t; ratified a new constitution; ended the lease
on US bases thru negotiation
4 A. What role did General Ne Win
play in Burmese history?
• Set up a military gov’t w. a goal to make a
socialist state
4B. What role did National League for
Democracy play in Burmese history?
• They won 80% of the seats in the 1990
election- but the military gov’t denies it
• = the military gov’t stayed in charge in Burma
Aung San Suu Kyi
• Who: daughter of Aung San, leader of National
League for Democracy
• What: was active in Nat’l League for Democracy
• When: 1988-2003
• Where: Burma, Southeast Asia
• Why: for her pro-Democracy activities she was
put on house arrest 2 separate times = left many
Burmese residents doubting whether their
country will ever accept democracy; military gov’t
remained
5A. What’s the current political status
of Singapore?
• Independent city-state
5B. What’s the current political status
of Malaya? Sarawak & Sabah?
• United into a federation of what’s called
“Malaysia”
Sukarno
• Who: Indonesian President
• What: led the effort to establishing an independent
Indonesia
• Where: Indonesia
• When: 1949
• Why: he proclaimed Indonesia’s independence
from Netherlands & named himself president; a
guerilla army backed him up; the Dutch attempted
to regain control but after losing support of the US
the Dutch gave Indonesia it’s independence
Suharto
• Who: General Suharto
• What: sought power for himself, began a bloodbath in
which 500,000 to 1 mill Indonesians were killed
• Where: Indonesia
• When: 1965-1998
• Why: named President in 1967; turned Indonesia into a
police state; heavily criticized; little tolerance for
religious freedoms; bribery & corruptioncommonplace; economy improved for awhile BUT
gov’t repression & economic crisis = forced him to step
down= then they moved towards Democracy
6. What factors finally forced Suharto
to step down?
• Growing unrest over both Gov’t repression &
a crippling Economic crisis
Africa
Sec 3
Negritude Movement
• Who: Africans & W. Indians
• What: a movement to celebrate African culture,
heritage, & values
• Where: Africa
• When: 1950-1960s
• Why: the Africans pushed for independence in the
decades b4 WWII; French speaking Africans & W.
Indians began to express their growing sense of
black consciousness & pride in traditional African;
when WWII broke out African soldiers fought w.
Europeans = after the war, they were unwilling to
accept colonial domination
1. Ghana
• Tactics used by Nkrumah: organized strikes &
boycotts
• Nkrumah’s reforms: new roads, schools, &
expanded health facilities; Industrialization
• Problems: spending too much time on African
efforts & the expense of his programs
undermined the economy
Kwame Nkrumah
• Who: Ghana’s first Prime minister & president for life
• What: leader of Ghana’s nonviolent movement for
freedom
• Where: Ghana, West Africa
• When: 1947-1966
• Why: He worked to liberate Ghana from the British; he
organized strokes & boycotts = ultimately, they got
independence; he became leader of Ghana; pushed for
new roads, schools, health facilities, industrialized &
gave welfare = his programs were too $$ = crippled
Ghana’s economy= the army & police took control &
kicked him out of power
2. Kenya
• Tactics used by Mau Mau: Guerilla warfare
• Kenyatta’s reforms: unite countries of various
ethnic & language groups
• Problems: killed hundreds & left 1000s
homeless; corruption & ethnic conflicts
Jomo Kenyatta
• Who: African revolutionary; Kenyan
Nationalist & president
• What: promoted his beliefs & was put in jail
• Where: Kenya, Africa
• When: 1891-1978
• Why: got independence for Kenya; became
president; united many ethnic groups; after he
died- no one was as successful at governing
the country
3. Zaire
• How independence was gained: Belgium gave
it to them & then Mobutu seized power
• Mobutu’s rule: maintained control through
force; 1 party rule; gifts to supporters;
overthrown
• Problems: overthrown by a rebel leader;
constant civil wars; promise of Democracy
never fulfilled
4. Algeria
• How was independence gained: Algerian
National Liberation Front (FLN) sent ½ mill
soldiers to fight against French colonists
• Ben Bella’s programs: attempted to make a
socialist state
• Problems: overthrown by his army
commander; unemployment; dissatisfaction
w. the govt
Ahmed Ben Bella
• Who: leader of FLN & president of Algeria
• What: became first president of newly
independent Algeria
• Where: Algeria, Africa
• When: 1962-1965
• Why: He attempted to make Algeria a socialist
state; overthrown in 1965 by his military
commander
5. Angola
• How independence was gained: fighting & an
independence movement against Portugal
• Causes of Civil war: Communist- Leaning
MPLA declared itself the new nation’s rightful
govt = rebel groups fought for power = civil
war
• Other problems: various rebel groups fought
for power; abandoned case-fire agreements =
continued war
Middle East
Section 4
1. Britain issues the Balfour
declaration
• Causes: Sir Arthur Balfour promoted the idea
of creating a Jewish homeland in Palestine
• Effects: hostility between Palestinians & Jews
continued to grow
2. Independent Israel is created
• Causes: The UN voted for a partition of
Palestine into a Palestinian state & a Jewish
state
• Effects: the new nation of Israel got a hostile
greeting from it’s neighbors- the day after it
proclaimed itself a state- six Islamic states (
Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, &
Syria) invaded Israel = Arab-Israeli war
3. The 1956 Arab-Israeli war breaks
out
• Causes: Israel became an independent nation
& 6 Islamic states invaded; Israel claimed
lands that Arabs felt should have exclusively
been Arab
• Effects: 1956 Suez crisis occurred which led to
Israel & Europe withdrawing from Egypt; the
expansion of Israeli boundaries
4. 1967 6 day war began
• Causes: Arabs were about to attack w. Soviet
help; Israelis were convinced the Arabs were
about to attack so they struck airfields in
surrounding Islamic countries
• Effects: Israel defeated Arabs & Arabs lost
15000 ppl
Anwar Sadat
• Who: Egyptian president
• What: planned a joint Arab attack on Yom Kippur
(Jewish holiday)
• Where: Egypt
• When: 1973
• Why: the Israelis were caught by surprise; Arab forces
inflicted heavy casualties and recaptured some of their
territory lost in 1967; both sides agreed to a truce
several weeks after fighting; 1977-he stunned the world
by extending a hand to Israel- the first Arab country to
do so =historic opportunity for peace; signed the Camp
David Accords= ended 30 years of hostility
Golda Meir
• Who: Israel’s prime minister
• What: launched a counter attack against Egypt
(Arabs, Anwar Sadat) in the Yom Kippur War
• Where: Israel
• When: 1967
• Why: he regained territory they had lost to
Egpyt; agreed to a truce w. Anwar Sadat
5. The 1973 Yom Kippur war begins
• Causes: conflicts b.n Arabs & Jewish Israel
• Effects: Israel regained territory it had lost
previously; Egypt & Israel signed a truce
PLO
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Who: Palestinians
What: Palestine Liberation Organization
Where: Palestine
When: 1964
Why: this organization pushed for the formation
of a Palestinian state; made up of different
groups- guerilla fighters, laborers, teachers, etc. ;
guerillas took over the organization and said the
only way to get what they wanted was through
armed struggle
Yasir Arafat
• Who: chairman of PLO
• What: his group carried out numerous attacks
against Israel in order to form their own
Palestinian state
• Where: Israel & Palestine
• When: 1960s, 1970s
• Why: his attacks on Israel & Arabs gave
Palestine it’s own state
6. Sadat & Begin sign the Camp David
Accords
• Causes: Arabs wanted permission to nuke
Israel; Israel wanted Egypt to recognize them
as their own independent state
• Effects: ended 30 years of hostilities b.n Egypt
& Israel and became the first signed
agreement b.n Israel & an Arab country
Camp David Accords
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Who: Jimmy Carter, Sadat, & Begin
What: a signed agreement
Where: Camp David, USA
When: 1978-1979
Why: ended 30 years of hostilities b.n Egypt &
Israel and became the first signed agreement
b.n Israel & an Arab country
Intifada
• Who: Palestinians
• What: Palestinians began to express their
frustration in a widespread campaign of civil
disobedience or uprising (called Intifada)
• Where: Gaza Strip, occupied by Israel
• When: 1987- 1990s
• Why: they took the form of boycotts,
demonstrations, & attacks on Israeli soldiers;
cont’d thru the 1990sw little progress; this affected
world opinion which put pressure on Israel to
negotiate peace w. Palestinians
Oslo Peace Accords
• Who: Palestinians
• What: document called the Declaration of
Principles from secret talks held in Norway about
Israeli-Palestinian peace
• When: 1993
• Where: about Israel, held in Norway
• Why: Israel agreed to grant Palestinians self-rule
in Gaza strip and the West Bank; the Prime
Minister of Israel was assassinated afterwards by
an extremist that was against Palestinians =there
was still difficulties
7. Rabin & Arafat issue Declaration of
Principles
• Causes: Palestine territories occupied by Israel
were a bitterly divided issue
• Effects: Israel agreed to grant Palestinians selfrule on Gaza Strip; Israeli Prime minister was
assassinated
Central Asia Struggles
Sec 5
Transcaucasian Republics
• Who: Central Asians
• What: 3 nations that lie in the Caucusus
Mountains b.n the Black & Caspian Seas
• Where: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia
• When: 1991-present
• Why: they have a lot of oil & natural gas fluids
that the Soviets want which led to a solid
economy; with the fall of the Soviet Union &
Communism = these nations separated from the
USSR & formed their own republic = they had a
difficult time standing on their own w.o SU help =
dependent on the SU even after independence
Central Asian Republics
• Who: Central Asians
• What: 5 nations that are east of the Caspian Sea &
extended into Pamir Mountains
• Where: Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikstan, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan
• When: 1991-present
• Why: with the fall of the Soviet Union & Communism =
these nations separated from the USSR & formed their
own republic = they had a difficult time standing on their
own w.o SU help = dependent on the SU even after
independence; they’ve struggled economically & are now
some of the poorest countries in the world; prob stems
from reliance on SU
1. Since gaining independence, why
have the nations of Central Asia
struggled economically?
• Because of their heavy reliance on the Soviet
Union for economic help
• Dependence on one crop hurt development of
a balanced economy
• Soviet Union converted a lot of farmland to
grow all cotton
2. Why have many regional wars been
fought in Central Asia?
• It’s a mixing pot of different religions and
ethnicities that don’t like each other
• Soviet Union prevented hostilities from
breaking out = When SU was no longer in
charge = hostilities broke out into wars
3. During the 1800s, why did GB want
to gain control over Afghanistan?
• To protect the northern borders of it’s Indian
empire
• Why did Russia want control over this region?
– They wanted access to the Indian Ocean for a
warm-water port so they could trade all year long
4. Why did the Soviet Union invade
Afghanistan in 1979?
• To conquer the country and add it to their
Soviet/Communist Empire
• There was a rebellion & Soviet Union needed
to step in
Mujahideen
• Who: Afghan holy warriors
• What: a group of Afghans in opposition to the Soviet
control of Afghanistan
• Where: Afghanistan
• When: 1979-1980
• Why: these rebels fought fiercely against the Soviet
government; they felt that Communist policies
conflicted w. the teachings of Islam; the Soviet
government w. its superior military was not able to put
down the rebellion b..c the Afghans used guerilla
tactics & the US provided $$$ = the SU withdrew
troops = the Mujahideen won
Taliban
• Who: Afghan rebel group
• What: conservative Islamic Afghan rebel group that
wanted control of Afghanistan
• Where: Afghanistan
• When: 1998-now
• Why: leaders restricted women’s lives by forbidding
them to go to school or jobs; they banned everything
from tv, movies, and modern music; breaking these
rules= beatings or death; this group played a role in
world terrorism- 9/11 = US eventually kicked them outta
power in the war; they fought other Afghan groups for
control of Afghanistan & won- controlled 90% of the
country
Osama Bin Laden
• Who: terrorist leader of the Al-Qaeda
• What: responsible for numerous attacks on the
West including 9/11 World Trade Centers &
Pentagon
• Where: Afghanistan
• When: 1957-2011
• Why: after the 9/11 attacks, the Taliban refused
to give him up to the USA = US bombed Al-Qaeda
airfields & training camps = US drove the Taliban
from power = US captured Bin Laden in 2011 &
executed him
5. How did rule by the Taliban affect
Afghanistan?
• Brought order to the war torn nation
• Followed an extreme interpretation of Islamic
law & applied it to every aspect of Afghan
society
– Restrictive of women banned media
– Punished ppl severely
– Supported terrorism
– #6 I will give in class tomorrow.. Before your test