The Retreat From Empire
CHANGES STEMMING FROM WWII AND THE
COLD WAR WORLD
India and China as symbols
 WWII brought substantial change to these states.
 India emerged as Independent in 1947. British colonial
prowess receded as it focused on reconstruction after WWII
 China saw a long civil war emerge with global powers
supporting each side in the Chinese Civil War.
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The US and Soviet Union sought to protect their interests during
the civil war with the US supporting the nationalists and the
Soviets supporting the Communists.
De-Colonizaton
 Global conferences emerge to try and solve the
issue—Geneva Conference created a divided Vietnam
in the wake of Vietnam.
 The French legacy in Vietnam was remembered in
their future struggle.
 Vietnam had their own designs on their future.
The lessons from China ring true in Vietnam
 Two states, two supporters…US in South, USSR in
North.
 Proxy war that results in a war of independence as
Vietnam will become a communist state.
Case Studies in De-Colonization
 Israel:
 1917 Balfour Declaration
 A British mandate after WWI
 Remnant of the Ottoman state
 Created its own state in 1947
 Zionism and Palestinian outrage
De-Colonization in Egypt
 Egypt and Arab nationalism
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Military leaders under Gamal A. Nasser seized power in 1952
Nasser became prime minister, a leader of pan-Arab nationalism
Egypt neutral in cold war, accepted aid from both powers
Nasser dedicated to ending imperialism and destroying state of Israel
 Suez crisis, 1956, greatly enhanced Nasser's prestige
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Canal controlled by Britain; Nasser nationalized it to build Egypt's
economy
Attacked by British, French, and Israeli forces, which retook canal
Both superpowers condemned military action, forced them to
withdraw
Suez crisis divided United States and its allies in western Europe
De-Colonization in North Africa
 Forcing the French out of north Africa
 France in Africa
1950s and 1960s, French granted independence to all its African
colonies except Algeria
 Two million French settlers in Algeria
 Revolt of May 1954 was repressed by French; eight thousand
Algerian Muslims died
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War in Algeria, 1954-1962
Algerian nationalists pursued guerrilla warfare against French rule
 By 1958, a half-million French soldiers were committed to the
conflict
 Atrocities on both sides; heavy civilian casualties; Algerian
independence, 1962
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Black Nationalism and Independence
 Growth of African nationalism
 Began as grassroots protest against European imperialism
 African nationalism celebrated Negritude (blackness), African
roots
 Obstacles to African independence
 Imperial powers assumed Africans were not ready for selfgovernment
 White settlers opposed black independence
 Anticommunist fears justified interference in African politics
 Economic and political instability often hampered post
independent Africa
 Transformation of South Africa
 Gained independence in 1901, but denied civil rights to black population
 South African economy strong, both mining and industry; prospered during
WWII
 Black workers demanded political change
 Apartheid: harsh legal system imposed in 1948, designed to keep
races separate
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87 peercent of South African land was for white residents, others classified by
race
African National Congress, led by Nelson Mandela, launched campaign to protest
apartheid
Severe government repression provoked international opposition after 1960
Black agitation and international sanctions brought end to apartheid in 1989
1994, under new constitution, Mandela won free election as first black president
African Troubles
 Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire)
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First prime minister, a Marxist, killed in a CIA-backed coup, 1961
Dictator Mobutu ruled from 1965 to 1997; plundered Zaire's
economy
Mobutu ruled Zaire in dictatorial fashion and amassed huge personal
fortune
Lawrence Kabila ousted Mobutu in 1997, changed country's name
back to the Congo
Kabila killed, 2001; replaced by his son Joseph; no elections yet
 Developing economies of Africa
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Africa has 10 percent of world's population but less than 1 percent of
industrial output
Rich in minerals, raw materials, agricultural resources
Lacking in capital, technology, foreign markets, and managerial class
Rapid population growth compounds problems
 Ghana (Gold Coast) first to gain independence, 1957
 Kwame Nkrumah, nationalist leader, jailed and censored for political
actions
 Eventually released, Nkrumah became Ghana's first president, 1957
 Side-by-side posters presented Queen Elizabeth and Nkrumah as equals,
1961
 Anticolonial rebellion in Kenya
 Violent clashes between native Kikuyu (Mau Mau) and European settlers
after 1947
 1930s and 1940s, Kikuyu pushed off farm lands, reduced to wage slaves
 Labeling Mau Mau as communist subversives, Britain gained U.S.
support
 Kikuyu uprising crushed by superior arms in 1955; twelve thousand
Africans killed
 Political parties legalized, 1959; Kenya gained independence, 1963
Changes in Iran
 The Iranian revolution, 1979
 CIA helped anticommunist Shah Mohammed Pahlavi gain
power, 1953
 Repressive rule overthrown by Islamist followers of Ayatollah
Khomeini, 1979
 Khomeini attacked United States for support of the shah
 Militants held sixty-nine Americans hostage for 444 days; shut
down U.S. military bases
 Movement encouraged other Muslims to undertake terrorist
actions
Islamofacism
 Islamism: revival of Muslim traditions
 Reasserting Islamic values in Muslim politics
 Resentment at European and American societies
 Extremists embraced jihad, or duty to defend Islam from
attack; justified terrorism