20th Century Decolonization

and Nationalism Susan Graham and Deborah Smith Johnston

Lexington High School

djohnston@sch.lexington.ci.ma.us

sgraham@sch.lexington.ci.ma.us

Global Events influential in

Decolonization

• Imperialism

• Growing Nationalism

• World War I

• World War II

• Cold War

World War I

• Promises of self-determination

• Use of colonial soldiers in trenches

• Locals filled posts left by colonial powers

during war

• Financial strain on empire

• Treaty of Versailles

World War II

• Increased nationalist uprisings following WWI and as a result of the global depression

• Costs of empire

• US support of anti-colonial liberation movements

• Atlantic Charter (1941) “right of all people to choose the form of government under which they live”

• Soviets condemned colonialism

Cold War

• Provided inspiration a blend of capitalist and socialist economies and agendas.

• Provided arms to those who sided with one or the other (proxy wars and arms races).

• Encouraged violent recourse for some as a result of the power politics of cold war competition.

Process of Decolonization and

Nation- Building • Surge of anti-colonial nationalism after 1945.

Leaders used lessons in mass politicization

and mass mobilization of 1920’s and 1930’s.

• Three patterns:

1. Civil war (China)

2. Negotiated independence (India and much of Africa)

3. Incomplete de-colonization (Palestine, Algeria and

Southern Africa, Vietnam)

Negotiated Independence in

India and Africa • Independence with little bloodshed in India

and much of colonial Africa in decades

following World War II.

• Why? At what cost?

India Case Study Background

• India and other Asian colonies were the

first to establish independence

movements.

• Western-educated minorities organized

politically to bring about the end of

modification of colonial regimes.

India: History of the Movement

• Indian National Congress party founded in 1885. (Elite group not mass movement)

• Growth of Indian national identity- presented grievances to the British.

• Congress party attracted mass following which opposed shift from the production of food to commercial crops.

• Gandhi and Congress leadership tried to prevent mass peasant uprising (as was happening in China) by keeping power centered on middle class leaders.

Militant Nationalists

• B.G. Tilak urged a boycott of British

manufactured goods and used threats of

terrorism.

• Attracted a violent conservative Hindu following.

• Tilak was exiled and his

movement was repressed by

the British.

Peaceful Protests

• Mohandas Gandhi and other western educated lawyers led peaceful alternative.

• Nation-wide protest against colonialism through boycotts and campaigns of civil resistance.

• His efforts were not well received by the Muslims who formed a separate organization in 1906, The Muslim League.

• Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Muslim League) insisted on partitioned state (Hindu and Muslim).

Continued Indian Resistance

• Salt March, 1931

• Government of India Act 1935

Indian Independence

• August 1947 Pakistan and India gained independence.

• Mass killings of Muslims and Hindus (1 million) followed by mass migrations (12 million). (Gandhi fasted to prevent war-> assassination)

• Jawaharlal Nehru, first Prime Minister,began modernization campaign.

Decolonization in the Middle East-

Palestine and Israel

• Zionism

• 1917 Balfour Declaration

• Immigration of Jews to Palestine

• European Holocaust

• Increase of migration

• 1947- end of British mandate of Palestine and failed UN partition solution

• 1948 establishment of Israel

• Regional conflicts->

Egypt

• 1906 Dinshawai incident aroused nationalist passions.

• Actions post- Indep (1936) not sufficient.

• Coup d’etat in 1952 Gamal Abdel Nasser

• Nationalization of Suez 1956 protested by Israelis, British and French but diplomacy won over eventually.

• Nasser= symbol of pan-Arab nationalism.

Africa for Africans

• Nationalists composed of ex-servicemen, urban unemployed & under-employed, and the educated.

• Pan-Africanism and Negritude

• Senghor (Senegal) and Dubois (African-American)

De-colonization in Africa

• 1957, Gold Coast (renamed Ghana) independence, led by western- educated, Kwame Nkrumah.

• By 1963, all of British ruled Africa, except Southern Rhodesia, was independent.

De-colonization in

French-ruled Africa • Initially more resistant

than the British.

• Encouraged closer French ties- assimilation, not autonomy.

• Not willing to go far enough in granting rights.

• With exception of Algeria, by 1960 had granted independence.

Leopold Sedar Senghor

• Western educated Francophone intellectual from Senegal

• Poet who became first president of Senegal.

• Advocated democratic socialism and negritude.

• Negritude: validation of African culture and the African past by the Negritude poets. Recognized attributes of French culture but were not willing to be assimilated into Europe.

Violent and Incomplete

Decolonizations • Presence of European immigrant groups

impeded negotiations, leading to violence.

For example, Kenya, Palestine, Algeria,

and southern Africa

• Vietnam’s de-colonization complicated by

France’s colonial ties and cold war politics.

Kenya

• Presence of settlers prevented smooth transition of power.

• Kenya (20,000 Europeans only) led to violent revolt.

• Mau-Mau Revolt, 1952, led by Kikuyus suppressed by British.

• 1963 independence granted to black majority, led by Kenyatta.

Algeria

• Appeal of Arab nationalism

• Large French settler population

• 1954- 1962 war between FLN (nationalist party) and French troops

• “part of France”

• 300,000 lives

South Africa

• 4 million white residents

• Afrikaner-dominated (white) National Party won 1948 election

• Apartheid

• No protests tolerated (African National Congress, Mandela, Sharpeville massacre 1960)

• 1990’s black government elected

Vietnam

• French rule since 1880’s –rice, mining, and rubber exports

• Rise of foreign educated intelligentsia (Ho Chi Minh)

• Formation of Viet Minh in 1941

• Guerrilla War with France (1946-1954)

• Divided country in 1954 led to gradual US entry to contain communism.

Women as leaders in the Movement

• Women fought alongside men in whatever capacities were permitted in Algeria, Egypt, China, Vietnam,India and elsewhere.

• China, 1942: “ The fighting record of our women does not permit us

to believe that they will ever again allow themselves to be enslaved whether by a national enemy or by social reaction at home.”

• Women given constitutional rights but social and economic equality rarely achieved in postcolonial developing nations.

Literature and Decolonization

• Expressions of nationalism and rejections of western superiority.

• Gandhi, “ I make bold to say that the Europeans themselves will have to remodel their outlooks if they are not to perish under the weight of the comforts to which they are becoming slaves.”

• Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart

• Senghor, “Snow upon Paris”

• Aime Cesaire, West Indian poet, founder of Negritude “Return to my Native Land”

International Organizations and

Decolonization

• League of Nations

• United Nations

• Organization of African Unity (1963)

Fall of Empire: Fall out and

Legacy

• Colonial

footprint

• Problems of

Transition

• Problems of

Identity

Challenges of Independence

• Ethnic disputes

• Dependent economies

• Growing debt

• Cultural dependence on

west-> religious

revivalism as backlash

• Widespread social unrest

• Military responses to

restore order

• Population growth

• Resource depletion

• Lack of middle class in

some locales

• Education deficit and

later, brain drain.

• Neo-colonialism through

economic debt.

Conclusions

• Decolonization was sometimes a violent process- dependent in large part on how many settlers had come to the colony.

• In many parts of world, decolonization was not revolutionary. Power passed from one class of elites to another. Little economic and social reform occurred.

• Significant challenges faced independent nations.

• Western economic dominance of the global trade system continued unabated. WHY?

West vs USSR

• Consumer goods

• Capitalism

• Parliamentary govt

• Lost colonies after

1945

• Concentrated on heavy industry

• Govt control of resources, planning and production

• Authoritarian govt

• Kept subjugated lands until 1980

• Birthrates fell

The End of the Soviet Union

• Gorbachev’s new policies brought about new government policies that were not as oppressive – Perestroika – restructuring of the Soviet economy

– Ex – Glasnost – openness and honesty in discussing the problems the country faced

• Led to reduced government censorship, public protest, and eventually reform

• The new push was for democracy

• Unemployment skyrocketed under this new government structure

Post Soviet Union Russia, Eastern Europe and Central

Asia

Latin America in the 20th

Century

Latin America in the 19th Century

• Gained independence

• Legacy of colonization left many problems:

– Powerful militaries

– One-crop economies

– Sharp class divisions

• European and U.S. economic domination

– Dependency Theory

• Rulers more interested in personal power than in democracy

Political Instability

• Influence of caudillos

• Creole elites supported the status quo

• Little experience with European

democracy

• Foreign Intervention

– Monroe Doctrine

– Spanish American War

– Panama Canal

Mexico

Mexican Revolution

• Preliminary Phase

– Porfirio Diaz dominated Mexican politics and tried to

industrialize using foreign capital

• Initial Phase

– Moderate reforms of Francisco Madero

• Radical Phase

– Civil war between Pancho Villa & Emiliano Zapata

• both demanded radical reforms

• • Recovery Phase…

Recovery Phase

• Constitution of 1917

– Mexican government owned the subsoil and its products

– State had the right to redistribute land to peasants after confiscating it and compensating the landowners

• Lazaro Cardenas (1934-1940)

– Redistributed 45 million acres to peasants

– Seized control of Mexican oil wells from foreign investors

The PRI

• Institutional Revolutionary Party, 1946

• Provided stability

• Not a true democracy

• PRI controlled the Congress and won

every election; fraud and corruption

Economy Since the Revolution

• Substantial land reforms continued

• Many Mexicans face poverty and

unemployment

• Substantial foreign debt

• Economic decline

– New oil reserves found as world oil prices fell

• NAFTA

Cuba

Cuban Revolution

• Preliminary – Fulgencio

Batista

– Economic growth

– U.S. Influence

• 1958, Fidel Castro overthrows Batista – 26th of July

Movement

– Aided by Ernesto “Che” Guevara

Castro’s Cuba

• Provided reforms

– economy, literacy, health care, improvement for

women.

• Harsh dictator

– suspended elections, jailed or executed opponents,

restricted the press.

• Nationalized Cuban economy

– Castro turned to Soviets for economic and military

aid.

• Cuban Missile Crisis

Guatemala

• Reformers threaten to

nationalize industry and

agriculture

– United Fruit Co.

threatened by reforms

• C.I.A. helps topple

reformist government in

1954

• U.S. supported

dictatorship

Brazil

Government in the Early 20th

Century

• Originally government supports coffee and

cacao planters and rubber exporters

– Large gap between rich and poor

• Getulio Vargas rules as a dictator in 1930s

– Suppressed political opposition.

– Promoted economic growth and helped make

Brazil a modern industrial nation

Post WWII Brazil

• Government dominated by dictators

• Continued economic modernization

– Encouraged foreign investment to promote development projects.

– Debt soared and inflation increased, causing hardship for most Brazilians.

• Movements towards democracy since 1980

– Hampered by government corruption

Argentina

Post WWII Argentina

• • Juan Peron (1946-1954) promoted “nationalistic populism” – Called for industrialization

– Supported the working classes

– Limited foreign economic intervention

– Wife (Eva) focused on helping the poor

• • Military dictators dominate 60s, 70s, & 80s – “Death Squads” fought a “dirty war” against

subversives from 1976-1983

• Democratic reforms demanded in the 1980s

Other US Intervention • Banana Republics

– U.S. backed dictators in a capitalist economic system

• U.S. backed dictatorships – Augusto Pinochet in

Chile

– Manuel Noriega in Panama

• Military intervention – Sandinistas (USSR) vs.

Contras (US) in Nicaragua

Stearns Chapter 34 - 36

Connecting the World in the 20th

and Early 21st century

East Asia Post WWII • China –

Communist

• Korea – Divided

• Taiwan – Isolated

• Hong Kong – “independent”

• Singapore

– K, HK, and S become economically advanced

Japanese Surge

• Japan follows a model based upon

democracy and traditional values

• South Korea and other areas of East Asia

see similar levels of success

Democracy in the last ½

of the 20th Century

• Most of Latin America (not Cuba)

• Some Former Soviet Republics

• Some Middle East

Anti – Democracy in the last ½

of the 20th Century

• North Korea

• China (student demonstrations)

• Iraq/Iran

FSU (Former Soviet Union) Issues

• Ethnic Conflict – Chechnya (Muslims)

vs Russians (Christian)

– Yugoslavia • Orthodox Serbs

• Catholic Croats

• Muslim Bosnians

• Serbs (non orthodox)

• Domino of independence

– Slovenia, Croatia, BH, etc…

– Kosobo March 2008

•

Ongoing Disputes

• Conflict in Iraq (Invasions of 1991, 2001)

• Palestine and Israel

• India and Pakistan (Kashmir)

• Sudan – Civil War and the Lost Boys

• Rwanda – Hutu-Tutsi Civil War

• Darfur (Sudan) – Genocide/Militia rule

Anti-Terrorism and September 11

• Militarized the world

• US takes on much of the responsibility

• “War on Terror”

– How does it cause issues in the present and

future for the US?

GLOBALIZATION

• The Role of Technology

– Internet, cell phones, media connectivity

• Multinational Corporations

– The New “NATIONS” of the world

– What is their role?

• EU, IMF, NAFTA

• WTO, World Bank (Both protested)

• Birth of Fundamentalism

Globalism

Economic issues vs. cultural issues

• 1944 – Bretton Woods

– International Monetary Fund (IMF)

– International Bank for Reconstruction and

Development

– General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

(GATT) 1947

• Foundations for United Nations 1944 and

established in 1945

• World Trade Organization formed in 1995

Trading blocs • The European Union

– Begun in 1957 with six nations, now includes fifteen

– A common market, free trade, free travel within the Union

– Eleven members adopted a common currency, the Euro, in 1999

– Expectations of a European Political Union eventually

• Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

– Cartel established in 1960 to raise global oil prices

– After Arab-Israeli war of 1973, OPEC placed embargo on oil to United States, Israel's ally

– Price of oil quadrupled from 1973 to 1975, triggered global recession

– Overproduction and dissension among members diminished influence, 1990s

• Regional trade associations formed to establish free-trade zones for member states

– Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967, five members

– North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993: United States, Canada, Mexico

Globalization (cont’d)

• Disease spread and management

– Why is AIDS/HIV such a big issue in the

world?

– SARS, Avian Flu, Swine Flu