DECOLONIZATION AND NATION BUILDING By Gabriel Jimenez P3

DECOLONIZATION AND NATION BUILDING By: Gabriel Jimenez P-3 A. P. World History http : / /ww w. in depe nden cew i. org /ass ets/I ndep ende nce. jpg

New Nations in South and Southeast Asia � � � � The first region to work towards its independence was India when it established the Indian National Congress in 1885 to increase the rights of Indians under colonial rule. (Armstrong, 261) In the 1920 s Mohandas Gandhi began to work arduously for his country’s independence. For instance, he established certain ways for masses to protest peacefully, united a very diverse country, and brought reassurance to those who followed him. (Spodek 695 -699) In 1947 the once British region of India divided itself into Pakistan in the northwestern portion and India, which maintained the rest of the territory. (Bulliet, 830) Thereafter India became a secular republic under Jawaharlal Nehru, keeping most of the industrial and educational resources which the British had left. (Bulliet, 832) Fighting broke out between India and Pakistan when the Muslim-populated area of Jammu and Kashmir decided to join with India, which was 90% Hindu. Although the fighting stopped in 1947, it began again in 1965 but only briefly. (Bulliet, 832) In 1971, due to linguistic and ethnic differences, the Bengali-speaking section of Pakistan which was east from India separated to form Bangladesh. From then on the three states, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, grew steadily apart. (http: //www. bbc. co. uk/history/british/modern/partition 1947_05. shtml) In contrast with other imperialist nations in the past, Japan encouraged anticolonialist trends in their previously owned countries (Bulliet, 832) Achmad Sukarno, for example, cooperated with the Japanese in order to make sure the Dutch didn’t return to the Dutch East Indies; their withdrawal was finally negotiated in 1949. However, a violent coup by a military group ended his dictatorship and eliminated Indonesia’s powerful communist party. (Bulliet, 832) http: //www. bbc. co. uk/history/british/modern/i mages/partition_map. gif

The Struggle for Independence in Africa � � � French policy towards its colonies of Vietnam and Algeria were completely opposite to that of Japan’s. (Bulliet, 832) In 1954 a rising revolt was met with swift and effective, yet brutal, action. Despite being backed by Egypt and a series of Arab countries, the French colonist were just as determined to keep their territory. (Bulliet, 832) However, on 1962 Algeria was granted its independence and a surge of angry colonists migrated back to France. In the end Algeria was still dependant on France and much of its work-force left in hopes of a better living in France. (Bulliet, 832) In the 1950 s and 1960 s independence movements began to arise without regards to economic and environmental problems that would come afterwards. In addition, there had been little investment in human “resources” during colonization, and thus the African populace wasn’t very much prepared to rule itself efficiently. (Armstrong, 263) A perfect example would be the Belgian Congo’s independence, when in 1959 it plunged itself into independence without any graduates with degrees of higher education and no administrative cadres trained to run a modern nation. (Spodek, 753) At the same time, Kwame Nkrumah, a young politician who led nationalist movements, became prime minister of Ghana in 1957. However, once in power he proved incompetent for the job, even though he had spoken fiercely and well for independence since 1947. In 1966 a group of army officers ousted him. (Bulliet, 833) Soon afterwards, Britain began to grant independence to many of its colonies. (Bulliet, 833) Kenya, for instance, was granted independence in 1964 as the Republic of Kenya. Its first president was Jomo Kenyatta, who in the end was an effective, though autocratic, leader. (Bulliet, 833) Sub-Saharan African leaders in French colonies sought political changes from the promises made by General Charles de Gaulle in 1944, during a conference in Brazzaville. Some of those promises include more democratic government and broader suffrage, abolition of forced labor and imprisonment of Africans without charge, expansion of French education to the village level, the improvement of health services, and the opening of administrative positions to Africans. (Bulliet, 834) However, in the end all of France’s West African and Equatorial African Colonies became in dependent by 1960. (Bulliet, 834) Portuguese rule was challenged in the 1960 s at Angola and Mozambique, and was finally overthrown in 1974. (Bulliet, 834) Southern Rhodesia became Zimbabwe in 1980, leaving only South Africa and Namibia in the hands of Europeans. (Bulliet, 834) http: //www. elizabethwatkinskenyabooks. co. uk/nssfolder/siteimages/Jomo%2520 Kenyatta, %2520 President%2520 of%2520 Kenya, %2520 c%25201965. jpg

The Quest for Economic Freedom in Latin America � � � � � In 1917, the Mexican revolution conjured the Mexican Constitution of 1917, which cause land reforms and enforced restrictions on foreign economic control. (Spodek, 780 -781) As a result of the Mexican Constitution of 1917 there came about the expropriation of oil in 1938. (Bulliet, 835) In addition, their political group PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) had achieved political stability. As a result the nation prospered, even if the gap between classes became wider. (Bulliet, 835) In Guatemala, president Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán tried to confront powerful foreign interests by pursuing actions like land reforming. As a result the foreign companies which had interest in the country mobilized against him. In 1954 the CIA sponsored a military take over in Guatemala. (Bulliet, 835) Prior to 1960 Cuba’s economy was overwhelmingly linked with that of the United States’. A treaty in 1934 gave Cuban sugar an exorbitant price in the American market as long as the Cuban market was open to Americans. (Bulliet, 835) In 1953, Fulgencio Batista returned to power through a coup, and quickly spread his government, which brought corruption, repression, and foreign economic domination. (Bulliet, 838) In 1959 Fidel Castro brought up a popular rebellion which forced Batista to flee the country. Castro and his chief lieutenant, Ernesto “Che” Guevara, quickly reformed the military leadership and redistributed wealth among the different economic classes. (Bulliet, 838) As a result the Cuban Revolution was held as a victory against dictatorships and authoritarian governments. However, they didn’t know what was to come. (Armstrong, 258) Castro sought economic support from the Soviet Union, which resulted in angering the United States, who suspended the sugar agreement seeking to destabilize the Cuban economy. (Bulliet, 838) In 1961 the U. S. attempted the same strategy as they had in Guatemala and sent 1500 Cuban exiles trained and armed by the CIA to the Bay of Pigs. However the operation failed miserably when John F. Kennedy refused to send the planned air support. As a result the U. S. ’s reputation was tarnished and their defeat gave inspiration to revolutionaries throughout Latin America. (Bulliet, 838) http: //onecity. files. wordpress. com/2 009/02/che-guevara. jpg

Bibliography � � � � Cracking the AP World History Exam, 2009 Edition. Princeton: Princeton Review, 2008. Earth and It's People Advanced Placement Version Third Edition. 3 rd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin College Division, 2004. Spodek, Howard. The World's History, Combined. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Limited, 2000. http: //www. bbc. co. uk/history/british/modern/images/partition_map. gif http: //www. bbc. co. uk/history/british/modern/partition 1947_05. shtml http: //www. independencewi. org/assets/Independence. jpg http: //www. elizabethwatkinskenyabooks. co. uk/nssfolder/siteimages/Jomo%2520 Kenyatta, %2520 President%2520 of%2520 Kenya, %2 520 c%25201965. jpg