Folkomflyttning och demokratiska reformer

Folkomflyttning och demokratiska reformer
Läxa. Frågor. Svar.

Frågor

· Diskutera orsakerna bakom den stora emigrationen till Amerika under 1800- talet.
· De stora befolkningsomflyttningarna i samband med industrialismens framväxt väckte oro för social upplösning i samhället. Varför? Finns det paralleller till dagens diskussioner om invandring och globalisering?
· Arbetarrörelsen hade en politisk och en facklig gren. Beskriv likheter och skillnader dem emellan!
· Diskutera argumenten för och emot allmän rösträtt i förra sekelskiftet debatt! Vilken hållning intog företrädare för de olika ideologierna och hur resonerade de?
· Både konservativa, socialister och liberaler slöt upp och kring iden att staten skulle ta ansvar för medborgarnas välfärd. Vilka motiv för detta fördes fram av de olika partierna?


Svar

· En viktig faktor som kan ha orsakat emigrationen är kunskapen. Denna blev mycket större, vanligare och bättre än förut. Denna gav också förbättringar inom kommunikation dvs. exempelvis transport, media och post. Det gav människorna stora möjligheter att vara medvetna och informeras oftare och fortare om ett bättre liv någon annanstans och trodde att gräset var grönare på andra sidan.
Kunskapen gjorde framsteg också inom medicinen som hjälpte folket att leva bättre och säkrare. Också p.g.a. ökade befolkningen enormt. Den stora tillväxten ledde till att mer folk behövdes försörjas, mer land odlas och större mängder saker tillverkas. Detta kan ha orsakat brist på land som ledde till att mer folk sökte sig till ställen där de kunde hitta deras behov.
· Emmigrationen och urbaniseringen hade också nackdelar. När folk flyttade till det nya samhället behövde de inte bara anstränga sig att anpassa sig dit, utan också hitta ett helt nytt levnadssätt in en helt annan miljö. Detta ansträngande skifte gav föda till oro och konflikt.
En annan faktor som utsågs vara ”farlig” var att arbetsgivare utnyttjade dessa kritiska lägen till sin fördel genom att t.ex. pruta om lön.
Även idag är invandring en viktig gren i vårt samhälle. Skillnaden till dåtidens invandring är att man är medveten om den oron som skapas när man flyttar ut eller in i ett land, för att dämpa detta har man försökt hjälpa genom till exempel Integrationsverket.
En märklig skillnad är de sociala och etniska skillnader mellan människor som skapar en orättvis obalans i vårt samhälle. Som exempel kan barnarbete ges.
· När folket kom till nya platser innebar det också att de behövde bygga allting från grunden. Detta skulle nöja befolkningen och skapa ordning. Därför byggde man arbetarrörelsen som hade två grenar; den fackliga som skulle se till att arbetarna förhandlade om ett gemensamt avtal som stadgade lika villkor och rättigheter till alla, och den politiska som ville förändra styrelsesättet i samhället. Både dessa fack hade troligen samma mål, att göra samhället så bekväm som möjligt för alla. Den politiska, hade en teori som var multilateral, hjälpa alla, medan den fackliga var mera självisk, som handlade bara om arbetarnas jobb.
· Då strävade människorna naturligtvis efter jämställighet, därför skulle rösträtten införas. Men det fanns gott om motargument! De innebar också att om hur folket som inte hade egendomar och utbildning kunde rösta. Det menades att om man inte har kunskap vet man inte vad politiska inriktningar innebär och om man inte hade egendomar kunde man inte vara ansvarig. Till slut förstod man hur viktig jämnställigheten är.
· Det uppstod med att folk kände sig inte trygga. Det anklagades om hur den fria marknadsekonomin, som var så kraftfull och dynamisk när det gällde att producera varor, hade så stora brister när det gällde att sörja för folkets sociala välfärd.




I’m sorry that I forgot to give you my answers before the holiday. You have my apologies.

1. To What extent was the Second World War caused by the failure of the League of Nations?

The Second World War

1. To What extent was the Second World War caused by the failure of the League of Nations?

The League of Nations could have been one huge factor in the outbreak of the war.
It was an association built 1919 and had a simple aim; to ensure that war never broke out again. 1919 was a time after famous disputes, for example the First World War. The First World War was a disaster. This means that it destroyed many lives, families, political relationships etc. The people experienced the horrors of war as unique and with this opinion as a bottom line the majority of the people of the western world built a thought that were made of the words: no more war! After the war, many thought that the League would bring stability to the world. Why was then the League a factor in the war’s outbreak and why is it criticized? Shortage of power can be the answer.
The country that built the association was USA, the greatest power in the world at that time. When USA itself refused to join the League of Nations, it was a serious blow to the prestige of the League.
Germany was not allowed in the League because it was considered not to be part of the international community and the aggressor of the war. Russia was not allowed either, because it generated fear in Western Europe.
The League of Nations could do only three things if a dispute occurred, these things were called sanctions: firstly, they could sit down and discuss the problem in an orderly and peaceful manner. If this did not work, they could give economic sanctions, or they could order the League’s members not to trade with the aggressor country in order to make them pay and suffer.
So, the world’s most powerful nations did not support the League in any way and they were not members of the association either. This left only Britain and France in the ruling positions. This and the poor system that they could react with created shortage of power. This played in its turn a big part in the war’s outbreak.
The lack of power was not only economical but also political. This means that Britain and France were both countries that suffered financially and militarily during the war, so the League’s interventions were dependent of their limited resources.
The League was almost powerless also because so few countries in so limited areas were members. Because of this, Britain and France were not enthusiastic to get involved in disputes that did not affect Western Europe. It could have been possible that because of the lack of power that the League suffered of, dictators such as Hitler and Mussolini became almost free hands to do whatever they wished. My opinion is that the lack of power of the League of Nations contributed quite a lot in the war’s outbreak.
At a social level the League did have success but most of it is almost forgotten with its failure at a political level. The League sent teams to the Third World to dig water wells and to wipe out diseases. They even worked with drug smuggling, status of women and child slave labor. Their ideas were taken up and continued by the United Nations. The United Nations is today one of the world’s most significant organization. This is why people should know more about the League of Nations and not only about its failures.

First of all this was group work and the thing is that the members were stupid, except of me, so the whole things isnt made just by me;



The American Revolution
Or
The American War of independence
1775-1783





Roots

In the beginning of the European industrialization (17 Th century), the Europeans lived on the country side, in their small houses, they were poor, they starved and froze. A golden news reached Europe. It was America, which contained gold and it was a good opportunity to get a new life start. The Europeans started to colonize the new land, that later became USA. The people here lived on the country side, for themselves and without a special leader. At the same time the European nations explored every new part of the world and even struggled to own as much land as possible. The need of leadership in America attracted the interests of Great Britain and France. Also through this way, conflicts were born between the two countries. The conflicts switched into war later on, a war that would last for seven years. During the war Great Britain protected the colonists because they wanted to use them later on in the future. When GB defeated France, they took control over the North American continent.









The Thirteen Colonies

The British North America was divided by the Englishmen into 13 different colonies. Every colony had a certain leader, a governor controlled by the British parliament, so the colonists had no word to say in this situation! They forced also the whole American trade to be British.
The English manipulation led to a struggle for independence.
The term is used for the colonies of British North America that joined together in the American Revolution against the mother country adopted the Declaration of Independence (1776) and became The United States of America.
The thirteen states are also called the 13 original states.


Causes and Early Trouble

In the middle of the 18 Th centuries, differences in life, thought and interests had developed between the mother country and the growing colonies. Social customs, religious beliefs and economic interests added to the potential sources of conflict.
The British government, like other imperial power in that time, favored a policy of mercantilism (only money, material!), for example The Navigation Acts that were intended to regulate commerce in the interest of the British. The colonies were enforced but allowed to develop freely with a little interference from GB.
When the colonies wanted to become independent the conditions changed abruptly (1763).
The ministry of George Greenville in GB undertook a new colonial policy intended to tighten political control over the colonies. That meant that the colonies hat to pay for own defense and return the revenue to the mother country. When the colonies get very upset, they stopped
the entire trade with GB. To show who the boss was, the British, taxed everything. The Stamp Act taxed practically everything imaginable. This Act was replaced with The Declaratory Act which gave GB the authority to tax whatever they wanted, except for tee.




The War

The decision of the British about the taxing policy, led to The Boston Tea Party. A couple of colonists sneaked on 3 British ships uploaded with tee. They threw the tea abroad and later refused to pay for it and when the colony Massachusetts made up an own government, the war started.
The shot heard round the world, fired at Lexington, April 20, 1775, started The War of Independence and it ended eight and a half years later.
The people that fought in the revolution were: Americans and British.

The Americans were divided into four groups, pro and anti:

The patriots--- also called as rebels, congress men and Whigs. About 40-50% of the population, they fought pro America.
The Loyalists--- the people that supported the British crown, about 20-25% of the population.
The Blacks---served for the Americans
The Native Americans---the most of the joined the British

The British---33% of the British were hired German merchant called, Hessians.








Indecision and Declaration

During the war, some British delegates tried to declare the “dangerous” colonies independent.
The time was indecision and the division of the people was symbolized by the great split between Benjamin Franklin and his loyalist son, William.
In 1776, Thomas Paire wrote a pamphlet, Common Sense, which urged the colonial cause. Its influence was tremendous, but militarily did not prosper greatly. The British gave up Boston, March 1776.
Thomas Paire wrote another pamphlet, The Crisis. It exhorted the revolutions and gave the population courage in desperate days. Washington showed its increasing militarily skill and helped to restore colonial spirits, by crossing the ice ridden Delaware and winning small victories over forces made up mostly of Hessian mercenaries at Trenton and Princeton.
The British gave up Boston in 1776.


Foreign Assistance


When the colonists settled almost at stagnation, foreign aid was finally arriving. Pierre de Beaumarchais had succeeded in getting arms and supplies sent to the colonies in time, helping the victory over the Battle at Saratoga. The French help was two years late and it was also a rematch on neutral territory. The victory made it easier for France to enter upon an alliance with USA.
Spain entered the war against GB, in 1779, but their help did little for the United States, while French soldiers, sailors, supplies and money were of crucial importance.
The Declaration of Independence declared the independence of the 13 colonies and is conventionally dated, 4 July, 1776. July 4, is even today a vital day for the Americans and is also the national day.


Aftermath

The Treaty of Paris formally recognized the new nation, 1783, although very many questions were left unsettled.
The States went through a depression and met its administrative problems under The Articles of Confederation
The American Revolution had a great influence on liberal thought in Europe. The struggles and successes of the youthful democracy were much in the minds of those who brought about the French Revolution etc.
The leader of the colonists became later America’s first president.
This revolution was the most terrible and significant out of the ten that the American population went through.


The End

What were the main factors that made Kenya independent?

What were the main factors that made Kenya independent?



Colonialism is a tremendous part of the global history. You can argue that this process began when “The Partition of Africa”, 1884-1902, began. The European powers created a struggle of colonies, which means that the most major European powers struggled to gain as many colonies as possible. The time passed and after the Second World War, certain colonies began a struggle of independence. Certainly, the Europeans rejected this idea mainly because the colonies offered them significant benefits. The struggle of independence became more and more visible and powerful and became even supported, to a certain extent, by two of the world powers, the USSR and the USA. In the beginning of 1950, certain colonies gained independence. The process of independence was diverse in every area. Each colony had its certain pathway to follow. I will take a closer look to the decolonization in Kenya, which is located in East Africa, and answer to the essay question “What were the main factors that made Kenya independent?”

Firstly, even if each colony developed its own pathway of independence struggle, there existed some similarities within these processes. The big majority of the European powers were affected, to a large extent, by the nationalist movements within the colonies, the effects of the Second World War and the outside pressures. [1]

The nationalist movements were significant for the decolonization. These movements might have been caused by the British themselves. From 1895, when Kenya became a part of the British East Africa, the imperialists created miserable conditions for the natives. In the beginning of the century, the British desired to obtain profits. They wanted to make the farms productive, and did so by confiscating land and force black people to work the land.[2] This procedure started to cause, already then, small numbers of enemies. Before the Second World War, the British colonial policies might have played a big part in Kenya’s poverty and starvation. The miserable social and economical conditions that the British might have caused gave birth to nationalist movements, which played an important part in decolonization in Kenya.

When Kenyan soldiers returned home after taking part in the Second World War, they observed the big contrasts between African colonies and the places were they fought. The soldiers that took part in the war, became also aware of the fact that is was possible to defeat the “superior” Europeans.
The new conceptions about the Europeans and the vast differences of social existing, which the soldiers became aware of came in combination with the outside pressures.
The outside pressures were caused, for example by the USA and USSR, which were anti colonialism and pressured the countries that owned colonies to give up their empires. All these encouraged the native population to expressing their desire of being independent.

Secondly, the Kikuyu people and the Mau Mau played to a certain extent the biggest part in Kenya’s decolonization.

The Kikuyu people are an ethnic group in Kenya, which has its home in the highland and is considered as the most economically active ethnic group in Kenya.[3] The British confiscated the highland area, which was the most desirable agricultural area in the country and which belonged to the Kikuyu people. In the beginning of the 40’s the Kikuyu people had no rights on their former property and were used as laborers.[4]
This unfair method gave birth to an uprising, which was the first genuine opposition against the British. The Kikuyu people catalyzed the independence process.
The critical rural conditions caused urbanization; people moved to big cities to improve their living through working but there the situation was complicated as well.
Slowly but efficiently the opposition grew and in the beginning of the 50’s the opposition merged together and formed Mau Mau, which was for the native population “the sound of liberty”[5]

The Mau Mau opposition was built also by other ethnic groups. Finally, Mau Mau merged together and began an uprising, and a British family was murdered by the supporters of Mau Mau for the first time. This was the spark for the gory conflict that took place between 1953 and 1960. In the beginning of the 60’s the Mau Mau rebellions had been defeated, though it may have hastened Kenyan independence and made the British aware of the local force.

Ultimately, after years of conflict Kenya gained independence, 1963. Kenya gained independence also because own efforts as the Mau Mau opposition and the Kikuyu highland uprising. These developments were catalyzed by the effects of the Second World War, outside pressures and the nationalist movements.
Kenya was only a diminutive part of Britain’s huge empire. This period will remain a dark period in Britain’s history, but it is important to remember that most of the countries have, more or less, a part of their history which they are not proud of.


[1] Lowe, page 25, 26
[2] http://www.casahistoria.net/Imperialism%20in%20Kenya.pdf
[3] http://www.kukummi.org/Stories/kikuyuhistory.html
[4] http://www.casahistoria.net/Imperialism%20in%20Kenya.pdf
[5] http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050221/eviatar

United Nations’ General Assembly Resolution 181

United Nations’ General Assembly Resolution 181
(Palestine 1947)

· In November 1947 the UN took a decision that would turn out to be very very controversial and is even counted as one of the most controversial decisions of the UN, probably because its consequences.

· The decision involved the division of Palestine. This would give even Israel a part.

· The opinion of the decision of Palestine was divided;

a) There were some Jewish minorities of extreme nationalist groups that did not agree with the divided Palestine. They claimed and understood the fact that the Palestines would not give up their territory just like that and that in the future the Jews had to face them by themselves.

b) The big part of Israel accepted the decision; one part was the Jewish Agency (a kind of Jewish government before the establishment of Israel, which was in charge of the immigration and absorption of Jews from Diasporas.)

c) The Arab leadership opposed the plan, arguing that it violated the rights of the people.

· Anyhow, the most interesting thing was The British Mandate of Palestine, which was created 1919. This mandate was actually built up by the League and its function was given to Britain that would oversee the administration and some of the territories of the former Ottoman Empire, until these peoples could take care of themselves.

Britain came first with the proposal of the Palestine division, something that has been researched a lot about. One of the theories that may be true is that the English wanted to reduce the Jewish immigration to Europe to a minimum.

When this fact came to the ears’ of the Jewish population, popular uprisings and guerilla war arose. This and other several factors made Britain to hand over the problem to the United Nations.
The UN took over the issue and after 3 months of negotiations UN released its final rapport that would divide the Palestine country in two parts.



Consequences

Because of this decision, several territorial wars between these two nations took place and again the UN was unable to prevent these later conflicts.















United Nations’ General Assembly Resolution 181
(Palestine 1947)


Why and who?

· The Jews vs. the Palestines because of the controversial decision of the United Nations.

· UN had to interfere because of the partition of the British Mandate of Palestine, which would take care of some of the former territories of the Ottoman Empire.

Consequences. Why is this counted as a failure?

· This resolution caused in the future many territorial wars between Israel and Palestine and showed some weaknesses of the United Nations.[1][2][3][4]
· The division of Palestine is counted as one of UN’s most controversial decisions.
Where?[5]


[1] http://www.palestineremembered.com
[2] http://www.un.org/
[3] Lowe, chapter 9.
[4] Britannica
[5] http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Maps/Story583.html (map)

7. The Cold War: problems of international relations after the Second World War and 8. The spread of communism outside Europe and its effect on inter

7. The Cold War: problems of international relations after the Second World War

Summary of events:

Relations between USSR and USA became so difficult that, although no actual fight was going on, the period after 1945 became the first phase of the Cold War, which continued in spite of the thaws, to the communism fall in 89’.

The cold war was: instead of open fighting, the rival powers attacked each other with propaganda, economic measures and with a general policy of non- co-operation.

Both superpowers gathered allies around them:
USSR: Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Albania, Czechoslovakia and East Germany (49). N. Korea became a communist government in 48, and in 49 Mao became a dictator in China.
USA: fostered Japan as an ally. Britain and 14 other European countries worked with USA as well. Also Turkey was given economic aid to build an anti communist protection.

Whatever one side did was viewed by the other side as aggressive. For example Poland and Germany, which the superpowers argued about, and no permanent agreement could be reached.

After Stalin’s death, new Russian leaders began to talk about a peaceful co-existence and a thaw was brought about. It was agreed to withdraw all the occupying troops from Austria (55), but the relations were not so good to allow agreement over Germany. Tensions mounted again over Vietnam and Cuban missiles.

7.1 What caused the Cold War?

a) Differences of principle.

The communists system: their ideas came from Marx.
The wealth of a country should be collectively owned and shared by everybody.
The economy should be central planned and the interests and well-being of the working classes safeguarded by state social policies.

The capitalist system:
Wanted to operate on the basis of private ownership of a country’s wealth. The driving forces should be private enterprise in the pursuit of making profits and the preservation of the power of private wealth.

Ever since 1917, the capitalists were afraid of communism spread, which would end the private ownership, political power by the wealthy classes. An example of the capitalist fear was the Russian revolution. USA, Britain, France and Japan sent troops in order to protect the anti communists.
b) Stalin’s foreign policies contributed to the tensions

His aim was to take profit of the military situation, to strengthen Russian influence in Europe.
As the Nazis collapsed they occupied territories of Romania, Poland and Finland. The west was alerted; they thought that this was intent of spreading communism over as much of the globe as possible.

b) US and British politicians were hostile to the Soviet government

· During the war, Lend Lease took place. This was American aid to Russia during the war. This meant that Roosevelt trusted Stalin.
· After Roosevelt’s death (April 45), Truman that was suspicious toughened his attitude towards communism.
· A theory shows that Truman dropped the bomb over Japan, to show Russia what might have happened if they would go too far.
· Stalin suspected Truman for destroying communism.
· Stalin did not know about the existence of the A bomb, just shortly before its use in Japan.
· The west had the bomb and USSR did not.

c) So which side was to blame?

Orthodox view:
During the 50’s, mostly American historians blamed Stalin for the Cold War. The formation of NATO and the American entry in the Korean War were the west’s self-defense against communism aggression.


The revisionist view:
During the 70’s and 80’s some Americans historians argued that Stalin was not to be blamed. USSR suffered losses during the war and it was obvious that Russia wanted to have good friendship relations with the neighboring states. They even claimed that USA had to give more understanding to the USSR.
This view was affected by the Vietnam War, which made the people to reconsider the American attitude and to notice the hostility towards communism.

The post revisionist view
During the 80’s this view was put forward by some American historians. This is because they had accesses to new sources and archives that were not able before. They argued that the both sides have to be blamed for the Cold War.
They believed that:
USA: and its economic policies (Marshall Aid) were due to increase American influence in Europe.
USSR: Stalin had no long term plans of spreading communism but he was opportunist, who would take profit of every situation as possible.


Both powers created an atmosphere that was interpreted in two ways. What was claimed as necessary for self defense by one side was considered by the other side as evidence of aggressive intent.
War was avoided because the Americans were reluctant to use their bomb



7.2 How did the Cold War develop between 45 and 53?

a)The Yalta Conference (Feb 45)

Was held in Russia, Crimea, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill were there. They should plan the post war time:

A new organization: to be called UN, should replace the failures of the League of Nations.

Germany was to be divided into zones. Russian, American and British (later French), while Berlin would be divided in the same way.

Austria was to be divided in the same way.

Free elections would be allowed in Eastern Europe

Stalin promised to join the war against Japan, if he received some territory of Manchuria and some land of Sakhalin Island

Their biggest problem was Poland:
When the Russians drove the Germans out of Poland, they set up a communist government in Lublin (even though the real Polish government was exiled in London).

At Yalta, they agreed that some of the London based government should be allowed to join the Lublin government, if the Russian in return would allowed to keep a strip of eastern Poland, which she annexed since 39’. Stalin demanded the whole German territory east of the rivers Oder and Neisse. The west was not happy about this.













b) The Potsdam (July 45)

It revealed a distinct cooling off in relations. Stalin, Truman and Churchill were present. But Churchill was replaced by Clement Atlee (the new British Labor Prime Minister, after election victory)

The war was over, but no agreement was reached about the long term of Germany.

Truman and Churchill were angry because the Russians occupied the area east of Odder and Neisse. The area was now ruled by pro communist Polish government. 5 millions Germans were expelled. This was not agreed at Yalta

Truman did not inform Stalin about the A bomb. 2 days after Potsdam, USA bombed Japan, the war ended quickly (10 August) without Russian aid, though the Russian declared war to Japan (8 August) and invaded Manchuria. They annexed southern part of Sakhalin, but they were not allowed in the occupation of Japan.

d) Communism established in Eastern Europe

Establishment of communism in the East caused alarm in the west.
Months after Potsdam, USSR set pro communist government in Eastern Europe (Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Albania and Romania), in case of resistance opponents were imprisoned or killed.
In Hungary, free elections were allowed, but communists won only 20 %, but the majority of the cabinet after the elections were communists.

· In February 46’ Stalin frightened with a speech: communism and capitalists could never live peacefully together, and peace was inevitable until communism victory.

Churchill’s responded to all this in an own speech in Missouri (March 46): An iron curtain has descended across the continent. He said that he needed help by the Western powers to withstand the communist expansion, which Stalin cared on.

Stalin called Churchill as a WARMONGER.

e) The Russians continued to tighten their grip on eastern Europe

· By the end of 47’ every state in the East, with the exception of Czechoslovakia, had a fully communist government. Opponents were: expelled, arrested, executed and all political partied were dissolved. Free elections were rigged. All this took place under the eyes of the secret police and Russian troops.

· Only Yugoslavia did not follow the pattern. Tito has been legally elected in 45’. He won because he could he kicked out the Germans from the country, and this is why Stalin could not demand anything from him.

· West was irritated by Russia’s attitude because they disregarded the free elections in the East as they said at Yalta.

· West was not surprised also because in 44’ Churchill agreed with Stalin that much of Eastern Europe would be a Russian sphere of influence. Stalin could argue friendly governments in the neighboring states were necessary for self defense and that these countries have not had democratic governments anyway, so communism would only help them.

· It was not Stalin’s methods of gaining power that upset the West, and they had major results.

e) The Truman Doctrine

· The idea came from Greece, where communists wanted to overthrow the monarchy.
· British troops helped the Greeks (44’), and the west felt now the same about Eastern Europe.
· Ernest Bevin (British foreign minister announced march 47): the USA would support free peoples who are resisting subjugation by armed minorities and by outside pressures.
As a result: Greece and Turkey were helped. Turkey, which also seemed under threat, gained an aid of 60 million dollars.

· Truman Doctrine showed that USA had no intention of returning to their isolation, as after WW1. They would withstand communism all around the globe.

f)The Marshall Plane

· Announced in June 47’, was an economic extension of Truman Doctrine.
· American secretary of state, Marshall, produced his European Recovery Programme (ECR). He declared:
Our policy is not directed against any country or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty and desperation throughout the world.

· One of his aims was to promote the economic recovery of Europe, to ensure American exports. But his main aim was political: if Western Europe had economic problems, it was more likely for the communists to gain control in those areas.
· By September 16 countries joined this.
· USSR considered the Marshal Plane as a dollar imperialism, as a device for gaining control of Western Europe and also as for interfering in Eastern Europe. Even though the aid could have been given to the countries of Eastern Europe as well, USSR rejected the offer for Russia and its Satellite states + Czechoslovakia.
· The iron curtain seemed a reality.

f) The Cominform

· Was the communist response ( September 47)
· Was done to draw together the European communist parties.
· All the satellites states were members+ Italian and French communist parties were represented.
· The aim of this was to tighten the Russian grip on the satellites.
· It was demanded to be Russian style communism. Eastern Europe was to be industrialized, collectivized and centralized.
· It was expected trade routs between the satellites states and all contacts with non-communist countries were discouraged. Yugoslavia objected and was expelled (48’), though it remained communist.
· Molotov Plan was introduced (49’) to offer Russian aid to the satellites
· Comecon was also set up in order to coordinate Russian economic policies.


g) The communist takeover of Czechoslovakia (Feb 48’)

Was a great blow for the west, because it was the last non communist country in the east. They hoped that the country would remain as a bridge between eats and west.
Elections were to be held in May. The candidates were President Benes, Foreign minister Masaryk and the communist Prime Minister Gottwald.
It was obvious that the communists would lose ground because they rejected the Marshall aid, which might have been the solution for the hunger.
Before the elections the communists killed Masaryk and from a strange reason Benes resigned and Gottwald became president.
The western powers and the UN protested but could not do anything because they could not prove the real truth.
The iron curtain was now complete


h) The Berlin blockade and airlift (June 48’-May 49’)

Brought the Cold War to its first climax, this because of the disagreement over the treatment of Germany.

As agreed at Yalta and Potsdam, Germany and Berlin were each divided into four zones. While the west tried to do their best to organize economic and political recovery in their parts, Stalin determined to make Germany pay for everything they destroyed. He treated his zone as a satellite, draining its resources away to Russia.

Early in 48, because of the Marshall aid, they merged to form a single economic unit, something that was the opposite of the Russian situation in East Germany.

The west wanted to unite the whole country, but Stalin saw this as dangerous. He felt scared of the now merged German zone.

In 48 the west ended price controls in Berlin. USSR though that this was an impossible situation because they felt it impossible to have 2 different currencies in the same city + that the USSR was ashamed of the big contrast between West and East Berlin.
The Russians closed all the road, rail and canal links between West Berlin and West Germany. The West was sure that if they would withdraw, the situation would end with a Russian attack in the West Berlin.
The west decided to fly the supplies in the area, and over the next 2 months 2 million tons supplies were given to the West Berliners to cope with the winter.
The Russians admitted failure by lifting the blockade (May 49)


The results of the affair:

It gave a psychological increase to the western powers, but it did worsen the relations with USSR a lot.

It caused the western powers to coordinate their defense by the formation of NATO

Since no compromises were made, Germany would remain divided for the foreseeable future.



i) NATO formed

NATO was formed in April 49’.
Its members would treat any attack of all the members as an own.
This was a highly significant development: the Americans abandoned their policy of no entangling alliances and for the first time had pledged themselves in advance military action.
Stalin took this as a challenge and tensions remained high

j) The 2 Germanies

Sine there was no sign of agreement the west set up, German Federal Republic or West Germany (August 49’).
Elections were held and Adenhauer became its first chancellor.

The Russians replied (September 49’): called their area as German Democratic Republic or East Germany.



k)More nuclear weapons

In September 49’ it became known that USSR had an A bomb of their own and arms race developed.
Truman responded by giving instructions of producing a hydrogen bomb, stronger than any

Not only Russia made the US worried. In 49’ a communist government was proclaimed in China.
Mao hade defeated Chianng Kai Shek, the nationalist leader that was supported by the US, and who was now forced to flee the country.

· February 50’ China signed a treaty of alliance with USSR, something that threatened the US even more.
· In this anxiety the tensions moved to Korea.





















7.3 To what extent was there a thaw after 1953?

a) Reasons for the thaw

The death of Stalin

· Starting point of the thaw. New leaders such as Khrushchev wanted to improve relations with USA. By 53’ both USA and USSR had developed a hydrogen bomb, the two sides were so balanced that international tensions had to be relaxed if nuclear war was to be avoided.

Khrushchev said in a famous speech in February 56’: There are only two ways, friends or enemies.
He even said that USSR had not given up the idea of communist dominated world; this would be achieved when the Western powers recognized the superiority of the Soviet economic system, not when they were defeated in war.

McCarthy discredited

It became clear that McCarthy was something of a fanatical, and when he began to accuse leading generals of having communist sympathies, he had gone too far. The Senate condemned him, and then Eisenhower announced that the American people wanted to be friendly with the Soviet people.





b) How did the thaw show itself?

The first signs:

The signing of the peace agreement at Panmunjon ended the Korean War (53’)
The end of the Indo-China War (54)

The Russian made important concessions in 55’

· Agreed to give up military bases in Finland.
· They lifted their veto on the admission of 16 new member states to the UN
· The quarrel with Yugoslavia was healed by Khrushchev’s visit in Belgrade.
· The Cominform was abandoned, suggesting more freedom for the satellite states.

The signing of the Austrian Treaty (May 55’)

· Since 45’ the country was divided into four, with own government (because they were not treated as a defeated enemy)
· The Austrian power was limited and the situation was like the one in Germany.
· In 55’ the Austrians persuaded the USSR to be more cooperative. The USSR was also afraid of a merger between West Germany and West Austria.
· As a result, all occupying troops were withdrawn and Austria became independent with her 1937 frontiers.
· Austria was: not to unite with Germany, had limited armed forces, had to remain neutral. This means that they could not join NATO or ECC.
· Austrian were unhappy because of the loss of the German speaking area of the South of Tyrol, which Italy was allowed to keep.

b) The thaw was only partial

· Khrushchev’s policy was a curious mixture that west had difficult to understand.
· He had no intention of relaxing its grip on the satellites states; a good example was Hungary (56).

· When the rising against communism occurred, it was crushed by Russian tanks. Sometimes it seemed that he wanted to see how far he could go before the stood him up:

The Warsaw Pact (55’) was signed between Russia. It was signed by USSR and her satellite states, shortly after West Germany was admitted in NATO. This pact was a mutual defense agreement which the west took as a gesture against West Germany’s membership of NATO.

The Russians continued to build up their nuclear armaments.

The situation in Berlin caused more tension

Most provocative of all was when Khrushchev installed Soviet missiles in Cuba, less the a hundred miles from American coast (62’)


The situation in Berlin

· In 58’ , perhaps of the USSR’s apparent lead in some areas of the nuclear arms race, Khrushchev announced that his country no longer recognized the rights of the western powers in West Berlin, but when the USA made it clear that they would do anything to withstand a possible attack, the USSR did not press the point.

· In 60’ USSR became angry when an American U2 spy plane was shot down in Russia. (The U2 incident). Eisenhower refused to apologize, defending America’s right to make reconnaissance flights.

· In 61’ USSR suggested to Kennedy, the withdrawal from Berlin. The USSR was embarrassed by the contrasts and by the large number of refugees escaping from East Germany (over 200 000/year, 3 million since 45’).
When Kennedy refused, the Berlin Wall was built in order to block the escape route.


7.4 The nuclear arms race and the Cuban missile crisis (62’)

a) The arms race began to accelerate

· The race began after USSR had an A bomb of their own
· Since USA already had one; the USSR had to catch up.
· When USA made a hydrogen bomb (end of 52’), the Russians did the same the following year
· USA remained in the lead until USSR took the lead (August 57), when they produced a new weapon:

This was The Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (IBCM), which was powerful nuclear weapon that could reach USA from inside USSR.

The American response was ATLAS (also an IBCM), and soon hade even more then USSR!

Americans even built missiles with shorter range, that could reach Russia from Europe and Turkey, they were called Jupiters and Thors.

· When USSR successfully launched the world’s first satellite (Sputnik 1, 58’) , the USA had to compete. Within a few moths they launched an own satellite.


b) The Cuban Missile Crisis (62’)

· Cuba became involved in the Cold War (59’) when Castro seized the power from the corrupt, American backed Batista, outraged the USA by nationalizing American owned estates and factories.
· As Cuban relation with USA worsened, the ones with Russia improved
· Later (not directly), USA broke off all diplomatic relations with Cuba, and USSR increased their economical aid in Cuba.
· The Bay of Pigs attack (April 61’), was an approved plan (approved by Kennedy) to attack Cuba from American bases in Guatemala. CIA was heavily involved.
Castro defeated the 1400 men-attack, and right after Castro announced that he was a Marxist.


· USSR decided to set up nuclear missiles in Cuba, something that put all the east American cities under threat. This was something risky, but why did he take such a decision?

The Russian lost lead in the IBCMs; this was a way of seizing power back.

Since the USA had missiles pointing at USSR in Turkey, USSR wanted the Americans to understand how such a think felt like.

It was a Gesture of solidarity towards Cuba, which have been under American threat.

It would test Kennedy’s attitude

He might have used the missiles, to force USA to withdraw their missiles in Turkey and the western powers from Berlin.


· Kennedy did the following thing:
Alerted American troops

Began a blockade to keep out ships that were bringing missiles to Cuba

Demanded the removal of US missiles in Turkey (but not publicly)


· The results were:
Both sides thought that they achieved something and understood how easy an nuclear war could begin, may have produced relaxation in tensions.
· The powers created the Hot Line to allow consultations
· USA, Britain, and USSR signed a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (July 63’), this meant that the tests on nuclear weapons will only occur underground.
· Kennedy’s attitude has been criticized, some people claim that he could resist and push out the communism in Cuba.


c) The race continued into the 70’

· In public the USSR, they announced the Cuban Missiles Crises as a success, but in private they admitted that they failed.
· Removal of the missiles in Turkey did not mean anything because the USA had now:
Ballistic Missiles, or SLBMs (called for Poseidon and Polaris). These could be launched from the subs.

· As the USA did not have so much resources and time, because of the Vietnam, the USSR decided to catch up. Early 70’ they took the lead in the number of IBCMs and SLBMs.

They have even created a new weapon: The Anti Ballistic Missiles (ABMs), which could destroy enemy missiles before they reached their target. This was both offensive and defensive.


· American reply: Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRVs). They could carry out 14 different warheads; each one could be programmed to hit different targets.
· Russian reply to MIRVs: SS- 20 (77’), but carried only 3 warheads.


· At the end of the 70’, Americans created Cruise Missiles, which were based in Europe. These could flow under Russian radar, so they could pass by unnoticed.


· The main problem was: each side might be tempted to try to win a nuclear war by striking first or destroying all the weapons of the other side.


c) Protests against nuclear weapons

· In Britain, the Campaign of Nuclear Disarmament (CND, 58’), wanted the government to take the lead of the abandoning of the weapons.
· Mass demonstrations were held every year at Easter (March from London to Aldermaston). British government did not dare to take the risk, the unilateral disarmament would leave them as an offer for the USSR.


















8. The spread of communism outside Europe and its effect on international relation

Summary of events

In 1921 in China that was encouraged by the Russian Revolution, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had been formed.
First, it cooperated with Kuomintang (KMT), the party that tried to govern China and to control the generals who were struggling among themselves for power. Later on, KMT gained control over a large area in China, and did not wish to share it with CCP. Civil war between KMT and CCP broke out.


The Japanese occupied Manchuria (31’) and invaded parts of China (37’). When WW2 ended, the Japanese were defeated and retired from China.
In China KMT’s leader Chiang Kai-shek, with American help still fought with CCP, that was under Mao. 49’ Mao triumphed and Chiang had to flee the country. China invaded Tibet (59’), which are still communists.

Communism gained a hold in Korea too, which was controlled by Japan since 1919. After the Japanese defeat, the country was divided into two parts. In 50’ communist N. Korea invaded S. Korea. UN (mostly Americans) moved in to help south. The war ended in 53, with a communist result.


In Cuba, Castro drove out the corrupt dictator Batista (59’). First Castro was not communist, but soon USA turned against him.


In Vietnam a similar situation like in Korea occurred. Vietnam won their freedom from France (54’), the country was temporarily divided into to, a communist North and an non communist South. When a rebellion broke out in the south against the corrupt government, North gave military assistance to the rebels.
The Americans became involved to stop the spread of communism. In 73’ USA withdrew and 75’ the whole country was under communist control. Some month later Cambodia and Laos turned communist as well.

In South America communism made little headway, except on Chile where in 70’ a Marxist government was democratically elected, with Allente as president. 73’ the government was overthrown and Allente killed.

Africa: strong Marxist connection in Mozambique (75) and Angola (76’).

During the second half of the 70’s a more consistent haw began, détente (a more permanent relaxation in tensions). There were some problems: Russian invasion of Afghanistan (79’), before Gorbatchev became president (85’), who was determined to end the Cold War.

8.1 War in Korea and its effects on international relations

a) Background of the war

Korea was under Japan since 10’, when the Japanese were defeated (august 45), USA and USSR divided the country along the 38th parallel.
Un wanted free elections, for whole country, and Americans agreed, because South Vietnam contained 2/3 of the population, so the communists would be outvoted. Elections were held, supervised by the UN, and South Korea was set up with Rhee as a president and its capital in Seoul (48’).
Following month, USSR, created North Korea, under the communist government of Kim Sung 2, with its capital at Pyongyang. .
49’ USSR and USA troops withdrew, leaving the both leaders with the belief that each of them had the right of taking control of the whole country. Without warning north invaded south.


b)Why did North Koreans invade the South?


· Kim Sung’s own idea encouraged by a speech of Acheson (American Secretary of State) that referred to the areas that the USA would defend and S. Korea was not included.
· Kim was encouraged by the Chinese attack in Taiwan, when they were about to attack KMT.
· Russians were responsible; they supplied them with armament and wanted to test Truman’s determination.
· Would compensate the failures in West Berlin
· Communists blamed S. Korea for crossing the 38th parallel.


d) The USA takes action

Truman saw the attack as a part of the communist spread, so he decided to support S. Korea.
American troops from Japan were ordered before UN took action.
UN warned North to withdraw, and when they ignored their warning UN asked member states to sent troops.
The decision was taken in the absence of USSR that was boycotting meetings in protest against UN refusal to allow Mao’s new Chinese regime to be represented, they would otherwise veto this decision.
USA + 14 other countries sent troops (majority were Americans), they were under the control of General MacArthur.
After enough difficulties with the communists, when UN and US succeeded to get rid of the communists in the South, Truman ordered an invasion of N. Korean, with UN approval to unite the country and hold free elections.
China warned to defeat the North if needed, so China attacked with 300 000 troops so by January 51’ they pushed the western powers out of the North and captured the south capital, Seol.
MacArthur wanted to resist communism and to bomb Manchuria, but Truman did not agree, so MacArthur was removed from his command
In June, the UN succeeded to push the communists out of the south, and in July 53’ an agreement was signed that the frontier should be along the 38th parallel.

e) The results of the war were wide-ranging

For Korea itself was a disaster; 4 million Korean soldiers and civilians were killed, 5 million people were left homeless and the decision seemed permanent.
Truman could take some satisfaction from having contained communism and could claim success.
Many republicans argued that Truman could actually destroy the communism and this feeling contributed to MacArthurism.

China could resist the USA, the superpower. China was now considered as a world power and the fact that China was still not allowed in the UN seemed even weirder.
The conflict brought a new dimension of the Cold War; American relations were strained with China and Russia.
The familiar pattern of both sides trying to build up alliances appeared in Asia as well as in Europe. China for example, tried to help Indo China and to improve relations with India and Burma (54’).


The Americans tried to encircle China with bases, in 51’ defensive agreements were signed with Australia and New Zeeland, in 54’ these three states joined together with Britain and France to form SEATO. USA was disappointed that only 3 Asian states joined: Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Philippines.

Relations between China and USA were also poor because the Americans defended KMT (with Chang), while the Chinese wanted to attack them in Taiwan and to dissolve the party for good.








8.2 Cuba

a) Why did Castro come to power?

There was a long standing resentment among many Cubans at the amount of American influence in the country:
Dated back in 1898, when the USA had helped Cuba to rescue Cuba from Spanish control.
Although the country remained independent, US troops were needed from time to time to maintain stability.
American aid and investment kept Cuban economy working. American companies held controlling interests in ALL Cuba industries, so the American ambassador in Havana became the second most important man in Cuba


Cuba was too dependent on the export of sugar and the wealth of the country was concentrated in the hands of a few.

· The unemployment was a serious problem; the poverty of the unemployment was in stark contrast to the wealth in Havana and in the hands corrupt government officials.


No affective political system had been developed

Batista, had been a leading politician since 33’, seized power illegally and began to rule as a dictator. He did not introduce reforms, he was corrupt, he did not spent enough time for government business and his system was brutal.

There was no prospect of a peaceful revolution

The feeling grew that a violent revolution was needed. Castro, a young lawyer from middle class background and which was nationalist rather than socialist wanted to get rid of Batista and its corruption. Castro wanted to make reforms so all the peasants would gain some land.
He tried to overthrow Batista (53’), but failed and was jailed for two years. Then he began a campaign of guerilla warfare and sabotages in the cities. The rebels soon controlled big areas, and carried out Castro’s reform policy.

Batista’s reaction played into Castro’s hands

Batista murdered and killed suspects of Castro. Many middle class people started to support Castro, also because they were tired of the brutal dictator. US started to feel embarrassment about Batista and cut all the supplies.

In September, Che Guevara and a group of rebellions got control of the main road across the island and prepared to move to Santa Clara.
Batista fled from Cuba (1st January 59’) and a liberal government was set up, with Castro as a leader.


b) How were Cuba’s foreign relations affected?

· Relations with US did not worsen directly, but when Castro nationalized all the American owned estates and factories, Eisenhower threatened to stop importing sugar, forcing Castro to sign an agreement with USSR.

· In July 60’ USSR promised to buy the Cuban sugar, US carried out their threat, and Castro confiscated all the remaining American properties. The relations with US got bad and the ones with USSR improved.

· US broke off all diplomatic relations with Cuba (January 61’), but the USSR already supplied them with aid.

· After the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missiles Crises the relations between USA and Cuba remained cool

· The other South American countries felt themselves threatened, so they expelled Cuba from the OAS (Organization of American States), (62’). This made Cuba more independent of USSR.



c) Castro and his problems

Cuba was too dependent of the USA, of the USSR and of the fluctuation in world sugar prices.

Castro improved a lot the situation in Cuba, he:

Collectivized farms
Factories and businesses were nationalized
Tried to improve the sugar production and increase output
To introduce new industries and reduce Cuba’s dependence on sugar
Social reform included to improve: education, housing, medical facilities and communications.
Equality for black people and rights for women was born
The cultural activities improved
By the end of 70’s children were now receiving education, hygiene and health care, unemployment and corruption reduced
The country became more stabile




· Castro seemed to be popular with the vast majority of people, but some failures DID exist. They were:

The attempt of being less independent of only one part of the industry and the agricultural production were not so successive.

So Cuba still depended of sugar industry and of USSR with its satellite states

80 the sugar and tobacco crop (bete av) were reduced by fungus infections, something that led to an economic crisis
Unemployment rose again, people began to move to USA

By 91’ when USSR split up, Cuba lost its most powerful supporter and became extremely isolated.



8.3 The wars in Vietnam, 46-54 and 61-75

Indo China (Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam) was a part of the French empire in South East Asia and since the end of WW2 there were conflicts going on non stop.

In the first phase of the war people fought about independence from the French, the second phase began with the civil war in S. Vietnam (61-75) and the US intervened to stop the communist spread.


a) 1946 -1954

Indo China was occupied by the Japanese during the war, and Vietminh led by Minh tried to resist both the Japanese and the French.
The Vietminh was led by communists but was an alliance of all shades of political opinion which wanted to withstand foreign control.
1945 Vietminh declared Vietnam independent, but when the French refused to accept, Vietminh attacked the in Hanoi.
This struggle lasted for 8 years (ended in May 54) and ended with a victory of Vietminh, also because :

1. The French still suffered from the affects from the war and failed to send enough troops
2. The Chinese communist government supplied the rebels with arms and equipment
· Seeing this, US provided the French with support, but it was not enough
· The Geneva Agreement (54’), Laos and Cambodia became independent and Vietnam was temporarily divided in two parts, along the 17th parallel.


· In the north, Minh’s government was recognized, and in the south would have a separate government until the elections in 56’, when the country would have become united.
· The elections were never held, and the situation looked exactly like in Korea.


b) What caused the civil war in South Vietnam and why did the USA become involved?

The S. Vietnamese government under Diem (chosen by a referendum in 55’), refused to make preparations for the elections, for the whole country
Eisenhower (53-61) was worried about the spread of communism and about the Domino Theory.

Diem lost popularity because:
He was from a Christian family. This made the Buddhists in the area to feel discriminated.

They demanded a land reform, like in China and North Vietnam

His reputation was bad. He was thought to be corrupt and under too much American influence

In the South, in 1960 various opposition groups, which included many former communists from Vietminh, created the NLF (the national front of liberation). They demanded reforms and a united Vietnam.
Guerilla attack was started, attacking government buildings. Diem took the attack as a total communist attack and he introduced security measures, even though the communists represented only one section on the NLF.
Diem was killed in a cup (63’) after which the country was ruled by a succession of generals, the longest was Thieu (67’- 75’).
The removal of Diem did not change the basic situation and the guerilla warfare went on.

When the US understood that Diem was unable to cope with the situation that went on, they increased the military presence in the country.
Under Eisenhower, supported the S. Vietnamese regime with economic and military advisers since 54’ and accepted Diem’s claim that pointed out the communists as the only aggressor.

Having failed to defeat communism in North Korea and Cuba, the USA felt that a strong stand must be made. Both Kennedy and Johnson were prepared to intervene with more than only advisers.

The US said in public that they help S. Vietnam’s independence, but in reality it was just another of the blocks against communism.

US understood the guerillas (VIETCONG), were supported by North, and Minh said that only force can unite the divided country.

c) The Phases of the war

Kennedy (61-63)

Tried to keep American involvement down to anti guerilla campaign
He sent about 16 000 troops advisers + choppers and equipment
Introduced safe village policy, which would move the local peasants apart from the guerillas, but because the guerillas were most peasants, the policy became a failure. They continued to operate with the villages

Johnson (63-69)

He was not scared about the reports which showed that the guerillas and the NLF controlled less than a half of the South Vietnamese area.

Was sure that Minh was the leader of everything, so he decided to bomb North (65’)

Over half of million troops arrived in South, and despite this the Vietcong still managed to unleash an attack that took over 80% of all towns and villages.

This showed the hopelessness of the Americans, so Johnson was put under pressure and was said to withdraw. He stopped bombing North (march 68)

Nixon (69-74)

Since public opinion would not allow him more troops to Vietnam.

Nixon’s new idea was Vietnamization, the Americans would re arm and train South Vietnamese army, and to look after own defense. This would allow a gradual withdrawal of American troops (50% were sent home 71’)

He started to bomb North again and the Minh Trail (Laos and Cambodia, trough were supplies were brought in from North).

People at home did not agree because:
The terrible bombing of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
The use of chemicals to destroy forests
The death of innocent lives




In 73’ the American troops withdrew, and the both parts would respect the old frontier. But already in 75 Saigon was occupied by North and Vietcong. Vietnam was now united under communist rule and Americans had to accept failure.



d) Why did the Americans fail?

1. NLF had spread widespread support among the ordinary people and the Americans ignored the rightness of the NLF, doing so they encouraged the spread of communism in the South.

2. The Vietcong were experts on Guerilla warfare and with no distinguished uniform they could penetrate among the peasants.

3. The Vietcong received aid from North Korea, China and Russia. The Russian aid after the 70’s was crucial.

4. The nationalism of the Vietcong was also important. For example instead of taking care of the casualties caused during the US bombing, they replied with evacuations of cities and rebuilding factories outside the towns.


e) the effects of the war were out ranging

Vietnam was united but the problem of reconstruction was enormous
Fir the Americans it was a blow of prestige + Watergate caused big effects on the American society. Future governments had to think twice before allowing the country in any similar situation.
It was a victory for the communist world, but did not make a big deal out of it, perhaps they wished to relax international tensions.

8.4 Chile under Salvador Allende 70-73

In 70 a Marxist doctor of medicine from a middle class background won the presidential election as a leader of the UP (Unidad Popular)
The world’s first Marxist leader that was voted through democratic election.



a) How did Allende come to be elected?

· There were three main parties in Chile:

The Unidad Popular (left)
The Christian Democrats (inclined left)
National Party (liberal/conservative coalition)







The election of Frei (64) brought luck in the beginning, he made several successes, he:

Decreased the inflation with 12%

The rich had to pay their taxes instead of evading them

360 000 new houses were built

The numbers of schools were doubled

Some limited land reforms were introduced

1200 private holdings which were run inefficiently were confiscated and given to landless peasants

The US admired him so much that, they gave him economic aid.

67’ his luck started to turn against him: (STILL TALKING ABOUT FREI)

The left thought his land reforms too cautious and wanted full nationalization of the copper industry (Chile’s most important export), whereas the right thought he had gone too far.

In 69’ there was a serious drought (torka), in which 30% of the harvest was lost, large quantities had to be imported, something that gave birth to inflation.

He and the government shot down the mine strikes.

Allende inspired confidence (elegant and cultured) and thought that communism can be succeeded without a violent revolution.


b) Allende’s problems and policies

The problems Allende was facing were huge:

Inflation was running over 30%
Unemployment at 20%
Industry was stagnating
90% of the population lived under such poverty that the children under 15 suffered from malnutrition.





Allende believed in:

He believed in redistribution of income, which would enable the poor to buy more and thereby to stimulate the economy.

All-round wages increases of about 40% were introduced and firms were not allowed to increase prices.

The remainder of the copper industry, textiles and banks were nationalized.

Frei’s land distribution speeded up

The army played its roll, by supporting the population

In foreign affairs, Allente restored relations with Cuba, China and East Germany.


b) Why was he overthrown?

Land distribution caused a fall in the agricultural production

Mainly because farmers whose land was due to be taken stopped sowing and often slaughtered their cattle, this caused food shortages and inflation.

Private investors were frightened off and the government became short of funds to carry out social reforms as fast as they planned.


Copper nationalization was disappointing:
Long strikes for higher wages took place, affecting the production a lot + world price of copper decreased suddenly with 30%

The US disapproved strongly of Allende’s policies and other S. American governments were nervous in case the Chileans tried to export their revolution


Next elections were due in September 76’. He did not seem to be able to stand, but no Marxist regime hade ever let itself be voted out of power.

The opposition feared that Allende was planning to change constitution, so the opposition groups drew together to take action before Allende did.
The right organized a massive strike and won support of the army + staged a military cup. This was organized by leading generals, with Pinochet as the head.

Left wing leaders were imprisoned and killed, Allente as well.
CIA, helped by the Brazilian government played a vital role in the preparations of the cup, since the both feared the spread of communism in Latin America.


The new Chilean government was soon provoked criticism from outside world for brutal treatment of political convicts.
The USA stopped their aid.
Pinochet regime had some economic successes by bringing down the inflation.
In 89’ he allowed presidential elections and in 90’ Aylwin was allowed to become president


8.5 Détente: international relations from the 70:s to the 90:s

This word means a permanent relaxation of tensions between east and west. The first signs were noticed in the early 70:s.


a) Reasons for détente

The both super powers became fearful of the results of a possible nuclear war, where in reality the winner could not be decided. The both sides were stimulated by the effects of the Vietnam War, but of course had their own reasons as well:

The USSR understood the expense of the nuclear catch up.
They needed to devote more attention and resources to the satellite states, which all were suffering economical problems.

Simultaneously, the relations between them and China were not of the best nature, they did not want to be left behind while the relations between USA and China improved.


The Americans understood that there must be a better way of coping with the communism. Some Congressmen talked about returning to the isolation again.

The Chinese were anxious about their isolation, American intensions in Vietnam and about the bad relations with USSR.


The nations of Western Europe were worried because they would be in the front line if nuclear war would broke out.
Brandt, chancellor of West Germany (69’) tried to improve relations with Eastern Europe through Ostpolitik.





b) The USSR and China



· The Hot Line and the Ban Treaty was a progress. In 67’ an agreement was made that banned the use of nuclear weapons in outer space

· First real break through was :

72’ SALT 1 (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) was signed, this would:

It decided the total number of each ABMs, IBCMs, and SLBMs. Each side could have.
No agreement on MIRVs were made,
The agreement did not reduce the amount of armament, but it did slow the race down.

SALT 2 ----- US DID NOT ACCEPT THIS ///After, USA began to export wheat (vete)

The Helsinki Agreement (July 75’), in which USSR and USA, Canada and most European countries accepted the European frontiers after WW2.

The communist countries promised to allow their peoples human rights, including freedom of speech and freedom to leave the country.


Détente did not occur without some problems:

When USSR developed their 150 SS-20, NATO decided to deploy over 500 Cruises missiles in Europe in case of Russian attack on Western Europe. At the same time US refused to accept SALT 2, which would have limited the number of MIRVs.
Russia invaded Afghanistan (24 December 79’)

Reagan (81-89), had a new go ahead weapon system, the SDI (strategic defense initiative) also known as Star Wars. These intend to use weapons in space to destroy ballistic missiles in flight.

Détente’s climax, was reached again because of a Russian leader, this time Gorbatchev (85-91), and USA signed the INF (intermediate nuclear forces) (Dec 87’)

All land based intermediate range (300-3000 miles) nuclear weapons were to be scrapped over the next 3 years.

There were strict verification provisions so both sides could check that the weapons were actually destroyed

The INF was an important turning point, because this was the first time any weapons had been destroyed.


By 85’ USSR was embarrassed by its involvement in Afghanistan (100 000 troops were present), they found it impossible to win over the guerillas. The hostility of China, the suspicion of all Islamic nations and repeated condemnations by UN, forced the USSR to withdraw.

c) China and USA


Since the Korean War, the relations between those two were negative.
In 71’ the Chinese unexpectedly invited an American table tennis team to visit China, USA responded by calling off their veto of Chinese entry in the UN. (71’)
Still a problem in Taiwan



































d) Relations between the USSR and China


The relations were bead because the Chinese did not approve Khrushchev’s policies, particularly his belief in peaceful co existence and that it was possible to achieve communism by methods other than violent.
They accused USSR for braking Lenin’s rules in order to suit their own needs, in reward Russia decreased economic aid to China.

At the end of the 70’s, when the relations between USA and China improved, it seemed that both Russia and China were vying for American support against each other, for the leadership of world communism. The Chinese now demanded their territories back, with Russia took.

There were also disputes about backing Vietnam who attacked Manchuria.


In 84’ the Chinese set their grievances against USSR:

The presence of Russian troops in Afghanistan
Soviet backing off Vietnamese troops in Cambodia
The soviet troops build along the Chinese frontiers of Mongolia and Manchuria.


· Gorbachev decided to improve these relations. He:
Five year agreement on trade and cooperation was signed (July 85’)
Regular contact took place between the governments
Formal reconciliation took place in May 89’, when Gorbatchev visited Beijing
89’ Vietnamese withdrew their troops from Cambodia


8.6 The collapse of the communism in Eastern Europe, where international relations transformed

a) August 1988 to December 89’

· In 89 communism in Eastern Europe fell.
· The process began in Poland, in August 88’ when the solidarity trade union organized huge anti government strikes. These eventually the government to allow free elections, in which communists were defeated

· Hungary, was the next country to allow free elections, communist defeat.


· In East Germany, Honecker wanted to withstand the demonstrations, but was overruled by his colleges. By the end of 89’ the communist’s government resigned, the Wall was breached and Germany became reunited.
· Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania had thrown out their communist governments, multy party elections were held in Yugoslavia and Albania.
· By the end of December 91’ the USSR dissolved and Gorbatchev resigned. Communism was over after 74 years.

b) How were international relations affected?

The cold war was over
In 90’ the Warsaw Pact and the NATO countries signed a treaty of no longer enemies and weapons would only be used al self defense.

New conflicts soon arose

Nationalism started to grow as a sign of communist grip under a long time. Czechoslovakia divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia

Conflicts between Azerbaijan and Armenia arose, because of territory
Yugoslavia divided into 5 separate states

As the states of Western Europe were moving closer to the European Community, those of Eastern Europe were breaking up into even smaller units.

3. Nuclear Weapon supervision

Countries considered as unstable or irresponsible governments might use the nuclear weapons. This is why supervision was needed over nuclear, biological and chemical weapons


4. Economical problems

E. Europe had now to learn hot to deal with the economy, from a command economy to a free market economy. They needed to plan their economy carefully with the help of Western Europe; otherwise stability would be hard to be created.

Nationalism and economic unrest could cause a write wing backlash, which could have been dangerous.

They were concerned about a possible income for Russia would have been the commerce with nuclear weapons with smaller countries.


5. The unification of Germany created some problems
The poles were afraid that the Germans would take back the area east of the river of Odder and Neisse.
Polish immigrants were seen as a problem.




Relations between the western allies.

Relations between Japan, USA, and Western Europe were good before they were united. They had the same aim: to withstand communism

USA, for example refused to provide troops for the UN peacekeeping forces, leaving Bosnia the burden to the other member states.

21 Decolonization, lowe notes

21 Decolonization

Summary of events

At the end of WW2, certain nations of Europe still claimed ownership of vast areas of the rest of the world, particularly in Asia and Africa

Britain’s empire was the largest. It consisted of India , Burma, Ceylon, Malaya, Cyprus, Hong Kong, the West Indies, the Falklands and Gibraltar

France had the second largest empire, with territories in Africa, Indo China and the West Indies. In addition, Britain and France still held land in the Middle East taken from Turkey at the end of WW1. Britain held Transjordan and Palestine and France had Syria. They were intended to look after them and prepare them for independence

Other important empires were those of
Holland (Dutch East Indies)
Belgium (Congo and Ruanda Urundi)
Portugal (Angola, Mozambique and Guinea)
Spain (Spanish Sahara, Ifni, Spanish Morocco and Spanish Guinea)
Italy (Libya, Somalia and Eritrea)

By 75 most of these colonial territories had gained their independence
The Dutch and French colonies, they had to fight for it against determined European resistance.
The problems in different areas were quite complex. In India there were religious problems and in other colonies the whites were afraid to be ruled by the black



21.1 Why did the European powers give up their empires?

a) nationalist movements

· the nationalists wanted to get rid of the foreign rule
· The Europeans claimed that they brought the western civilization in the area but the local population had a feeling that the Europeans exploited them.
· The development and prosperity of the colonies were held back in the interests of Europe and most colonial people continued to live in poverty
· In India the nationalists wanted to get rid of the British since 1885, but nationalism was not so big in other areas and progress towards independence would have been much more slow without WW2





b) the effects of the second world war

1.
· Before the war, colonial peoples believed it would be impossible to defeat the militarily superior Europeans by force of arms.
· The Japanese successes in the early part of the war showed that it was possible for non Europeans to defeat European armies
· The Japanese captured British territories as Malaya, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Burma, the Dutch East Indies and French Indo China
· The colonial people have fought against the Japanese with guerrilla war, and if the Europeans would have tried to regain power in those areas, the local people would have used the same type of defence and attack, guerrilla war

2.
· Asians and Africans became more aware of social and political matters as a result of their involvement in the war
· Many Africans who had left their homeland for the first time to fight the Allied armies
· There were surprised of the comfortable conditions they experienced

3.
· Some European policies during the war encouraged colonial peoples to expect independence as soon as the war was over

4.
· The war weakened the European states, so in the end they were not militarily strong enough to hold on their empires which struggled for independence
· The British were the first to give independence to India (47) but then the British policy was to delay (slow down) independence as soon as possible, but to give way when the pressure became irresistible
· The French, Dutch. Spanish and Portuguese reacted differently and seemed to hold tight grip on their empires even if militarily campaigns were required
· Ultimately, they all had to admit defeat



c) Outside Pressures

· The Americans were against imperialism, also because they have been a former colony of the UK.
· The USA considered the newly independent nations as potential markers into which they could step and establish both economic and political reform
· During the war, Roosevelt said that the Atlantic Charter was for all peoples not only by the ones endangered of the Germans
· The UN demanded a step by step decolonization
· The USSR was also against imperialism
· This pressure encouraged nationalists all over the world to intensify their campaigns
21.2 Indian independence and partition

The British promised dominion status as soon as the war was over, this meant more or less independency, but still accepting the British monarch as head of state, like Australia
Ernest Bevin, the foreign secretary, wanted to prove that the British did not exploit the Indians by introducing a development programme fro India. However, the idea was dropped because the English did not afford and the Indians were suspicious of any delay (hold up, stoppage)
The British Prime Minister, Atlee, wanted to give India full independence, this turned out very difficult
It ended up in the division in two different states, Pakistan and India


a) why was the partition of India necessary


1. Religious hostilities between Hindus and Muslims
· This was the main problem
· The Hindus represented 66% of the population while the Muslim the rest
· The Hindus won their elections in 37 and asked the Muslim League to merge the Hindu National Congress Party
· The Muslims were afraid that in this case they would be dominated by the Hindus, there for required an own area

2. Compromise attempts failed
· The British proposed a scheme where the central government had limited powers and the local would be much greater. This would increase the possible Muslim independence
· This idea failed

3. Violence broke out in August 46
· This happened when Viceroy (king’s representative in India) invited the Congress leader to form an interim (temporary) government, with the hope that they will be able to solve problems in the future
· Nehru the Congress leader was convinced that he could not trust the Hindus to treat the Muslims fairly
· Nehru called for a day of direct action, which would support the idea of a Muslim country
· This ended up with Muslims slaughtering Hindus, and the country seemed on the verge of civil war

4. Mountbatten decides partition
· When the British realized that they lost control, they then announced that they would leave the country in 48
· This was announced in order to force the Indians into adopting a more responsible attitude
· Mountbatten, the new Viceroy, realized and decided that a partition was the only way of avoiding civil war
· This was accepted by Nehru although Ghandi believed in non violence and was still hoping for a united India
· Mountbatten decided for a withdrawal even earlier in August 47

b) How was the partition carried out?

The Indian independence act, was rushed by the British (Aug 47)
This would separate the Muslim majority areas in the North West and north east from the rest of the country. They would become the independent state of Pakistan
Independence day was 15th August 1947, problems occurred immediately:

It was necessary to divide million of people. Unfortunately, this meant that millions of people found themselves on the wrong side of the new frontiers.

Millions of Muslims trying to get to Pakistan and millions of Hindus trying to et to India met on the way. This turned out into mob violence, especially in Punjab
In Bengal, Ghandi managed to calm down the spirits

3. Violence began to die before the end of 47, but in January Ghandi was killed by a Hindu fanatic that did not tolerate Ghandi’s tolerance towards Muslims
The chock seemed to bring people to their senses
Atlee argued that Britain could not be blamed for the deaths

4. In the longer term, Pakistan did not work well as a divided state, and in 71 East Pakistan broke away and became the independent state f Bangladesh


21.3 The West Indies, Malaya and Cyprus
· As these three territories moved towards independence, interesting experiments in setting up federations of states were tried, with varying degrees of successes
· A federation is when a number of states join together under a central or federal government which has overall authority; each of the states has its own separate parliament which deals with internal affairs
· This kind of system is found in USA, Canada, and Australia and many people thought it would be suitable for the British West Indies, Malaya and neighbouring British territories
· The West Indies was the first one to be tried, but it proved to be a failure, only survived until 62.







a) The West Indies

· These were groups of islands in the Caribbean Sea, like Jamaica and Trinidad, altogether with a population of 6 million people
· Britain was prepared to give them independence, but there were some difficulties:
1. Some of the islands were very small, and there were doubts about whether they were viable (workable) as independent states
2. The British felt that a federation would be the ideal way, but some of the islands objected.
· Like Honduras and Guiana were against a federation, this left Jamaica and Trinidad to worry with the problems of the smaller states
· Other islands did not wish that either, they wanted to be under British independence
· The British went ahead and established the West Indies Federation in 58
· This never functioned, the only thing they had in common, was a passionate commitment to cricket
· Jamaica and Trinidad withdrew in 61
· 62 Britain decided to abandon the federation, and gave independence to all islands that wanted
· Jamaica and Trinidad were the first in 62
· All of them became members of the British Commonwealth
· The islands realized that there were economical benefits to be gained
· The Caribbean Trade Association 68 was set up. This soon developed into the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM)

b) Malaya

· Was liberated from Japanese occupation in 45 , but there were 2 difficult problems to be faced before the British could withdraw

1. The area was multi racial, and it consisted of nine states each ruled by a sultan. The British decided to establish the Federation of Malaya 48, while Singapore remained a separate colony. Each state had its own legislature for local affairs, the sultans retained some power but the general government had overall control. All adults had the right to vote, but this meant that the Malays, the largest group, usually dominated affairs
2. The Chinese guerrillas started now to stir up strikes against the British, in support of an independent communist state. The British state of emergency which dealt with the communists remained in the area until 60
UN’s rapport showed that the people were pro the federation and this was later proclaimed. Brunei did not join, but they joined the Commonwealth (84) and Singapore became an independent republic in 65. The rest of the federation continued successfully






c) Cyprus

· The British wanted to give Cyprus independence, but this was delayed by complications
· On the island were 80% orthodox Greeks and 20% Muslim Turks
· The Greeks wanted to merge the island with Greece, but the Turks opposed to this
· Churchill’s successor dropped the idea of Greek independence thinking that the island was needed as a military base to protect interests in Middle East. However, the Greeks claimed that they would allow this even if the island would merge with Greece
· The British sent about 35 000 troops because the Greeks started a guerrilla campaign against the British
· The situation worsened when the Turks set up a rival organization in support of a dividing country
· Macmillan, Eden’s successor, decided to compromise:
The Archbishop dropped the idea of unity with Greece and in return Cyprus was granted full independence
Turkish interests were safeguarded; Britain gained two military bases and guaranteed independence of Cyprus
This seemed the perfect solution
· In 63 Civil war broke out between the Greeks and the Turks
· In 74 the isle divided into two, with the Muslims in the North and the Orthodox in the south
· UN has made many attempts but all of them failed
· The possibility of a federation may still work
























21.4 The British leave Africa

African nationalism spread rapidly since 45, also because they were educated by the English and Americans, where they were made aware of racial discrimination
The British were willing to give the Africans independence, but this process was very slow. The Africans had to act sometimes with violence in order to make things move quicker
The British thought that if the Africans would gain independence, they would still be able to exercise influence through trade routs, this was neo colonialism
NEO COLONIALISM means that the Western powers still exerted a great deal of control over the new states, which continued to need the markets and the investment that the west could provide
The British colonies in Africa fell into distinct groups which had important differences in character which were to affect progress towards independence

1. West Africa: Gold Coast, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and the Gambia

· Here there were relatively few Europeans and they tended to be administrators rather than permanent settlers with profitable estates to defend
· This made the independence rapid

a) the Gold Coast

· was the first African state south of Sahara to win independence after WW2, taking the name of Ghana (57)
· it was achieved smoothly, but not without any violence
· the nationalist leader, Kwame, educated in London and the USA and since 49 leader of the Convention People’s Party, organized the campaign for independence
· there were boycotts of European goods, violent demonstrations and general strike (50) and Kwame Nkrumah and other leaders were imprisoned fro a time
· the British realized that he had mass support, soon released him and agreed to allow a new constitution including:
The vote for all adults
An elected assembly
An eleven person Executive Council, of which eight were chosen by the assembly
in 51 elections, the first under the new constitution, the CPP won and Nkrumah was released and became Prime Minister
Until 57 the government worked under British supervision, when it received full independence

b) Nigeria

Nigeria was the largest of Britain’s African colonies
It was a difficult proposition because of its great size (60 million)
It was difficult also because the vast Muslim north, dominated by Hausa and Fulani tribes
The leading nationalist was Nnamdi Azikiwe
After his return in Nigeria in 37 he gained enormous prestige and in 45 he organized a great strike
In 54 a new constitution introduced local assemblies for the 3 regions with a federal (CENTRAL) in Lagos, the capital
The country became independent as a whole in 60
Tribal differences caused civil war to break out in 67

c) Sierra Leone and the Gambia

These gained independence without any serious incidents- Sierra Leone 61 and Gambia in 65


2. East Africa: Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika

Here, especially in Kenya, things were complicated by the settler factor
They were afraid to be settled under Black rule
The British believed that independence for East Africa was not as necessary as for West Africa. The thought that when independence would come , this would come in the form of multi racial governments where the Europeans would play a significant part
During Macmillan’s government (57-63) the English realized the strength of the African nationalism

a) Tanganyika

· Here the nationalist campaign was conducted by Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), led by Dr Julius Nyerere, educated in the UK.
· He insisted that the government had to be black and that the whites had nothing to be afraid of
· The country became independent in 61, Nyerere remained president until his retirement 85 and the country changed its name into Tanzania (64)

b) Uganda

The tribal ruler objected democracy
Uganda became independent in62 with Dr Milton Obote as Prime Minister

b) Kenya

Kenya was the most difficult to deal with because of the big number (66000) white settlers violently opposed to black majority rule
The refused to negotiate with African nationalist leader Kenyatta and his party KAU
The whites provoked a confrontation hoping to destroy the African party
KAU made little progress, the only British concession being to allow 6 Africans to join the Legislative Council of 44 members
The Mau Mau secret society organized terrorist attacks against European owned farms and black workers
A state of emergency was declared and Kenyatta and others were arrested
British troops crushed the terrorists
The terrorists have been defeated by 60, but then the British changed their mind and allowed Kenyatta to become Prime Minister, because he was considered a moderate. Kenya became independent in 63
He treated the whites OK


3. Central Africa: northern and southern Rhodesia

Especially in southern Rhodesia, the settler factor was at its most serious
Here, the Europeans had a lot of ownership
This was the most troublesome area for Britain to deal with because there was a huge numbers of Europeans that were deeply entrenched and because the whites made sure to abolish all the major education for blacks
The whites persuaded Churchill’s government to divide the area into Central African Federation
The aim of the whites was to preserve their supremacy so the government was to favour the whites, who hoped that the federation would soon gain full independence from Britain , with a dominion status
The Africans watched their leaders that began campaigns, die.
A part of the British population supported the Africans

a) Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia

· Here, the British introduced constitutions which allowed the Africans to have own parliaments
· The both countries wanted to leave the federation, which was therefore terminated in December 63, signalling defeat of the settlers
· 64 they became fully independent and changed names into Malawi and Zambia

b) Southern Rhodesia

It gained independence only in 1980
Here the whites fought most fiercely to preserve their privileged position
There were about 200 000 whites, 20 000 Asians and 4 million Blacks
A right wing white racist party was convinced never to surrender, the black parties were banned
The whites thought the it would work the same way as in Malawi and Zambia, but the British conservative government refused and made it clear that independence would be granted only if constitution was changed to allow black Africans at least 1/3 of the seats in parliament
Ian Smith (Prime Minister of Rhodesia) rejected the new idea and claimed that white rule was necessary in order to avoid the problems faced by the black governments faced in other African states


Harold Wilson, the new British Labour Prime Minister 64-70 continued to refuse independence unless the constitution was changed to prepare black majority rule
Smith declared Rhodesia independent against the wishes of Britain (unilateral declaration of independence or UDI )
There were mixed reactions about UDI:
Britain had not much to do about it, since the government decided not to use force. Britain then decided to stop buying products from Rhodesia, thinking that, doing so, they will surrender
South Africa, also ruled by a white minority, and Portugal, which still owned neighbouring Mozambique, were sympathetic to the Smith regime and refused to obey the Security Council resolution, which meant that Rhodesia could still trade through these countries. Also many nations and companies evaded (avoided) the embargo (prohibition, ban), so Smith’s regime was not much affected by the resolution
The Commonwealth was seriously shaken. Countries as Ghana and Nigeria wanted UK to use force, but other countries such as Zambia and Tanzania hoped that economic sanctions would suffice. Relations became cool, when Britain seemed to treat different African countries in different ways

· In 70 Rhodesia declared itself independent, and the blacks started to suffer same treatment as the blacks in South Africa
· In 76 the whites began to compromise, why did they give way?

Mozambique became independent from Portugal and the new president sent guerrilla forces that activated and strained (damaged) the white security forces
The South Africans became less inclined to support Rhodesia after invasion of Angola. The Americans and South Africans were afraid that if no compromises would be made, USSR or Cuba might become involved in the conflict. This is why they urged Smith to make concessions
By 78 nationalist guerrillas controlled vast areas of Rhodesia and the whites were on the verge of defeat

Smith still tried everything to delay black majority rule as long as possible
There were some parties or divisions between the nationalists. Smith accused them for slowing down the progress and that they caused disunity
The parties:

ZAPU the party of the veteran nationalist Nkomo. Zimbabwe African People’s Union
ZANU Zimbabwe African National Union, party of the Reverend, Sithole
UANC, United African National Council, party of Bishop Abel
Mugabe, leadear of guerrilla wing ZANU, was a powerful figure







· Smith introduced an own scheme, with the whites and UANC, the most moderate of the nationalist parties.
· ZANU and ZAPU had massive support and they continued their guerrilla war
· Smith had to admit defeat and Britain had to agree with:

1. a new constitution which followed the black majority rule
2. The country would adopt the name of Zimbabwe and the government would contain 100 seats where the blacks were reserved 80
3. The Party UANC, with the moderate Bishop Muzorewa would step down as Prime Minister
4. the guerrilla war would end



· the transference to black majority was welcomed by all African and Commonwealth leaders as a common sense and moderation
· civil war between ZAPU and ZANU did not take place and the parties merged together in 87
· ZANU’S Mugabe became the countries first president and was re elected for a further mandate in 96.


21. 5 The End of the French Empire

The main possessions at the end of the WW2 were:

a) Syria, French withdrew 46
b) Guadeloupe and Martinique (West Indies)
c) French Guiana (mainland of South America)
d) Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria (together known as Maghrib)
e) French West Africa
f) French Equatorial Africa
g) The large island of Madagascar

· The French began with trying to hold back all nationalist agitation
· But the French were influenced by Britain’s moves towards decolonization and after their defeat in Indo China their were forced to accelerate the process

Indo China
· France had protectorates over Annam, Tonkin, Cambodia and Laos.
· Protectorate means that the country was officially independent with own ruler, but was found under the protection of France (mother country) that controlled affairs in the protectorate just as in the colonies
· During the war the area was occupied by Japanese and resistance was organized by Ho Chi Minh and Vietminh
· When the Japanese withdrew, Minh declared Vietnam independent
· This was unacceptable for the French. This ended with a French defeat in 54
· The French defeat caused political crisis, the government resigned
· At the Geneva conference it was agreed that Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia should become independent
· The French had withdrawn, but the Americans came*J


Tunisia and Morocco


Both areas were protectorates
Tunisia had a ruler known as the Bey and Morocco had a Muslim king
Nationalists campaigned for independence already before the WW2.
Tunisia had about 250 000 settlers and Morocco about 300 000 settlers
The settlers were committed to maintain connections with France, which gave them advantages

Tunisia
Here the main nationalist group was New Destour led by Habib Bourghiba
He launched a guerrilla campaign and was later imprisoned
The guerrilla movement became more and more left wing
The French released Bourghiba (which was a moderate) thinking that it was easier to maintain influence with him, because he was a moderate
In March 1956 Tunisia became fully independent under Bourghiba’s leadership

Morocco
The pathway was quite similar with Tunisia’s
There was a nationalist party called Istiqlal (Independence) and King Mohamed was deposed
This caused guerrilla war and violent demonstrations
Because of the expense of the anti guerrilla war and of the pressure, the French gave way for the nationalists
Morocco became independent in 1956

Algeria

Here, the settler factor had the most consequences, over a million French settlers
They controlled about 1/3 of the fertile land in Algeria, taken from the natives
They used the land for wine production, which created less food production
There was an active but peaceful nationalist led by Hadj
After WW2 the natives could not take any official decisions
France did not dare to give independence to Algeria because they thought that it will turn out like in other colonies
Towards 1954, encouraged by Indo China, the National Liberation Front was built (FLN)
They made a guerrilla war but the French sent troops and defeated them
The war had important effects on France
they knew that FLN still had massive support and that Algeria never could be secure
the opinion in France varied, some people thought that the struggle was hopeless and some the opposite. France seemed on the verge of civil war
the French army, after disputes with Indo China, wanted to restore reputation and were unwilling to surrender. They even planned a military coup against those that wished to surrender


· the war caused the downfall of the fourth government
· suspecting that Algeria’s destiny would be equal to Tunisia’s, some army officials organized demonstrations and demanded that General de Gaulle should become a leading figure
· they were convinced that he would never give independence to Algeria
· the government resigned, because of the pressure
· the government called on de Gaulle to become a Prime Minister
· he had a condition: if he could draw up a new constitution he would accept to become Prime Minister
· he changed the constitution that involved that the President would be more powerful, and later 58 he came President, he held the position until 69
· when de Gaulle showed signs of negotiations with FLN the ones that did not wish to give independence to Algeria became mad, this is not how they expected him
· Led by Salan they built up OAS (secret army) 61, which began a terrorist campaign blowing up buildings and murdering people both in Africa and France
· They even attempted to assassinate de Gaulle and seized power in Algeria
· This was going too far for the French population
· When de Gaulle appeared on TV in uniform and denounced the OAS, the rebellion ended
· Ben Bella was released from prison (since 56) and was agreed that Algeria would become independent 1962and Ben Bella was elected president the same year
· Almost 80 000 left the country and the government regained the control of the land

4) The rest of the French empire

The French possessions in Africa south of Sahara were
1 .French West Africa consisting of 8 colonies: Dahomey, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Sudan and Upper Volta
2. French Equatorial Africa consisting of four colonies: Chad, Gabon, Middle Congo, and Shan
3. A 3rd group consisted Cameroon, Togo and Madagaskar

The French after 50 did not allow any more independence privileges for the colonies, they decided to clamp down all nationalist movements
But the French were forced by events in Indo China and by the fact that Britain was preparing to give independence to the Gold Coast and Nigeria. The French were forced to change their policies
In 56 12 colonies in West Africa were each given a self government for internal affairs, but they continued to press for full independence
When de Gaulle came to power in 58 he proposed a new plan hoping to maintain as much control as possible :

1. the 12 colonies would continue to have a self government each with own parliament for own affairs
2. they would all be members of a new union the French Community and France would take important decisions about taxation and foreign affairs
3. all members would receive economic aid
4. there would be a referendum in each colony to decide whether the plan should be accepted or not
5. colonies which opted for full independence could have it, but they would receive no aid from France for weed

· Guinea gained full independence and no aid for weed
· All of the colonies became independent 60
· This independence was neo colonialism, all states became independent but France still influenced their economic and foreign policies and any independent action was almost out of question

21.6 Holland, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Italy

All these wanted to continue with the colonies because they were not as wealthy as France and Britain and did not have money for neo colonialism


a) Holland
Before WW2 Holland had a huge empire in the East Indies (Sumatra, Java Celebes, West Irian) and 2/3 of Borneo. They also owned some land in West Indies and Surinam on the mainland of South America
It was in the valuable East Indies that the first challenge came to Dutch control even before the war
The Dutch operated in a quite similar way as French in Algeria, they grew crops and did very little for the natives and living standards
Nationalist groups protested but were arrested 30’s
When the Japanese invaded in 42 they released these groups and allowed them to protest and promising them that they would gain independence when the war ended
After the war Sukarno declared the area independent but the Dutch sent troops. Nevertheless the Dutch were long away from a victory
Reasons for their decision were:
1. the expanse of the campaign was crimpling for a small country like Holland to sustain
2. outright victory seemed long away
3. they were under strong pressure from the UN
4. USA and Australia were also against because they wanted to influence the country after Holland’s downfall
5. the Dutch hoped that by making concessions they would be able to preserve the link between Holland and Indonesia to maintain influence

· Holland agreed to recognize independence of the Unites States of Indonesia 49 with Sukarno as president, but not including West Iran
· Sukarno agreed to a Netherlands Indonesia Union but after a while demanded Holland to hand over West Irian
· They started to expel Europeans and to take over Dutch owned properties
· Holland gave way and West Irian became part of Indonesia 63.
· 65 Sukarno was overthrown in a right wing military coup because he was under too much influence in China and the Indonesian communist party
· USA was involved in the coup and welcomed Sukarno’s successor General Suharto
· He introduced The New Order, a purge of communism where at least half million people died
· Of other Dutch possessions Suranim was also allowed to become independent republic 75, the West Indian islands were treated as a part of Holland, though allowed some control over their internal affairs

b) Belgium
· Belgian Congo and Ruanda Urundi ended in chaos civil war and violence
· The Belgians thought that the best way to preserve control was to:

1. denying the Africans any advanced education, this would prevent them coming in contact with nationalists
2. using tribal rivalries to their advantage by playing off different tribes against each other
· despite these techniques nationalist ideas began to arise


1. Belgian Congo

· The Belgians were surprised when an uprising occurred which were against the living standards and unemployment in the country. This spread soon trough the whole country
· the Belgians suddenly changed their policy and announced that Congo will become independent in 6 month
· This was devastating for the country because there was no educated person and employees in the country. This means that there were no educated doctors, teachers etc.
· Why could the British take such a decision?
1. There were afraid of more blood spilling in the country and the Belgians wanted to protect the citizens living there
2. they did not want to face the expense of anti guerrilla war
3. they were sure that because of the lack of education in the country the Belgian influence could be preserved

2. Ruanda Urundi

· it was given independence in 62 and divided into 2 states Rwanda and Burundi
· neither of the states were properly prepared, this caused violence and war after the victory against the Belgians



c) Spain

Spain owned areas in Africa the largest in Spanish Sahara
General Franco (39-75) did not show interest about the colonies
When nationalist movements developed he did not resist long in the case of Spanish Morocco 56 (independent)

Spanish Sahara
Here Franco resisted longer because of the resources of phosphate in the area
Only after his death Spain gave independence to Spanish Sahara
Instead of being independent and ruled by its nationalist party the Spanish decided to divide it between its two neighbouring states, Morocco and Mauritania
Mohamed Abdelazia declared the Democratic Arab Republic of Sahara 76, which was recognized by Algeria, Libya, the communist states and India
· Algeria and Libya decided to withdraw making it easier for Sahara to struggle on against Morocco
· The fact that Sahara had been officially recognized by the USSR was enough to arise American suspicious
· When it seemed that the Moroccans too were prepared to negotiate, the new American president, Reagan, encouraged them to continue to fight, stepping up aid to Morocco
· The war dragged on through the 80, and a new country became a victim of super power self interest
· In 90 UN organized a referendum should be held so that the people of Sahara could chose whether to be independent or no, but progress towards organizing this was very slow

c) Portugal

The main Portuguese possessions were in Africa: Angola, Mozambique, and the Portuguese Guinea
The right wing Portuguese government ignored the nationalist movements and after 45 their colonies seemed quiet
They were mainly agricultural there were few industrial workers and the black population was almost entirely illiterate
Though the nationalist groups were formed in the 3 colonies, they remained insignificant
Several factors changed the situation
by 1960 the natives were encouraged by other African countries that gained independence
fighting broke out in Angola 61 where Aghostino’s was the main nationalist movement. Violence soon spread to Guinea where Cabral led the resistance and to Mozambique where the Frelimo guerrillas were organized by Mondlane
the nationalists, who had strong connections with Marx received economic and military aid from the communist bloc
the Portuguese army found it impossible to suppress (hold back, delay) the guerrillas. The party by 73 was spending 40% of its budget fighting 2 colonial wars simultaneously

· still the Portuguese refused to abandon the colonies
· public opinion and many army officers were sick of the wars and in 74 overthrew Salazar government
· all the colonies gained independence, Guinea took the name of Guinea Bissau 74, Mozambique and Angola 74

Angola

South African troops invaded now Angola, in support of the UNITA, while General Mobutu of Zaire, with American backing launched another invasion in support of FNLA
The Americans did not want the local Marxist party MPLA to influence the country. MPLA gained help from Cuba and USSR
The communist aid helped them do defeat both invasions and in 76 Neto became new president
The South Africans also interfered in Mozambique in order to eliminate Frelimo government. This put the country in a critical situation

East Timor

It was half of the small island in the East Indies
East Timor’s nationalist movement Fretilin won the war against the ruling group which wanted to remain united with Portugal
The USA denounced the country as Marxist and supplied Indonesia with military aid to attack East Timor
The UN did not take any decisions because these two were two small areas. The Indonesians created about 100 000 victims

d) Italy

It was officially decided (47) that Italy should lose all its colonies because they supported Hitler
Ethiopia was handed back to the rule of Emperor Selassie who was in exile when the Italian took over 35
Libya was given independence under King Idris (51)
Eritrea was made part of Ethiopia 52 but it was to a large measure of slef governing within a federal system
Italian Somaliland was merged with the British Somaliland to form the independent state of Somalia (60)
Idris became unpopular with his people, they thought that he was too pro West. He was overthrown in 69 by a socialist revolutionary movement which nationalized the oil industry and began to modernize the country
Selassie became unpopular with his peoples because he made no attempt to modernize Ethiopia and did little to improve the living standards of his people. He also cancelled Eritrea’s rights of self governing, this led to war. He was overthrown in 74
Both in Libya and Ethiopia new leaders arose which gained aid from the USSR



Verdict on decolonization

The decolonization was not a pleasure and had no happy ending
There were some gains for the people that could now decide the internal problems
There were new problems that they faced: Neo Colonialism meant that Western European countries and the USA still exerted a great deal of control over the new states, which continued to need the markets and the investment that the west people could provide
Many states, especially in Africa, had been badly prepared or not at all for independence. They left the natives uneducated and in poverty
In most cases, the Western powers controlled their economy. When some of the new states inclined signs of connection with the communist bloc, the capitalists cut off the aid
All the Third World states faced the problem of poverty. They were economically underdeveloped and often their economy fell apart.