
Chapter 33: Africa, the Middle East, and Asia in the Era of Independence By: Maggie Zheng and Kate Hahn
Effects of Colonization • Europeans combined hostile ethnic and religious groups. • Conquest of war, disease, and famine population growth • Introduction of new foods • Better hygiene and medical treatment
Population Problems • Lack of resources to feed population • Resistance to birth control in African and Asian countries. • Children are essential to lineage • High percentage of population under 15
Women in Postcolonial Era • Western influence encouraged inclusion of female suffrage in constitutions. • Increased education and employment opportunities • Influential women backed by powerful men • Malnutrition of women demographic imbalance • Religious revivalism
Parasitic Cities and Endangered Ecosystems • Rural population increase results in mass urban migration. • The poor take refuge in slum areas around city centers. • Some government assistance. • Urban dependence burdens postcolonial societies. • Harm to ecosystems
Neocolonialism • Need industrial base to support populations • Limited resources • Neocolonial Economy: global economy dominated by industrialized and mostly Western nations • Fluctuating prices of exports
Stunted Development • Corruption in new nations • Lax government controls on import of goods • Assistance from international organizations ex. International Monetary Fund • Removal/reduction of state subsidies
Kwame Nkrumah • Leader of Ghana’s independence movement • Became prime minister of Ghana in 1957 • Opposition from rival parties, decreasing price of cocoa • Assumed dictatorial rule, suppressed opposition. • Deposed by military coup in 1966 • Died in exile 1972
Military Responses: Dictatorships & Revolutions • After independence → military coups in emerging nations • military has more group solidarity • political breakdown + social conflict: military has monopoly of force that is needed to restore order • technical, financial assistance from West • regimes w/ differing amounts of repression and dictatorship
Egypt: The Beginnings of Revolution • Recall: Independence & the British (Ch.28) • selfish civilian politicians + corrupt khedive • worsening situation → revolutionary movements
Egypt: Revolutionary Movements • Muslim Brotherhood • founded by Hasan al-Banna in 1928 • main goal: program of social improvements, wide reforms • Free Officers Movement • secret organization in Egyptian army (1930s) • 1948 Arab-Israeli War + conflict w/ British over occupation of Suez Canal zone (1952) • July 1952: military coup overthrew khedive Farouk • 1952: Gamal Abdul Nasser rose to power • by 1954: all other political parties disbanded
Egypt: Nasser’s Reign & Successors • military gov’t committed to revolution • coup → gained dictatorial powers • intervention in all aspects → state control • foreign policy • ousted British, French allies from Suez Canal area in 1956 • many of Nasser’s schemes failed • Nasser’s successor: Anwar Sadat • Sadat’s successor: Hosni Mubarak • pop. increases, bureaucratic corruption, gap betw. rich & poor
India: Successful Development after Independence • retained civilian rule & secular democracy • dealt w/ overpopulation better than Egypt • Congress party • preservation of civil rights, democracy • JawarharlalNehru: the years after independence • improvements • Green Revolution: better seed strains, fertilizers, irrigation • silicon valleys: high-tech sectors, computer experts
India: Setbacks in Social Reform & Resources • not enough resources to increase living standards of majority • growth & devel. has not helped as much as 50% of India’s population • hugh population growth • offset economic gains • wealthy landlords dominate India’s masses • increased gap betw. rich & poor
Iran: Religious Revivalism & the Rejection of the West • motivations for revolution: religious purification • call for return to tradition, “golden age” of Muhammad • topple Western-backed govts • wanted to spread revolutions to surrounding areas
Iran: Khomeini’s Revolution • autocratic shah (Pahlavi dynasty) • economic slump, large urban unemployment • factors that led to Khomeini’s successful revolution • Iran not been formally colonized • Reza Shah Pahlavi: dictatorial, repressive, didn’t improve much → alienated most of Iran’s people • 1979: Pahlavi regime overthrown → Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini became new ruler
Iran: Khomeini’s Reign & Reforms • emphasis on religious revival, elimination of Western influences • opposition parties suppressed • strict Islamic legal codes • decreases in women’s rights • Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) → plans for development, reform didn’t happen • Iraq (Saddam Hussein) annexed oil-rich provinces • armistice in 1988
South Africa: The Apartheid State • 1970s: South Africa not liberated from colonial domination • Nationalist party: white control • Apartheid System: thousands of laws: institutionalized minority white supremacy, rule • extreme segregation • homelands: lands designations • Black protests, organizations brutally repressed • regime capitalized on divisions w/in black community • played on racial fears of white minority • black protests labelled as communist-inspired
South Africa: The Demise of the Apartheid System • 1960s+: guerilla resistance • President F.W. de Klerk • dismantlement of apartheid • released key black political prisoners • 1994: all adult South Africans gained right to vote • Nelson Mandela became 1st black president of South Africa
Present Challenges & a World Perspective • Egypt • problems in bureaucracy, gap betw. rich & poor • India • abolition of caste system → didn’t remove social inequality • Iran • conflicts betw. secular, religious leaders • South Africa • interethnic rivalries • white supremacist organizations • many newly emerging nations came to independence w/ handicaps from colonial histories • world market system • combinations of Western influences + ancient traditions
Key Terms and Concepts • Population growth • Neocolonialism • Regional Wars • Railroad/Steamships • Birth Control Resistance • Women suffrage • Malnutrition • Shanties • Endangered Environment • Indira Ghandi • Religious revivalism • Primary products • International Monetary Fund • Kwame Nkrumah • Ghana • Parasitic cities • Dictatorships • Muslim Brotherhood-Hasan al-Banna • Free Officers Movement • Gamal Abdul Nasser- Aswan Dam project • Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak • Jawarharlal Nehru • Green Revolution • Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini • Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) • The Apartheid State • President F.W. de Klerk • Nelson Mandela –African National Congress Party
Essential Questions • What factors led to the overwhelming population boom in postcolonial countries? • What was neocolonial economy, and how did it affect emerging nations? • How did Kwame Nkrumah maintain loyalty from the Ghanaian people? • How did the role of women change during the postcolonial era? • What was the effect of massive urban migration on the environment? • Why was there resistance to birth control in Asian and African countries? • What role did primary products play in the development of emerging nations? • Why did Nasser’s system of state control fail? • How did India fare better than Egypt in the face of overpopulation? Compare the two nations. • What factors allowed Khomeini’s revolution to be successful? • What was the System of Apartheid? What aftereffects did it have even after it was abolished? • What challenges did newly established nations face during this period? Why did they have those particular problems?
Key Concepts • Key Concept 6.1 Science and Environment II:. As the global population expanded at an unprecedented rate, humans fundamentally changed their relationship with the environment. • Disease, scientific innovations, and conflict led to demographic shifts. • Key Concept 6.2 Global Conflicts and Their Consequences I. Europe dominated the global political order at the beginning of the twentieth century, but both land-based and transoceanic empires gave way to new forms of transregional political organization by the century’s end. II. Emerging ideologies of anti-imperialism contributed to the dissolution of empires and the restructuring of states. III. Political changes were accompanied by major demographic and social consequences
Key Concepts Continued IV. Military conflicts occurred on an unprecedented global scale. V. Although conflict dominated much of the twentieth century, many individuals and groups—including states—opposed this trend. Some individuals and groups, however, intensified their conflicts. Key Concept 6.3 – New Conceptualizations of Global Economy, Society, and Culture • States responded in a variety of ways to the economic challenges of the twentieth century. • Peoples conceptualized society and culture in new ways; some challenged old assumptions about race, class, gender, and religion, often using new technologies to spread reconfigured traditions.