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● Jawarharlal Nehru: 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 Concepts1. Population growth2. Neocolonialism3. Regional Wars4. Railroad/Steamships5. Birth Control Resistance6. Women suffrage7. Malnutrition8. Shanties9. Endangered Environment10.Indira Ghandi11.Religious revivalism12.Primary products13.International Monetary Fund14.Kwame Nkrumah15.Ghana

16.Parasitic cities17.Dictatorships18.Muslim Brotherhood-Hasan al-Banna19.Free Officers Movement20.Gamal Abdul Nasser- Aswan Dam

project21.Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak22.Jawarharlal Nehru23.Green Revolution24.Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini 25.Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)26.The Apartheid State27.President F.W. de Klerk28.Nelson Mandela –African National

Congress Party

Essential Questions1. What factors led to the overwhelming population boom in postcolonial

countries?2. What was neocolonial economy, and how did it affect emerging nations?3. How did Kwame Nkrumah maintain loyalty from the Ghanaian people?4. How did the role of women change during the postcolonial era?5. What was the effect of massive urban migration on the environment?6. Why was there resistance to birth control in Asian and African countries?7. What role did primary products play in the development of emerging nations?8. Why did Nasser’s system of state control fail?9. How did India fare better than Egypt in the face of overpopulation? Compare

the two nations.10. What factors allowed Khomeini’s revolution to be successful?11. What was the System of Apartheid? What aftereffects did it have even after it

was abolished?12. 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. 

III. Disease, scientific innovations, and conflict led to demographic shifts.

Key Concept 6.2 Global Conflicts and Their ConsequencesI. 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 ContinuedIV. 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 CultureI. States responded in a variety of ways to the economic challenges

of the twentieth century.

III. 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.