The Global South

s “The Global South” =

formerly labeled “third-
world countries” during
the Cold War à now often
referred to as “developing
nations”
⼆战后，摆脱殖⺠，独⽴的国家，集中在南半球 = 第三世界

s “Decolonization” = term
for the Global South’s
independence from
European rule
The Global South
s Challenges facing the Global
South after decolonization:
s The legacies of empire
s Deep divisions of language,
ethnicity, religion, and class
s Rapidly growing populations
s Competing demands of the
capitalist West and the
communist East
s Developing economies,
stable politics, and coherent
nations all at the same time
 The End of Empire in World History
s Dissolution of empires = nothing
new
s Think about the end of older
empires à Assyrians, Greeks,
Romans, Arabs, Mongols, etc.

s What’s different about the end of

these empires?
s Mobilization of the masses within
the colonies around a nationalist
ideology
s Creation of a large number of
Kwame Nkrumah after leaving
independent nation-states following
prison in 1951
the empire’s breakdown à each Led Ghana to national
claiming an equal place in the world independence in 1957
Nation-States Created
Explaining African and Asian Independence
LEQ： decolonization， third world

s The “Contradictions” Explanation = fundamental

contradictions existed within the entire colonial enterprise
that made its demise inevitable

Views Held by European What’s Happening in their

Rulers Colonies
Christianity and material progress Racism, exploitation, and poverty

Increasingly democratic values Rule by dictatorships

National self-determination Denied any opportunities to

express their own national
character
Explaining African and Asian Independence
s International circumstances that
led to the end of these empires:
s Both world wars = weakened
Europe
s Both world wars = discredited
any sense of European moral
superiority
s U.S. and Soviet Union = new
global superpowers = opposed
the older European colonial
empires
s United Nations = platform from
which nations could express
anticolonial views
Explaining African and Asian Independence:
Economic and Social Circumstances
s By the mid-20th century = 2nd
and 3rd generation Western-
educated elites (mostly male)
had arisen throughout the
colonial world
s Familiar with European culture
and aware of the gaps between
its values and its practices
s Didn’t see colonial rule as a
vehicle for their peoples’
progress
s Increasingly insisted on
independence
Explaining African and Asian Independence:
Economic and Social Circumstances
s Other groups that believed
independence held promise:
s Veterans of the world wars
s Young people with some education
but no job opportunities
s Urban workers = aware of their
exploitation
s Small-scale traders = resentful of
European privileges
s Rural dwellers = lost land or suffered
from forced labor
s Poor and insecure newcomers to the
cities
Decolonization of India
Explaining African and Asian Independence

s The “Agency”
Explanation = focuses
on particular groups or
individuals whose
deliberate actions
brought down the
colonial system
s “Agency” =
deliberate initiatives
of historical actors
Explaining African and Asian Independence
s In some areas, the colonial rulers
themselves got involved and actively
planned for decolonization
s Negotiated settlements
s Invested in infrastructure
s Helped form constitutions and set up
elections
s In most areas, however, independence
was a struggle
s Variations in struggles for
independence:
s Length of time = a few years vs.
decades
India
s Approach = nonviolence vs. violent
Jawarhalal Nehru and Lord guerrilla warfare Vietnam，Cuba，China
游击战
Mountbatten of England
Explaining African and Asian Independence
s Commonalities in struggles for
independence:
s Gradual involvement of ordinary
people, not limited to just the leaders
and educated few
s A highly contested process
s Efforts were rarely cohesive
movements of uniformly oppressed
people
s Conflicting groups and parties
s Different classes, ethnic groups,
religions, regions, etc.
s Struggled with one another over
leadership, power, strategy,
ideology, and the distribution of Freedom Fighters in Kenya
material gains
Independence of India
s British colonial rulers promoted a
growing sense of “Indian” identity:
s British never assimilated into
Indian society, unlike rulers in
the past à had a sharp sense of
racial and cultural distinctiveness
s India’s many regions and
peoples bound together by:
British railroads, telegraph lines,
postal services, administrative
networks, newspapers, schools,
and the English language
 Indian National Congress
s Indian National Congress (INC) =
established in 1885
s Association of English-educated
Indians = lawyers, journalists,
teachers, businessmen, etc.
s Based in the cities
s Had difficulty gaining a mass
following among the peasants
because such an elite organization
s Initial goal = to gain greater
inclusion within the political,
military, and business life of British
India
s NOT the overthrow of British rule
 Indian National Congress
s More Indians began to join the INC
after:
s WWI à the British had promised
⾃治
Indians more self-governing
institutions if they helped in WWI
s British attacks on Ottoman Empire
in WWI à upset India’s many
Muslims
s Flu epidemic hit India after WWI à
millions of Indians died
s Repressive actions by British rulers
s Ex: about 400 Indians killed who
Indian troops fighting on behalf of
Great Britain in World War I defied a ban on public meetings
 Mohandas Gandhi
s 1893 = accepted a job with an Indian law
firm in South Africa
s Witnessed overt racial segregation for
the first time
s Organized Indians (mostly Muslims) in
South Africa to protest these policies of
racial segregation
s Developed a concept of a free India that
included Hindus and Muslims alike
s Developed political philosophy called
satyagraha (truth force) =
confrontational, though nonviolent, Gandhi as a young lawyer in
approach to political action 对峙，⾮暴⼒，政治途径 South Africa
 Mohandas Gandhi
s 1914 = Gandhi returned to India
and became a leader in the INC
s Gandhi’s simple and
unpretentious lifestyle, support of
Muslims, frequent reference to
Hindu themes, and nonviolent
approach drew support from a
wide range of Indians:
s Peasants and the urban poor
s Intellectuals and artisans
s Capitalists and socialists
s Hindus and Muslims

Gandhi back in India (1915)

s The INC became a mass
organization
 Mohandas Gandhi
s Gandhi’s platform:
s Sought the moral
transformation of individuals
s Worked to raise the status of
India’s untouchables
s Opposed a modern industrial
framework for India
s Wanted a society of
harmonious and self-sufficient
villages drawing on ancient
Indian principles of duty and
morality
Divisions and Conflict within the INC
s Many did believe science, technology, and
industry were essential to India’s future
s Like Gandhi’s chief lieutenant =
Jawaharlal Nehru
s Not everyone embraced nonviolence à
existence of Hindu militant groups
s Not everyone wanted an “inclusive” India à
some Hindu groups expressed hatred of
Muslims and wanted India to be a Hindu
nation
s Many believed focus on the position of
women and untouchables distracted from
the main goal of independence from Britain
s Some favored participation in British-
sponsored legislative bodies without
complete independence
Divisions and Conflict within the INC
s Most serious threat to a unified
movement = divide between the
Hindu and Muslim populations

s 1906 = formation of the All-India

Muslim League
s Feared domination by the Hindu
majority

s Muslim League argued that the parts

of India that had a Muslim majority
should have a separate political
status
s Wanted to call it Pakistan = “land
of the pure” Members of the All-India Muslim
League
The Partition of India
s Gandhi and the INC agreed to
partition India when the British
declared their intention to leave
after WWII

s 1947 = colonial India became

independent as two separate
nations
s Hindu India
s Muslim Pakistan (divided into
West and East Pakistan)
 The Partition of India
s Partition of India accompanied
by severe violence:
s 1 million people or more died
in the communal violence
s About 12 million refugees
moved from one country to
another to be with their
religious allies
s 1948 = Gandhi was
assassinated by a Hindu
extremist Gandhi’s Funeral
Ending Apartheid in South Africa
s Freedom struggle in South Africa =
against an internal opponent, NOT an
occupying colonial power

s South Africa = independent since 1910

s Independence granted to the white
settler minority
s Economically prominent = whites
of British descent
s Politically dominant = Boers or
Afrikaners = white descendants of
early Dutch settlers from the
1600s
s Black African majority = had no
political rights at all
 Ending Apartheid in South Africa
s Unlike India, South Africa had
developed a mature industrial
economy by the mid-1900s
s Black Africans dependent
upon this white-controlled
economy à worked in
urban industries, mines, or
on white-owned farms
s This dependence made
them compliant with
repressive actions of the
colonial rulers
s Only benefit = could
threaten to collectively Johannesburg, South Africa (1952)
withdraw their labor
The African National Congress
s African National Congress (ANC) =
established in 1912
s Association of educated,
professional, and middle-class
Africans
s Original goal = to be accepted as
“civilized men” within the existing
order, NOT to overthrow it
s Pursued peaceful and moderate
protest for about 40 years =
petitions, multiracial conferences,
representatives appealing to the
authorities
s It became clear that these
methods weren’t working
 The African National Congress
s 1950s = ANC had new and
younger leadership,
which included Nelson
Mandela

s Broadened base of
support

s Nonviolent civil
disobedience = boycotts,
strikes, demonstrations,
burning of black African
passes
The African National Congress
s Responses by the South
African government:
s Increased repression à
including shooting at
unarmed demonstrators
s Banned the ANC
s Imprisoned ANC leaders,
including Nelson
Mandela
s Banned all other major
political parties
Sharpeville, South Africa (1960)
For 2 days, police machine-gunned unarmed
crowds protesting apartheid
 The Freedom Struggle Intensifies
s Underground nationalist leaders
turned to armed struggle
s Organized acts of sabotage and
assassination; prepared for
guerrilla warfare

s Black Consciousness Movement =

an effort to foster pride, unity, and
political awareness among South
Africa’s black African majority
s Mostly made up of student groups
s 1976 = explosion of protest in
Soweto (outside of Johannesburg)
s Segregated and impoverished
black neighborhood
s Hundreds were killed
The Freedom Struggle Intensifies
s Momentum from the protest in
Soweto continued
s Spreading urban violence and
radicalization of urban young
people

s Mid-1980s = government
declared a state of emergency
s 1986 (to commemorate 10th
anniversary of Soweto uprising)
= Congress of South African
Trade Unions organized a mass
strike involving about 2 million
workers
 International Pressure to End Apartheid
s South Africa was excluded
from most international
sporting events, including the
Olympics
s Artists and entertainers
refused to perform in South
Africa
s Many countries enacted
economic boycotts

s Many countries withdrew their

private investment funds
s All of these factors isolated
South Africa from the world
The End of Apartheid
s Late 1980s = White South
African leaders agreed to a
process of negotiations with
African nationalist leaders
that led to:
s The abandonment of
apartheid policies
s The release of Nelson Mandela
from prison
s The legalization of the ANC
s National elections in 1994
s Brought the ANC to power
s Nelson Mandela = new
president of South Africa