Notes on the Division of East Asia

HIS 135
Notes on the Division of East Asia

Well, as with what became other hotpoints around thr world toiday, the drawing of borders in East Asia (Particualrly in Korea and Vietnam) after World War II led directly to military conflict.:

Both Korea and Indochina had been the object of great power vivalry for over a century, involving, Russia, and japan, France and Japan
with the end of World War II, it quickly an new area for graeat powere rivalry in teh guidse of the COld War

Korea

Link to my HIS 135 course on the Korean War,
Now there is a lot from the COld War Hitory project

Vietnam

Have some modules in my HIS 135 class includeing Dien Bein Phu, The Gulf of Tonkin Incident

Ho Chi Monh, had long been asscoated with the communist movement, as early as 1923 going to Moscow. But he had gotten nowehre. During World War II, he organized national resisiatnc against the Japanese. with the expectiation that Vientnma would be freed fo French control after the war, but that did not happen, The french were unwilling to admit the fat that they could no longer afford to hold oto Vietnam.
The country was divided in 1955?

It is instructie to note that Ho Chi mn started as a national revolt, much tlike Tiot in Yugoslavia; becamse a national heroe

Not sure if preserved under glss.

I do remember visiting Quantico Marine base, must have been circa 1970 give or take a year or so with the Biy Scouts, and they showed us around a mock-up vientamese village to show us the kinds of booby-trapped things the troops had to deal with.. Mcuh in the way of IEDs these days.

    5. Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Kampuchea)
                a. 1954, French left Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam
                b. add in the traditional regional rivalries between viets, thais, chinese etc
                c. 1975 fall of Saigon, still debated
                    1) excessive use of arms, never sealed north off from south
                    2) need to have better idea of stakes, define objectives, "what is a vital interest?"

            6. in Jan 1976 Kampuchea came into existence by Khmer Rouge
                a. reign of terror and genocide led by Pol pot, who wanted to create an egalitarian agrarian society (so he liquidated all who did not fit)
                b. maybe 2 million died
                c. eventually viet invasion of December 1979

Maybe consider the 1970s and 80s as the Japan decade

Japan
                a. spectacular modernization
                b. 7 years of US occupation, model of US constitution
                c. reasons for success
                    1) clean slate, used best technology
                    2) hard work
                    3) civic cooperation
                    4) national pride
the 21st century as

China
HIS 135 Decolonization since 1945
        a. did not have a good time
                b. Mao died only in 1976
                c. 1958, Great leap Forward, millions died
                d. Sino-Soviet break
                e. 1966, Cultural revolution with the little red Book that destroyed education and technology
                f. tried to open up

1. Columbus and start of colonization (European advantage not that great; different areas)

2. 18th Century wave of Decolonization (US, Canada and India)

3. 19th Century Wave of Imperialism (Social Darwinisn; nationalism; the raCE)

4.   Onset of Decolonization after World War 1 (League of Nations mandates; India)
    Gandhi (http://novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/evans/HIS135/events/Gandhi48.htm)

5. The Second World War was a watershed in that it set in motion "decolonization," i.e., the undoing of the world's empires. It marked the beginning of the emergence of the Third World. This process was far from being stable and led to much tension and disunity.
    India (http://novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/evans/HIS135/events/Gandhi48.htm)

1.        Many democratic constitutions that did not last long
2.    also faced with modernization, how to catch up
3.    wide range of situations (economic, resources, education, cultural, etc.)
4.    nationalists now militant, no way to repress
5.    was an attempt made at various regional unities in the world
        •    1955, Bandung (actually the 2nd such conference) in Southeast Asia (nonaligned movement)
        •    Arab League
        •    OAU
        •    OPEC

    A. Far East. The importance of the Far East in the world has been increasing ever since the Second World War.

            1. Korean division

            2. Philippine independence in 1946
                a. unstable and volatile, civil war followed freedom
                    1) muslims, christians and marxists
                b. 20 year rule of ferdinand and Imelda Marcos sucked the country dry
                    1) poverty skied, debt skied
                c. Corazon Aquino to power, yet US bailed out Marcos

            3. Burma became independent in 1948 along with Ceylon

            4. Indonesia in 1849
                a. long the most valuable Dutch possession until Japan had conquered it
                b. towards the end of the war, nationalists led by Achmed Sukarno rebelled
                c. in 1949 recog as ind
                d. Sukarno's colourful but erratic career
                    1) Bandung conference of 1955 and leadership of the non-aligned movement
                        a) an attempt by third world nations to band together
                        b) also, later in 1967 the Association of Southeastern Nations (ASEAN): indonesia, singapore, malaysia, thailand, philippines
                e. com party grew in size, which led to the failed 1965 coup
                f. Sukarno ousted by military, blood bath overseen by general Suharto
                g. savage war in 1970s vs Timor who rebelled
                h. a country of 190 million people and over 300 ethnic groups, still poor

            5. Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Kampuchea)
                a. 1954, French left Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam
(http://novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/evans/HIS135/events/DienBienPhu54.htm)
                b. add in the traditional regional rivalries between viets, thais, chinese etc
                c. 1975 fall of Saigon, still debated
                    1) excessive use of arms, never sealed north off from south
                    2) need to have better idea of stakes, define objectives, "what is a vital interest?"

            6. in Jan 1976 Kampuchea came into existence by Khmer Rouge
                a. reign of terror and genocide led by Pol pot, who wanted to create an egalitarian agrarian society (so he liquidated all who did not fit)
                b. maybe 2 million died
                c. eventually viet invasion of December 1979

        7. Afghanistan (novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/evans/HIS135/events/Afghanistan79.htm)
                a. as to if to show to the world that they were no better than the americans, the soviets got involved in Afghanistan
                b. December 1979, attacked to restore order
                c. ten years of war until withdrawal, no real end

            8. India
                a. Jawaharlal Nehru, 1889-1964
                    1) in 1947 started 5 year plans
                b. two indias: western vs traditional; Muslim vs Hindu

            9. China
                a. Independent in 1949
                b. Mao died only in 1976
                c. 1958, Great leap Forward, millions died
                d. Sino-Soviet break
                e. 1966, Cultural revolution with the little red Book that destroyed education and technology
                f. tried to open up after 1976
                g. 1989, massacre at T Square

    B. Mideast. The middle east has proved to be the launching ground for conflict after conflict since 1945.

            1. in 1948 Britain withdrew from Palestine after long conflict with Jewish guerrillas
                a. a Jewish state of Israel was proclaimed
                b. they wanted a place after the Holocaust
                c. arabs attacked from all sides but jews able to triumph
                d. a 1949 truce patched it together (also took western jerusalem)
                e. though arabs fled, other arab states would not resettle them
                f. israelis had to make a state out of the desert

            2. 1952, Egyptian revolution brought Gamal Abdel Nassar, 1918-70, to power
                a. his republic turned to russian aid when west refused to build the Aswan high dam
                b. Nassar nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956
(novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/evans/HIS135/events/Suez56.htm)

            3. 1960, Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC) formed, a powerful weapon

            4. 1967 on Nassar demands, United Nations troops removed
                a. when egyptians closed access to port of Elath, israel retaliated
                b. in six days overran all of sinai peninsula, palestine, Golan heights
                c. huge humiliation
                d. both sides hardened and little negotiations

            5. in 1971? Mohammed Anwar el-Sadat, 1918-81, took over when Nassar died
                a. 1972 expelled russians
                b. october 1973 surprise on Yom Kippur when syrians attacked, led to truce in november

            6. 1977, sadat flew to israel and addressed parliament
                a. September 1978 spirit of camp david, Carter did bring egypt and israel together at Camp david

            7. 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon

            8. Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia
                a. key players, Muhammed Riza Pahlavi, 1919-1980, and Ayatolla Ruholla Khomeini, 1902-1989
                b. Iraq invaded Iran in 22 September 1980, got objective and then offered to negotiate but Iran refused, repeated offensives, often with chemical weapons, by 1988 back to pre-war borders
                c. Many lessons: Iraq failed to finish up initial offensive; Iraq's air power not decisive, poison gas effective; sea mines effective; merchant ships easy targets; best attack is good defense; war is hell

    C. Africa. The decolonization of Africa made for far reaching changes of the world economy and at the United Nations.

            1. by 1985 an oft expressed feeling that african ind was an "abysmal failure"
                a. but was this not the european dream?
                b. Remember the colonial legacy that carried over
                    1) colonial state was a product of violence, gov rested on force not consent
                    2) poverty, high taxes and exploitation
                    3) misgovernment, africans had little practice, personal powers of colonial governors
                    4) destruction of law
                    5) econ life destroyed (always measured by import-export not domestic market)
                    6) artificial borders
                c. whose dream? Were Africans committed to liberal democracy?
                d. African achievement is impressive!
                    1) literacy increased, life expectancy increased, tough econ prob to make up ground, few wars between countries

            2. Nigeria's transition to independence from Britain in 1960 full of promise, but military coups, bankruptcy, civil war (only Botswana has suffered no coups)
                a. lot of abuses of powers, lack of constitutional commitment, corruption

            3. Ghana in 1957
                a. Kwame Nkrumah, 1909-1972, took British Gold Coast to ind
                    1) talk of pan-Africanism
                b. eventually dictatorship ended by 1966 coup
                c. overspent
                d. struggle to maintain unity

        4. Algeria in 1962 (http://novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/evans/HIS135/events/Algeria62.htm)

            5. 1956, France freed Morocco and Tunisia

            6. the English colonies

            7. the Portuguese colonies, such as Angola

            8. 1960, Belgian Congo

            9. South Africa
                a. 1980, Rhodesia became Zimbabwe
                b. 1989, Namibia
Nelson Mandela (http://novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/evans/HIS135/events/Mandela94.htm)

            10. Ethiopia

            11. Africa also had drought, AIDs, poverty among its growing problems

    D. Latin America

            1. also problems of population, poverty, debt, political inequality

            2. military still the power in Argentina and Chile

            3. 1985, Brazil democratic

            4. Venezuela most stable

            5. Colombia drugs

            6. Mexico a federal rep since 1917

            7. Central American unrest
                a. Nicaragua
                b. El Salvador

Conclusions

Cultural imperialism like the use of the English language, culture and economy still powerful tools.

Web pages within the course relevant to contemporary East Asia

Some suggestions for further research