Unit 7: Modern Global Problems

The Fall of Communism in the Soviet Union- 3/24/10
Major Events in Russian History

- 880- 1240: Kievan Rus, a state from the Dnieper to near the Black Sea, they were above Byzantine and were influenced by it and got Cyrillic writing system and Eastern Orthodox Christianity

- 1240: Mongols invade, Golden Horde created

- 1533- 1584: Ivan the 4th (aka Ivan the Terrible) centralized the gov and was a Romanov

- 1696- 1735: Peter the Great, changed capital to St. Petersburg, wanted to westernize, observed shipyards for info on tech, also had St. Petersburg built by Italian architects

- 1762- 1796: Catherine the Great expanded Russia, took part of Poland, Siberia and Alaska, she and the rulers b4 her were absolutists, she was an enlightened despot

- 1850s: Czar Nicholas I and the Crimean War, Russia loses but during Nicholas’s rule is huge

- 1863: Emancipation of the Serfs by Alexander II, they work as indebted apprentices to former masters

- 1905 Revolution: first and failed attempt to get rid of Czar b/c of the loss to the Japanese in the Russo- Japanese War and Bloody Sunday

- 1917: Bolshevik Revolution, Communism is in power, Czar is no more, Lenin is in charge, and WWI ends for Russia, and this worked b/c soldier join communist side

- 1928: Stalin launches first five yr. plan this develops only the military

- Late 1930s: Great Purges and Show Trials used to consolidate Stalin’s power

-1945: WWII ends, Soviet Russia is a superpower

-1956: Khrushchev and the de-Stalinization speech

- After Khrushchev, Brezhnev ( under his rule economy stagnation in the Soviet Union occurs) gets power, his policy is détente; he tried to cool tensions w/ the U.S.

- In the 1980s Mikhail Gorbachev (reform minded communist leader) gets power, he reforms the USSR to the point where it fell

- Perestroika: Market economic reforms, includes allowing small business

- Glasnost: Democratic openness like free speech and no censorship in the media

- B/c of reform satellites want more change ex: In Germany the fall of the Berlin Wall, protests against the Stasi (Secret Police) and the division of Berlin, Polish solidarity movement led by Lech Walesa

- 1991 demonstrations end of the Soviet Union b/c the military wanted to get rid of Gorbachev, the Soviet Union ended w/ Shock Therapy (gov monopolies were sold to the highest bidder, but since everyone was poor, organized crime took control of these industries)

- Boris Yeltsin becomes the becomes 1st pres of capitalist Russia

End of the Cold War (Cause: Effect)

- Protest: Unification of Germany

- Gorbachev’s reforms: weakens communism

- U.S. Star Wars program under Reagan (idea was to spend money on impossible space weaponry to force Soviet Russia to follow): Soviet Union has money problems, many Soviet Republic break away (Collapse of Soviet Union)

Deng Xiaoping and Reform in China - 3/26/10
Key Events in Modern Chinese History

- 1840s: Opium Wars are lost to Britain, unequal treaties are signed, gave up Hong Kong, extraterritoriality and indemnities are given to foreigners

- 1850s-60s: Taiping Rebellion led by Hong (believed he was Jesus’ brother)

- 1895: Sino –Japanese War over Korea, China looses and launch the 100 days of reform and self-strengthening movement

- 1898- 1901: Boxer Rebellion (was in favor of the empress, was anti- foreign influences and anti- Christian

- 1911: Chinese Revolution led by Sun Yat-sen, this is the end of all dynasties

- 1937: Japanese invades in the 2nd Sino-Japanese War (aka Pacific War), rape of Nanking occurs and the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere is created

- 1941: Communists led by Mao Zedong get power

- 1950s: Communists launch Great Leap Forward, results in famine

- 1960s: Cultural Revolution against foreign and traditional influences, used to get rid of rivals

1970s in China

- Changes: Mao’s death (1976), relations open to the U.S. (1972) and China becomes capitalistic, an industrial revolution occurs as Deng Xiaoping opens up special economic zones (reform and opening to the W)

- Continuities: The gov is the same it uses state planning + censorship, in Tiananmen Square there are pro-democracy demonstrations (1989), the gov orders tanks to enter and execute ppl, they were at 1st blocked by suburbanites, then troops of different areas were brought in, the students are told to leave, they do so by a vote, parents who returned asking the military what happened to their children were killed

Deng Xiaoping

- Jailed in the Cultural Revolution

- Rehabilitated in the ‘70s

- Began economic reforms and opening to the west, this worked in China unlike Russia b/c economic reform was done slowly

- Created special economic zones where families made consumer goods like clothes and plastic toys for export in Macao and in Shenzhen b/x it was close to Hong Kong (where western businessmen/ capitalist where) and the peasant laborers worked for cheap pay due to land taxes and school fees (mainly for men as women married into their husband’s family so laborers were often women)

- Deng’s reforms would not include democracy and human rights were not practiced, noticeably the U.S. did not complain b/c keeping human rights would interfere w/ profi

Zionism, Israel and Palestine- 4/12/10
Key Events in Modern Middle E. History

- 1839: Tanzimat Reforms in Ottoman Empire

- 1850s: Crimean War

- 1908: Young Turk Revolt overthrows the sultan and creates a constitution

- 1915: Armenian Genocide

- 1917: Balfour Declaration

- 1916-1918: Arab Revolt

- 1919: Treaty of Versailles, Egypt is partially free (Suez Canal is occupied), King Hussein controls Jordan, and Iraq is controlled by King Faisal I and Saudi Arabia by Ibn Saud (for participating in the Arab Revolts that were British sponsored like by TE Lawrence)

-1922: Treaty of Serves creates modern day Turkey under Ataturk, he fights against Italian, British, and Greek forces trying to divide Turkey

- 1938: Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia

- 1947: Israel is created

- 1953: There is a coup against Mosaddegh (Iran)

- 1956: The Shah has regained complete control

The Creation of Israel

- Britain claims that it will let European Jews take land in Palestine (Balfour Declaration)

- Why? They want an ally in the Middle East

- How? Jewish settlers must rely on the British

- Due to WWII and the Holocaust many Jews wanted Zionism (Jewish Nationalism that seeks a homeland) as it would guarantee a safe area, but there are Palestinians already there

- British drop this after the White Papers (stop allowing in more settlers, b/c decolonization is going on and the USA is an emerging superpower) Jewish guerillas fight British forces, the USA takes up this

Fighting between Israel and Arab nations

- Palestinians (Arab Muslims) are not happy about this b/c it is their land and contains holy sites like the Dome of the Rock and Jerusalem

- Many became refugees as land was taken by Israel; they went to the Gaza Strip and West Bank (of the Jordan River)

- The 6- Day War, Arab forces of Egypt, Syria and Lebanon are defeated by Israel (using American arms), Egyptian Air force is decimated, war started after Israel attacked b/c Nasser threatened Israel

- They get the occupied territories: The West Bank, Gaza strip, Sinai Peninsula (Egypt), S. Lebanon, Golan Heights (Syria) and E. Jerusalem

- In 1973 there is the October/ Yom Kippur War, Arab Nations use Soviet weaponry which is worse than American arms (during this time Egypt liberalizes some w/ infitah which is opening the door to private investment in Egypt)

- In 1919 Egypt signs a treaty w/ Israel getting back the Sinai Peninsula on the condition it would not go to war w/ Israel (Camp David Accords) it is sponsored by USA president Jimmy Carter, Arab countries feel somewhat betrayed by this and Egypt moves out of the Soviet sphere of influence (Egypt gets the 2nd largest amount of military aid after Israel)

- Settlements, Israeli housing developments are created in the Gaza Strip and W. Bank, this is illegal under both Israeli and international (UN) law, there is a security wall going around them although it is in Palestinian refugee land

- Palestinians form the PLO, Palestinian Liberation Organization, Fatah, the political wing led by Yasser Arafat fight guerilla war against Israel, they were kicked out from Lebanon and now are in Tunisia, his group is more moderate, Hamas the fundamentalist opponents of the PLO hijack and kidnap people like Israeli wrestlers to the 1872 Olympics in Munich, all are killed

The Iranian Revolution- 4/13/10
Yom Kippur War and Oil Embargo

- Israel is invaded in 1973 by Arab nations in a surprise attack and lose against the U.S. backed Israel

- They punished the USA by having an oil embargo causing inflation and a global recession, countries that did this were OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) and include Libya, Nigeria, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Iraq, Iran and Algeria, they were a price fixing cartel

- This worked through the ‘70s but later fell apart

- They tried to keep the supply of oil down to keep the price high (supply-demand is another factor that drives pricing)

- The result of this was a high price for oil in the ‘70s causing people to move towards using smaller and compact cars from Asian manufactures rather than American causing a boom in the Asian markets, today oil prices have increased partially due to increased oil usage in China and Latin America

- After Yasser Arafat lost influenced Hamas gained it, although they are known for acts of terrorism, being a religious organization, they provide social services like medication and care

- Recently Israeli settlements left the Gaza Strip and Hamas won an election (not recognized) because they broke down a wall between the strip and Egypt allowing people to buy goods by traveling into Egypt

- Others that did not support Arafat or Hamas launched the intifada, an uprising of the average Palestinian; many were young men and children

Iranian Revolution

- This shows that the rest of the Arab world failed @ giving aid

- Ex: The Shah of Iran, a USA ally, dictator of Iran (until 1979), that jailed political opponents (mainly communists) and was very secular (earning the anger of religious figures)

- The Iranian Revolution happens in 1979, the USA supported Shah is overthrown, this was led by Ayatollah Khomeini, becomes the ruler after it (he is the opposite of the Shah, anti-American, rules as a fundamentalist, observes strict rules for women)

- Supporters of Islamic Fundamentalism (believe in governing by a strict interpretation of the Qur’an) include many of Khomeini’s followers

- There was a hostage crisis after the Shah fled to the USA, Iranians kidnapped the entire USA embassy to demand the return of the Shah (for trial), the standoff lasts 444 days, the USA just lost to Vietnam so they weren’t willing to fight back quickly

- Important: 70s-80s there is an increase in the price of oil and he birth of (fundamentalist Islam) opposition

The Gulf Wars- 4/14/10
Major Problems in Post-Independence Middle East

1. Corruption/ dictator govs

2. Huge division between the rich and poor (B/c of oil wealth)

3. Westernization in many part failed

5. Arab- Israeli conflicts

6. American Intervention

Independence

- In the ‘50s (after Egypt takes back Suez Canal) The Middle E. is mostly independent

- In the ‘60s most countries (world-wide) are independent

Gulf Wars

- 1980- 88: Iran Iraq War

- 1991: War against Iraq by the USA aka Operation Desert Storm

- 2003: U.S. vs. Iraq in the Second American- Iraqi War

Why would Iraq fight Iran?

- There are differences between the two although both are Muslim

- Iraq: Is under Sunni leadership although the majority is Shia (there are also Kurds and other Sunni Arab Muslims), by Saddam Hussein, who was a Baathist (it’s like Pan Arabism but more secular and was created by a Christian Arab), he was a military leader, also Iraqis speak Arabic

- Iran: Mainly is and is led by Shias (since the Safavid Empire), its bigger than Iraq, was led by Khomeini, also the people are ethnically Persian and speaks Farsi

Iran- Iraq War

- Iranian in the revolution would like it this fundamentalist Islam approach to reach the Shia majority in Iraq, Iraq wanted to gain from the revolution by invading, Iraq backed by the USA (b/c Iran kidnapped the USA Embassy there) fought Iran but there was a stalemate and more than 1 mil people died, Saddam Hussein was an ally of Donald Rumsfeld, later the Bush secretary of defense

- Iran had more people and in trench warfare had people, mainly young men attack in waves = huge amount of dead

- Oil prices skyrocketed in the ‘80s as each country bombed the other’s oil tankers

- The USA sold Iraq chemical Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs); they are used against Iranians and Kurds

- Ironically the pretext for the 2003 invasion was to find these WMDs

- In Operation Desert Storm, Kuwait (its oil rich) was invaded by Iraq on the pretext that it was part of Iraq in antiquity, the British created it, along w/ other small/ small pop. states in the Middle E. b/c they would have to rely on the USA or British for protection and are near sea for easy oil transport w/o pipelines so the USA invaded to drive Iraqi military out and was successful in a matter of months but did not recreate the gov b/c the USA just lost to Vietnam

- Operation Desert Storm was @ first Dessert Shield to protect other countries like Saudi Arabia from revolution, this somewhat worsens relations, as the USA is the opposite of Saudi Arabia as Saudi Arabia practiced Wahabism a form of militant, fundamentalist Islam,

- USA also put UN supported sanctions against Iran which include banning trade of certain items, it also bombed using stealth bombers on Iran’s highways leading to Kuwait and infrastructure

Afghanistan and Islamic Funadmentalism- 4/14/10
Afghanistan during the Cold War

- Was one of the two –stan countries that was not part of the Soviet Union

- In 1979 the USSR attacked Afghanistan b/c it wanted a warm water port, to spread communism and gain a buffer state, was unsuccessful b/c of the region being mountainous, while they fail to conqueror it the USSR occupies Afghanistan through the ‘80s (Soviet- Afghan War)

- USA intervenes by supporting the Mujahedeen, Islamic Fundamentalist anti- Soviet guerillas, and gives them weapons including stinger missiles, @ one point they even meet w/ Reagan

- But then the Soviet Union collapses in 1991 and the Taliban, a wing of the Mujahedeen (also Islamic Fundamentalists) that were supported by Pakistan to take control of Afghanistan (Pakistan was fighting India for control of the region so they wanted an ally)

- Many fundamentalists believe in theocracy (similar to the Middle Ages)

- Osama bin Laden used bases in Taliban controlled Afghanistan to organize Al Qaeda, they are a worldwide organization that has claimed responsibility for numerous terrorist acts including the 2001 World Trade Center attack

- This was the cause of the 2002 Afghanistan War (USA vs. Afghanistan)

- In 2003 the USA led a war against Iraq (2003 Iraq War) to remove Saddam Hussein from power, President Bush said that Saddam was involved in the terror attacks (not true, he is secular) and that he had WMD (he had to get rid of them to release sanctions against Iraq, UN inspectors confirmed that he had none)

- After the USA invaded, terrorist groups like Al- Qaeda flocked to bomb the troops, terrorists also provoke a Sunni- Shia Civil War by bombing the Shia religious site of Karbala, this war is basically a power struggle

- Currently the war in Iraq is getting better b/c the Shia gov created there is somewhat capable

- The Afghanistan War isn’t working out as well b/c the USA backed leader is very corrupt to the point that some people join the Taliban’s side

4/16/10
Major Events in E. Asian History

- 700- 1200: Sinification of Asian states by China (spreads Confucianism, Buddhism Etc.)

- 1274, 1281- Mongol attempted to invade Japan, fails twice b/c of what the Japanese refer to as Kamikaze, divine wind

- 1603: Tokugawa Shogunate: power of the Daimyo is given to the Shogun (in Edo) and Japan isolates itself from the rest of the world

- 1854: Commodore Mathew Perry forces Japan to sign an unequal treaty and stop isolation (Treaty of Kanagawa)

- Late 19th Century: Meiji Restoration, Japan modernizes/ westernizes like Britain and Germany, power is given to the emperor, the diet (parliament-like body) is created

- 1895: 1st Sino- Japanese War (Japan wins) was fought over Korea, the end of the Wing Dynasty

-1904: Russo-Japanese War, Japan wins showing that it is equal in power to W. nations

- 1937: 2nd Sino-Japanese War caused by the supposed Mukden and Marco Polo Bridge Incidents (aka the Greater E. Asian War / Beginning of WWII/ Pacific War) and the Rape of Nanking

- 1945: Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

- 1949: Birth of Communist China

- 1950- 1953: Korean War

- 1964- 1974: Vietnam War

- 1965: Indonesia and Suharto’s coup

The Asian Tigers

- S. Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong are called the Asian Tiger b/c they are economic powerhouses, they are strong economically b/c they small and tied to the USA and sell profitable cars and tech

- Hong Kong went from British to Chinese rule in 1997, many left fearing a lack of democracy (went to Vancouver), but it’s still economically powerful

- S. Korea went from low democracy to pro democracy (this failed in the Middle East b/c here is a larger working class that demands rights and other benefits), it is known as the miracle on the Han River b/c its financial gain that comes from tech and cars

- Singapore broke away from Malaysia (it’s on the Malacca Straits) and is made up of Chinese (like Pres. Lee Kuan), Malaysians and Indian people (like Tamils), b/c it’s a major port its financially strong, the government here allows for little democracy and there are strict laws for ex. No eating in the subways

- Taiwan was founded after the Chinese revolution by the anti communist KMT and is treated as a rebellious province by mainland China, it has a good relationship w/ the USA and exports tech as well

… Our class didn’t finish so please add more :) We continued the following day but I'm leaving this up

Info (NOT MINE collected from http://www.course-notes.org/World_History/Outlines/World_Civilizations_The_Global_Experience_4th_Edition_Outlines/Chapter_35_Reb)
 * 1) Emerging Stability in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore
 * 2) Nationalists take over Taiwan island after losing civil war
 * 3) Communists couldn't threaten Taiwan - no navy
 * 4) Becomes authoritarian - must keep island under control
 * 5) Support of US - convinced Chiang to not attack mainland
 * 6) Hong Kong - returned to China from British control in 1997
 * 7) Chinese population swelled - economy boomed
 * 8) Singapore
 * 9) British naval base until 1971
 * 10) Became strong port and independent nation
 * 11) Why economically successful?
 * 12) Western aid/contacts
 * 13) Tradition of group loyalty
 * 14) Political stability
 * 15) Eventually grows to substantial international influence
 * 16) Japan, Incorporated
 * 17) Japan’s Distinctive Political and Cultural Style
 * 18) Conservative stability
 * 19) Liberal Democratic party controls 1955-1993 – compromise
 * 20) Made agreements/deals with opposition leaders
 * 21) Returned to oligarchy rule
 * 22) Government-business coordination
 * 23) Lending public resources
 * 24) limit imports
 * 25) Kept traditions
 * 26) Tradition – state-sponsored discipline
 * 27) Promoted birth control/abortion – population slowed
 * 28) Customs – poetry, painting, tea ceremonies, flower arrangements
 * 29) Kabuki and No theater
 * 30) Incorporated Japanese w/ western
 * 31) Western music w/ Japanese instruments
 * 32) Some rejected westernization
 * 33) Hiraoka Kimitoke – Yukio Mishima – hate Western ways
 * 34) Ritual suicide in 1970
 * 35) The Economic Surge
 * 36) By 1983 growth phenomenal, behind only US and Germany
 * 37) Automobile/electronics manufacturers – mass quantity/high quality
 * 38) Why so successful?
 * 39) Active government encouragement
 * 40) Educational expansion
 * 41) More engineers
 * 42) Foreign policy – no money for military
 * 43) US protects them
 * 44) Labor policy
 * 45) Company unions – worked with corporation
 * 46) Lifetime employment
 * 47) Social activities – group exercise
 * 48) Less class conscious and less individualistic
 * 49) Group consciousness
 * 50) few changed firms
 * 51) Long term success of firm important
 * 52) Reluctance to take vacations
 * 53) Family life
 * 54) Women well-educated and declining birth rates, but…
 * 55) Fewer leisure activities than husband
 * 56) Shame toward non-conformist behaviors
 * 57) Game shows – elaborate, dishonoring punishment for losers
 * 58) Chance for release – geishas, alcohol, still stressed by exams
 * 59) Popular culture
 * 60) Fusion of east and west
 * 61) Sometimes tension between westernization and Japanese identity
 * 62) The great chopstick calamity of the 1980s
 * 63) Young people tired of taking care of old people – too many
 * 64) Problems in the 1990s
 * 65) Government corruption
 * 66) Recession led to unemployment
 * 67) The Pacific Rim: New Japans?
 * 68) The Korean MiraclePolitics in South Korea
 * 69) Series of generals, put down by student protest pressure, new general
 * 70) Opposition groups tempered or jailed
 * 71) Freedom of the press minimal
 * 72) Economic focus of Korea
 * 73) Combination of government and private enterprise working together
 * 74) Huge industrial firms created w/ gov’t aid + entrepreneurship
 * 75) Daweoo and Hyundai
 * 76) Built ships, supertankers, housing units
 * 77) Built schools, cars
 * 78) Took care of workers
 * 79) Workers worked 6 day weeks, 3 vacation days
 * 80) Worshipful ceremonies of fleet of cars
 * 81) Lives protected by company
 * 82) Surpassed Japanese growth rates in 1980s
 * 83) automobiles, cheap consumer goods, steel, technology
 * 84) Industrialized changes
 * 85) Population soared – highest pop. densities in world – 40 million in Indiana
 * 86) Urban areas – air pollution
 * 87) Per capita income increased a ton, but still lower than Japan
 * 88) Huge fortunes next to extreme poverty
 * 89) Advances in Taiwan and the City-States
 * 90) Republic of China – Taiwan – agriculture/industrial rapid development
 * 91) Could focus on economics – military aspirations declined – US support
 * 92) Money poured into education, literacy
 * 93) Traditional medicine blends w/ western medicine
 * 94) Land reform
 * 95) Host of new concerns
 * 96) US recognized People’s Republic of China in 1978
 * 97) Made contacts w/ regional gov’ts
 * 98) Japan – purchased food, textiles, chemicals
 * 99) Informal links with Beijing
 * 100) Son of Chiang Kai-shek kept authoritarian rule
 * 101) The greatest country in the world – Singapore – My Singapura
 * 102) Lee Kuan Yew took over in 1965 – three decades
 * 103) Controlled citizens
 * 104) sexual behavior, economic corruption
 * 105) local regulation, economic planning
 * 106) Unusual discipline = low crime rates
 * 107) Impossibility of political protest
 * 108) People’s Action Party suppressed opposition
 * 109) Economic success made political control OK
 * 110) Government control + entrepreneurs
 * 111) Port + banking + manufacturing
 * 112) 1980s – second highest per capita income in Asia
 * 113) Educational levels and health conditions rose
 * 114) Plus, it has a cool island named Sentosa
 * 115) Merlion blows water from its mouth
 * 116) You can road louge down to the beach
 * 117) Wading in the water off Sentosa a risky choice
 * 118) Buying illegal CDs in Malaysia is bad
 * 119) Hong Kong
 * 120) Major world port + strong banking industry
 * 121) Why successful?
 * 122) High speed technology + low wages/long hours for employees
 * 123) Prosperous middle class grows
 * 124) Becomes part of China, free market economic system respected
 * 125) Common Themes and New Problems
 * 126) Stressed group loyalty
 * 127) Devalued protest/individualism
 * 128) Confucian morality
 * 129) Reliance on government planning
 * 130) Dynamism spread to “Little Tigers” – Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand
 * 131) But, what are the weaknesses…
 * 132) Growth faltered, unemployment rose, currencies took a hit
 * 133) Problem of gov’t/company link
 * 134) Should be more of a free market
 * 135) West believes only their model works
 * 136) But…by 1999, growth started to pick up again…a few bad years ain’t bad

4/19/10
Japan post 1945/ Japanese Economic Boom and Decline - One party rule under the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP gets power b/c it promotes stability)

- Becomes the 2nd largest economy in the world, experiences a crisis after 1990 b/c of partly low birth rate (lesser amount of workers), the fact that zaibatsu companies were propped up by the gov then allowed to fail during times of completion, and that Japanese society is very homogenous and isn’t lax on immigration (way to get workers)

Overall, why was there an economic boom in Asian countries?

- They sold high tech exports

- Alliances w/ the USA secures market

- Polit. stability due to lack of rights

- High savings rate (put money into the bank)

New Nations and Nationalism in Central Asia- 4/19/10
Info on Central Asia

- Was mostly part of the USSR

- Includes many nomadic ethnicities including Mongols, Turks, Kurds, Huns and Uyghur

- Influenced religiously by Islam

- Has been historically important as it was used to travel between China/ E. Asia and the Middle East mainly to trade

Important Dates in Central Asia

- 100 BCE: Han Dynasty established diplomatic relations w/ Persia

- 220 CE: End of Han Dynasty

- 226: Beginning of the Sassanid Persian Empire

- 670: Huns leave Central Asia and many travel toward Europe (b/c of overpopulation many nomadic groups migrated, eventually the Roman Empire would fall partly b/c of their invasions)

- 552: Rise of the Turks, Turkic Khanate established

- 618: Rise of the Tang Dynasty (Golden era of China includes Neoconfucianism, flourishing of arts and lit. however, Chinese ideals aren’t spread here as much b/c of Mts. and Great Wall, Muslim Empires also rise)

- 642: Muslim Arabs destroy Sassanid Empire

- 749: Abbasid Caliph based in Baghdad (trades extensively w/ China bringing paper, rice, lemons, silk, and porcelain which shows that Central Asia would be doing well)

- 900: Uyghur people of N.W. China convert to Islam (are a different ethnicity than the Han, being more Turkic and appear more European)

- 998: conversion of Russian to E. Orthodox to have better ties w/ their Byzantine neighbors

- 1221: Mongols conquer Afghanistan

- 1258: Mongols conquer Abbasid Caliphate

- 1260: Mongols conquer Song China (and Yuan Dynasty begins)

- 1113- 1341: Mongols of the Golden Horde rule over much of Russia (they are aka Tatars) convert to Islam

- 1336- 1405: Mongol Golden Horde Empire is destroyed by Timur (aka Tamerlane), who was ruler of the Timurid Empires, Timur, id the great, great grandfather of Babur, who was also related to Genghis Khan

- 1368: Ming Dynasty uses Junks to trade (bypasses Central Asia, bad for Mongol trade)

-1370- 1400: Rule of Tamerlane

- 1453: Ottomans take Constantinople

- 1480s: Ivan III overthrown the Mongol yoke

- 1490s: Exploration makes Silk Roads less important

- 1526: Babur captures Delhi and starts the Mughal Empire (gunpowder empires also start during this time)

- 1991: The USSR falls (break up of the Soviet Union) any many states want to become independent of it including Chechnya (is mainly Muslim and includes people of different ethnicities)

- In the Chechen Wars, guerillas on the side of independent Chechnya use what can be referred to as both guerilla and terrorist tactics to fight including bombing an elementary school (to trade hostages for prisoners) and an entire opera was kidnapped

- This started during Boris Yeltsin’s term in office and after he resigned, another war occurred under Vladimir Putin but the wars are censored by the gov

- Before this Stalin had tried to move Central Asian people to Siberia and Outer Mongolia and had the Katyn massacre carried out (to destroy Polish intelligentsia during invasion)

- In more current times Russia has been able to threaten neighboring states like the Ukraine by claiming to and actually shutting down oil pipe that go through the Ukraine to W. Europe and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and Belarus

Post Independence India (Communal Violence in India) - 4/20/10
Strengths and Weaknesses of Post Independence India

- It is the largest democracy in the world but was ruled mainly by the Indian National Congress and the Gandhi (really Nehru’s) family, Rajiv Gandhi, after Indira’s assassination got power and improved the economic policy but not w/o being implicated in a few political scandals, he was later assassinated b/c of problems w/ Sri Lanka, this party is opposed by the BGP, which is more pro-business than socialist as the INC and was dominated by Hindus (including nationalists)

- India constantly has conflicts w/ Pakistan over borders and Kashmir, recently a group of Pakistani attacked the Taj hotel by planting bombs in it, some also make counterfeit rupees to undermine its value

- India faces over pop. and will have too little resources if this continues, they cannot however, institute a 1 child policy as peasants survive on agriculture and need children, also religion may oppose this, this was countered by the Green Revolution, where genetically modified grains were used to increase crop yield, this way, the huge pop. can be fed without increasing the amount of land devoted to farming, but this may have long term ecological problems

- The economy has been doing well over the past few years b/c of globalization and business going online, jobs have been relocated here, like call centers which are centered in S cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore by women often @ night, they succeed in India b/c of the large # of English speakers b/c of British colonialism, many are well educated and have skills in tech, many ppl although the work pays less than in the USA do better than the farming peasants

- Still there are divisions in Indian society like caste, the untouchable (aka Dalit caste) and other lower castes rights were championed by Ambedkar, a Buddhist who wanted affirmative action for them, wanted many to convert to Buddhism and face oppression w/ civil disobedience, another division was between rich and poor, language division and religious division between Muslims and Hindus often leading to communal violence, but there has been some unification

- Still Babri Mosque aka Babri Masjid (in Ayodhya…by the way mosque means masjid), built to honor Mughal Emperor Babur was destroyed in 1993 by Hindu extremists as they claimed that a Hindu temple built on the birthplace of Rama, a Hindu god was destroyed for the mosque as a sign of contempt

- Bal Thackeray, leader of the Shiv Sena, extreme Hindu nationalists, has controlled Bombay politics through patronage (buying ppl) and violence (threats), he changes the name of the city to Mumbai and had the support of the lower classes of Maharastrans (ethnic Marathas), he is allied w/ the BJP

- In the 1993 Bombay riots, of which Thackeray is accused of inciting, 600 Muslims and 200 Hindus die, some die by being set on fire where they burn to death

- Muslim gangs like D- Company retaliate by carrying out a bombing campaign in Hindu area

The European Union- 4/21/10
Strengths of the late 20th century Europe

- Political: More basic rights than in other areas, very liberal, multi-party democracy, parties range from socialist (environmental laws, women’s rights, pro-union, free edu.) to Christian Democratic (usually pro-life) but these major groups aren’t very different, for ex Nicolas Sarkosy (center right in France) liked that the USA was moving towards free healthcare and the New Labor Party’s Tony Blair supported the USA’s wars in the Middle E., there are parties that are more far left and right like the Green party but, they aren’t very popular

- Economic: Are wealthy because of the creation of the European Union, b/c between these countries there was a great deal of cooperation and trust, they all stopped the using tariffs against one another

- and they united as well by in 1999 having a unified military, 2002, one currency, the euro (European Monetary Union) and created the Schengen Area where people could travel through w/o having to show passport and go through security, this allows freer movement of workers= more wealth, their average GDP is much better than the newly industrial or developing countries (it is an industrial/ developed country) because it has industrials more and better

- Socially: Gender equality, mostly homogenous (same race, religion, class, ethnicity) and secular except for places like Portugal, Romania, Poland and Italy which are all Catholic, there are issues/ tension related to immigration like the 2005 French Riots starting w/ African immigrants died after hiding from the police who wanted to check their immigration status, 900 cars were burnt and police died

The End of White Rule in S. Africa- 4/22/10
Major Problems in Post Independence Sub- Saharan Africa

1. Bad leadership/ Corruption/ Dictatorships

2. Poverty (both b/c of colonialism and corrupt govs)

3. Exportation of Raw Materials like cotton, diamonds, gold, coffee, tea, chocolate rather than the industrial products (which make more money)

4. Divisions: Tribal, Language, and Religion

5. Overpopulation due to the lack of women’s rights

6. AIDs/ HIV epidemic

7. White rule in S. Africa

White rule in S. Africa and Zimbabwe

- The ANC (African National Congress) worked against that in both violent and non violent ways

- Apartheid nations were boycotted, nations refuse to do business w/ them but the USA did b/c they weren’t communist

- COSATU (Congress of S. African Trade Unions) a union movement in S. Africa workers of gold and diamond mines went on strike and the Toyi Toyi movement (that used music) which the riot police were overwhelmed by, also those against Apartheid became violent after the Sharpeville Massacre, there was also the Soweto Uprising (1976) where African students protested learning Afrikaans (b/c it wasn’t very useful) and were fired on

- Desmond Tutu, an African cleric supported boycotting the S. African economy after the Soweto Riot

- Apartheid ended in 1990 after FW De Klerk took Nelson Mandela out of jail and he won the first free election

- After Mandela (since he created a term limit) other leaders came to power that were more corrupt

Zimbabwe

- Ian Smith was the white ruler of Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) until 1979, until there was a civil war where African guerillas fought the white controlled gov

- Robert Mugabe, who led Zimbabwe to independence in 1980 rules to today, he is a dictator and is corrupt, he made remaining whites after a few years become scapegoats and takes their land, the country is isolated and hyperinflation occurs, yet edu (literacy) is high

- HIV infection increased= low life expectancy

Modern Crisis in S. Africa: Congo and Sudan- 4/23/10
Tragedies in the History of the Congo

1. Slave Trade 1600s-1700s:


 * - caused depopulation/ massive loss of life through the march of the sea and middle passage


 * - introduced modern weapons


 * - separated families


 * - introduced racism and increased tribal divisions

2. Scramble for Africa 1880s:


 * - Congolese genocide caused by rubber trade from the Congo to Belgium under King Leopold


 * - the Force Publique kills many and takes the hands of some of living as proof a bullet wasn’t wasted

3. American dictatorships:


 * - Assassination of Patrice Lumumba b/c he was friendly to the Russians and somewhat socialist. He was replaced by USA supported Mobutu, who was a dictator


 * - however when the USSR fell, USA alliances w/ dictators became questionable. Laurent Kabila, a guerilla leader, seized power after Mobutu left (in 1994), but Kabila couldn’t create a strong nation and Congo’s neighbors moved in

4. African Great War & War in Congo

5. HIV/AIDS epidemic


 * - polygamy increased chance of getting HIV

War in Congo


 * - The war created after Congo’s neighbors began fighting it is called Africa’s Great War; they fought Congo in order to become wealthy


 * - Uganda’s Museveni was actively involved


 * - Rwanda’s Kigane claimed to be hunting down those responsible for the genocide against the Tutsi, but worked with those people to mine Coltan (a mineral used in electronics)


 * - 5 Million died


 * - Uganda’s Idi Amin scapegoat the Indian minority (he was before Museveni in Uganda)

Hutu- Tutsi conflict


 * - In the Rwanda Genocide, the Hutu majority, victims of former massacres organized the Tutsi genocide b/c the Tutsis (a former pastoralist group) were favored by the Belgian to rule over the majority, 6 million die


 * - Hutus were losing so they killed many of the Tutsi women and children. still, the Tutsis regain power

Sudan


 * - N is majority Muslim (Omar Bashir rules over Sudan) and the S. is Christian


 * - The S. wants independence b/c they have oil and are semi independent and is led by John Garang who was a guerilla leader, he died in a plane crash in Uganda

Sudanese Genocide


 * - Darfur also wants independence


 * - the Sudanese gov backed militias to destroy villages in Darfur in an ethnic cleansing mission


 * - the Janjaweed (Devil on Horseback) make up these militias

4/26/10
What are major problems of 19th century and 20th century Latin America

- Political: Military dictatorships starting from Bolivar’s fight for independence, they were often supported by the USA since they weren’t communist

- Economic: American economic control for ex. United Fruit in Guatemala, also a small # of landowners have too much power (hacienda system)

- Social: Hierarchy based on race, deep rooted Catholicism sometimes impedes human rights ( is anti- birth control and pro-life)

Political Problems and the Transition to Democracy

- Argentina: When the military loses the Falklands war, Mothers of Maya de Plaza protest increase and other peaceful protests the dictatorship falls

- Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo: the mothers of 30,000 leftists that were “disappeared” during the Dirty War held protests outside of the gov’s palace every Thursday from 1997, Azucena Villaflor the founder and 2 other mothers were thrown to their deaths from a military airplane

- Brazil: Lula de Silva fought military dictatorship as head of Sao Paulo metal workers union, he has only an 8th grade edu,, was head of the Brazilian Workers Party, became pres. in 2002, although USA feared him to be a leftist he is a free market oriented leader

- Colombia: Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (aka FARC) communist rebels were able to control 40% of Colombia, they use kidnapping and other guerilla techniques but in the USA’s Plan Colombia, the USA used defoliant on coca crops (bye drug money) and gives money to the right wing militia and drug lords for disarmament making Colombia more peaceful

- Mexico: In the 1988 election ballots were found burned along the roadside in Guerrero, the leftist PRD charges the PRI w/ election fraud after a “computer glitch” stops counting late election night to show the PRI won in the morning, in 1994 for the 1st time international observers check the election’s fairness

- 2000, PRI loses to conservative PAN, that is led by Vicente Fox, former Coca Cola executive

- Mexico also joined NAFTA that is controversial as tariff is lowered between Canada, the USA and Mexico and Mexico cannot compete well w/ these powers

4/27/10
To what extent has these problems been fixed?

-Political: Somewhat fixed, more stable, has multiparty systems

- Economical: Big landowners aren’t huge anymore but Latin American countries are dependents on foreign countries

- Social: Racism is still there

Argentina

- Argentina was a huge producer of beef b/c of its pampas, but the prices of beef lower and ppl rush to the banks (Argentine Crisis of 2002/ run on Argentine Banks during the 2002 crisis) to get their money and are kept out, the Argentinean $ was pegged to the USA $ then devaluated destroying savings and made consumption difficult, also led to mass poverty

- There is a system to stop such problems called the International Monetary Fund that lends money to countries in economic crisis (created @ Bretton Woods conference), money comes from wealthy private banks (in the USA, W. Europe, Saudi Arabia and Japan) but is not democratic, money is exchanged for austerity programs where gov controlled industries are sold and programs are cut

- In Argentina the Cacerolazo (bang on casserole pans in the streets) protest @ high food prices bring down the gov

- But inflation increased the gap between the rich and poor, for ex in the capital Buenos Aires there are both modern buildings and slums near it called villas miserias

Brazil

- Economic problems cause a migration in Brazil where Afro- Brazilian who lived in the N (near the old plantations) moved S to look for jobs, the poor creates slums called favelas around big cities like Rio and San Paulo where there is high crime rate and a lot of informal market deals (selling stuff on the street)

Other Migration

- Ppl move from Latin America (and Asia) to the USA and Europe but all aren’t poor and desperate, some are students others work and send money home, some of these ppl stay after getting used to the lifestyle

NAFTA

- North American Free Trade Alliance lowers tariffs between the USA, Canada and Mexico doesn’t really benefit Mexico, S. America especially Brazil (b/c it would dominate) would like to create a similar union

Bolivia

- Is mostly indigenous ppl as it touches no ocean and is mountainous, Evo Morales a native becomes the president, he is the leader of the coca growers union (yes coca is used to make cocaine but they use less potent forms to keep ppl going as it is a poor country)

Venezuela

- Hugo Chavez is the president, he came to power through the military, he founded the Bolivarian movement (Bolivarianism) he stands up the USA (and can b/c he has Venezuela’s oil wealth), he uses anti- American rhetoric to get support in slums, he also has CITGO (Venezuelan oil company) provide cheap or free petroleum to poor parts of the USA to shame the USA’s gov, and funds a S. American TV network, he is mullato, although there are elections ppl aren’t sure how just they are

Status of Women

- In some S. American countries women have been presidents like Argentina, Chile and even Guyana

- Overall Latin America is improving

- Brazil, China and India are emerging world powers