In the twentieth century the government in South Africa made it legal to separate the races according to their skin colour. Blacks, whites, coloureds and Asians lived in separated areas under the policy of apartheid. Anyone who criticised the government was “banned” and faced prison. Blacks had to register if they wanted to go into white areas. Blacks, Asians and coloureds were denied their basic human rights under the policy of apartheid
Whites:
High standard of living, earning good wages and having a high level of education 15% of the population but owned 84% of the land Many whites believed that Africans were inferior to them and were not intelligent and hard working. The government was dominated by the white population who were determined not to allow the blacks have any political power
Blacks:
Low standard of living with many blacks earning less than the national average and received a poor education. Africans did not have the right to vote, therefore they had very little power to improve their situation Africans were restricted to the amount of land that they owned and farmed. Africans did not have the freedom of movement. This meant that they needed to have permission to travel certain areas.
Apartheid in South Africa
End of Apartheid:
Methods used to resolve the conflict in South Africa: African National Congress (ANC)fought for the rights of the blacks using non-violent actions (i.e. peaceful demonstrations) but later on the ANC turned to violence to achieve their aims. Many foreign governments took action against apartheid. In 1986 both the USA and EEC countries imposed sanctions against the white government but this did not stop apartheid. Government passed a series of laws against those who opposed Apartheid. In the 1980s South Africa was declared a state of emergency because of the ongoing violence ANC and the government entered into negotiations-ANC wanted the end to apartheid with blacks votes and the government wanted to end violence and veto black votes In Feb. 1991 the government announced the end of all apartheid laws In April 1994 all adults were allowed to vote this included 16 million blacks-ANC won 62% of the votes and in May Mandela became president.
Laws:
Population Registration Act: this divided the nation according to the colour of their skin. Mixed Marriages Act: It was against the law for a white person to marry any other race. Groups Area Act: this divided South Africa up into different areas where the different race groups could live. Pass Laws: these laws made it compulsory for blacks to carry pass books (Identity cards) at all times to enter white areas or face prison.
Main contenders: The Allies:
Britain under Chamberlain and Churchill France under De Gaulle United States under Roosevelt Russia under Stalin
Causes of WWII:
Appeasement: A policy held by Britain and France towards Germany that failed in1939 Invasion of Poland: Germany invaded Poland in September 1939. France and Britain declared war on Germany Treaty of Versailles: Hitler broke many of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles that was signed in 1919 by Germany after WWI Failure of League of Nations:
Organisation that was set up to prevent another war in1919 but did not have much power. Hitler’s actions: Hitler wanted to rebuild Germany as a great power
Key Events:
Invasion of Poland (1939): Pearl Harbour (1941): Japan invades an American naval base in the Pacific. Battle of Britain (1940): Germany used its air force to attack Britain. RAF defended Britain and Germany failed in its attempts. Dunkirk (1940): The Allies were surrounded by the Germans at Dunkirk but were rescued by the navy. Hiroshima (Aug 1945): The first atomic bomb was dropped here by the Americans and Japan surrendered.
The Axis Powers
Germany under Hitler Italy under Mussolini Japan under the emperor Hirohito
World War II
How did the war end?
In April 1945 the Allies and the Soviet army invaded Berlin and the German army was in retreat. On 8 May 1945 Germany had surrendered. War in Europe had ended. Atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima Nagasaki in August 1945-Japan surrendered. Using military force was a decisive factor in resolving the conflict
Impact of the war:
Britain and France were no longer the great powers in the political spheres of influences USA and the Soviet Union were to become the Superpowers. High causalities and millions of deaths Many countries had to rebuild their nations and economies. Military technologies- there was a race to build new weapons and nuclear bombs
Changes after the War: Germany was divided into west and east between the allies and the Soviet Union The Soviet Union tried to spread communism in Europe but failed NATO was set up to maintain peace (It replace the ill-fated League of Nations Cold War between USA and the Soviet Union dominated international relations for 45 years. In Britain a welfare state was set up to provide free medical help to its citizens.
When Hitler came to power... He believed that the Jews were the enemies of the state and he wanted to create a superior raceAryan race S.A. started to boycott Jews businesses and shops New laws were introduced which enforced discrimination against the Jews. Many Jews were forced out of their jobs and lived in fear. In 1934 Jews were banned from public areas such as swimming pools and parks.
Nuremburg Laws 1935: German citizenship was removed from all “Jews” Inter-racial marriages were banned. In1936 further laws banned Jews from buying properties and from working
Kristallnacht: In November 1938 first very public attack on Jewish houses, businesses and synagogues. Violence went on for a week100 Jews were killed and 20. 000 Jews were sent to concentration camps. Jews were fined the damage1 billion marks
Holocaust
Ghettoes and the war: The outbreak of war intensified the attacks on the Jews. After the outbreak of war all Jews in occupied territories lived in ghettos. In summer 1941 Himmler ordered S.S “Special Action groups” to kill all Soviet Jews
Final Solution: Wannsee Conference in January 1942 planned the destruction of all Jews in Europe Extermination camps were set up in Eastern Europe Jews in the concentration camps faced experiments, starvation, forced labour. 6.6 million Jews were murdered during the war years
Genocide: The deliberate killing of a whole nation or people Genocide still continues in Rwanda and other countries Political ideology or discrimination towards a certain race or religious groups and other factors can lead to genocide
What is global inequality?
There is a great inequality between MEDCs and LEDCs. This inequality means that millions of people are denied the opportunities enjoyed by those living in the wealthier countries. Many people in LEDCs live in absolute poverty whereby they do not have the basics necessities in life. Millions of people get trapped in a life of poverty. The Poverty Cycle- The results of being poor that trap people into continuing poverty-a vicious cycle
Differences between LEDCs and MEDCs: MEDCs are industrialised countries where the employment centralises around the tertiary and quaternary sector whereas most employment in LEDCs is in the primary sector. MEDCs have high standard of living, high quality of education and a decent medical care whereby in LEDCs there is a low living standard. Many of the multinational companies that dominate the global market are based in MEDCs
Development Indicators: Compares the quality of life between different countries using social and economic indicators. These development indicators include: gross national product per person (GNP), life expectancy, infant mortality and adult literacy. Using the development indicators we can determine MEDCs and LEDCs. The seven measures of child poverty: nutrition, health, water, education, information, sanitation and shelter
Global Inequality
Causes of global inequality Trade between LEDCs and MEDCs is unfair to LEDCs. MEDCs dominate the world trade. Multinational companies exploit the LEDCs. Colonialism in the sixteenth to the twentieth century divided the world into rich and poor countries. LEDCs are in so much debt they cannot catch up with MEDCs. Multinational banks increase the interest rates for LEDCs to repay. LEDCs struggle to repay the interests as well as the loan.
Is debt or colonialism responsible for global inequality?
By 2005 the total debt that LEDCs owe to MEDCs was $375 billion. High interests are charged on the loans. Debt Trap: Where LEDCs remain poor because much of the money they earn has to be used to pay off debts to MEDCs rather than to develop their countries. Many of the colonised countries were exploited by powerful empires in the 16th century onwards. Many of these countries fail to gain their former economic independence when they were no longer a colony.
What can we do about global inequality? Humanitarian Aid: This aid is given by governments or charities (i.e. Oxfam) to help prevent or deal with the suffering resulting from natural or man-made disasters. Development Aid: is money given to LEDCs to encourage long-term economic growth, aiming to develop their countries through tackling the roots of poverty. Free Trade: Allowing LEDCs to access the global markets by lowering the barriers to trade.
Background:
Many tribes of the Indians roamed the Great Plains for centuries before the white settlers came. From the 1800s onwards many of the whites moved onto the Great Plains and claim the land for themselves. This caused problems for the Indians. Missionaries tried to convert the Indians to Christianity. American treaties with the Indians, such as the Fort Laramie Treaty, which were made to settle differences but were always broken by the whites War was inevitable. One of the bestknown battles was the Battle of Wounded Knee. By the of the 1800s many of the tribal bonds was broken and many Indians settled for the lifestyle of the whites
Plain Indians:
Nomadic-this meant that the Indians roamed the Great Plains in search of the buffalo and never settled in one area Buffalo- was crucial for the Indians. It provided them their food, clothing, shelter, utensils etc Polygamy- an Indian was allowed more than one wife Great Spirit- one of the main beliefs of the Indians that the Great Spirit ruled everything Horses- were invaluable to the Indians
White Settlers: Settled in one area to farm and cultivate. Manifest Destiny- belief that they had been given a right by God to rule the land Searched for gold in the west They believed that the Indians were inferior. They believed in God and as Christians they believed that they should convert the Indians. Whites killed almost all of the buffalo Railways were built by white companies
American West
Different lifestyles= Conflict Whites
Individual needs put before those of the community. Professional armies to fight battles Land to be settled and used Manifest Destiny-whites’ destiny to settle the whole of North America Considered mutilation of the dead as barbaric. Exploited the land for their own benefit Settled in one place, fenced the land
Different Lifestyles= Conflict Indians Strong sense of community Indian warriors fought battles. They were also providers of food. Nobody owned the land The Earth was sacred. It was put there by the Great Spirit. Mutilated the dead to handicap them in the next life. Conserved the land and resources- only used what is needed. Nomadic, followed the buffalo
The end of a struggle: By the end of the nineteenth century, the white settlers had won the struggle for the Great Plains. The Us government broke treaties to the Indians and try to persuade the Indians to live like white settlers. Many of the Indians died from diseases and the buffalo was deliberately killed by the whites. Dawes Act (1887): divided the Indian reservations into farms and many of the Indians sold this land to white settlers-Indians became dependent on the support of the whites. Many Indians began to settle and become farmers.