By: Claire Frederick

HISTORY IN SOUTH-
EAST ASIA
Vocabulary You Need To Know
Nationalist- loyalty to a group that shares a common history,
culture, and/or religion. An intense desire to be a nation ruled by
the people who share national pride in the region that they have.
India
Nationalism was a primary factor by India to overthrow European
rule.
India was a colony under British Rule/ A colony of the British
Before WWI, British grip on India was very tight
After the disasters if WWI, in which many Indians would fight for
Britain and loose their lives, promises for a move to self-
government were broken by the British.
From 1918-1921, agriculture took a major hit in India leading to
famines, an epidemic, and civil unrest.
Mohandas Gandhi lead the cry for independence with the
Satyagraha Movement.
The Amritsar Massacre in 1919 ignited nationalist furor around
India. Gandhi led a movement of civil disobedience and peace to
overthrow British rule.
India (continued)
The Indians would refuse to obey unjust laws and hurt the British
economically by refusing British made goods.
In 1935, the British gave in and passed the Government of India Act. This
made India a self-governed dominion. This act did not mean total
independence for India.
India would not gain full independence until August 15, 1947 when Britain
withdrew from India

Mohandas Gandhi
Born in 1869
Studied and practiced law
His time in Africa opened his eyes to the racial segregation and unfair practice
of British rule.
Believed in equality and justice
He created the Satyagraha (force of truth) Movement
His followers called him Mahatma or great soul



Vietnam
Nationalism was a primary factor in the moves by Vietnam to
overthrow European Rule
Vietnam was controlled by France in the early 1900s- region was
known as French Indochina.
Nationalism was a major factor in this region. The people felt
separate among groups in the region of Asia.
The people directed their nationalist energy at the French colonists.
Ho Chi Minh, a young man, led protests against the French rule.
He felt that communism was the best way to lead the protest. He
was soon forced to leave the country under penalty of death.
After WWII, Ho Chi Minh would lead a revolt for a new group called
Vietnam League. He lead the fight against France for nine years.
In 1954, the French surrendered control of the country to Ho Chi
Minh.


Vietnam (continued)
At the Geneva Conference in Switzerland in 1954, the U.S used its
influence to divide the country into two parts: North (communist) and
South (capitalist)
The U.S entered the Vietnam War after the country was divided. U.S
forces would remain in the country until 1975 when they withdrew
The communists took over the rest if Vietnam, but at a cost of thousands
of lives.

Ho Chi Minh:
Born in 1890
Vietnamese Communist Revolutionary
Led the revolt against French Colonial rule
Later led the Vietcong against the U.S during the Vietnam War until his death in
1969
The Capital of South Vietnam, Saigon, would be renamed Ho Chi Minh City after
the north Vietnamese took control.
Korean War
After WWII, leaders from the U.s, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union met
up to form the Yalta agreement.
The Yalta Agreement called for each country to temporarily occupy the
countries where the troops were when WWII ended.
The goal of the Yalta Agreement was to restore order in each country and
let the people decide what type of government they wanted.
The U.S and Soviet Union had very different goals. The S.U wanted to
create communist states (believed this would prevent further attacks on
the S.U).
The U.S was angry at the Soviet Union. The S.U broke the Yalta
Agreement promise.
Thus, the cold war began. The cold war was a competition to start
governments that were sympathetic to their own plans.
The Struggle was clearly seen on the Korean Peninsula. After WWII, the
Soviet Union controlled the North and the U.S controlled the South.
An agreement to unify was never reached
Korean War (continued)
The U.S feared that if anymore South-Eastern Asia countries fell to
communism, many more would follow. This was called the Domino
Theory.
War broke out between the two countries in 1950. After 3 years of
fighting, a truce redrew the original boundary where it remains
today.
North Korea is now an autocracy under Kim Jong-Un
South Korea is now more prosperous because they are open to
trade and accept aid from the U.S and other countries.

China
In 1911, a group of nationalists had taken over China. The Chinese
Nationalist Party was able to overthrow the Qing Dynasty. Unfortunately,
the new government was failing to provide for the people and many were
living in poverty.
In 1921, a group of men met in Shanghai to form the first Chinese
Communist Party, headed by Mao Zedong.
The new party promised to improve living conditions and won the support
of many. A civil war soon began between the Nationalists and Maos
communist followers.
In 1933, Mao lead over 600,000 people on the Long March through the
mountains for over 6,000 miles to avoid being caputred by the
nationalists.
Both had to call a truce during WWII as both were fighting to keep the
Japanese out of China.
The civil war continued from 1946 to 1949, until the communists took
control of China's Government.



China (continued)
On October 1, 1949, Mao declared the creation of The Peoples Republic of
China, a communist country. Mao was appointed head of Chinas
government.
Mao implemented a program in 1958 to organize all farms into collectives
where large communes of about 25,00 people farmed together under
government supervision.
This farming program was called the Great Leap Forward. Mao believed
this would speed Chinas economic develop. The Great leap forward was a
disaster.
Droughts and floods damaged the food supply damaged the food supply
that year and made things even worse. As a result, about 20 million
people died from 1958 to 1960. This was recorded as one of the largest
famines in history.
The result of the Great leap forward made people lose confidence on
Maos leadership. In result, Mao created a cultural revolution in 1966.
China (continued)
The cultural revolution was created to stop all opposition to the
communist party. Mao urged students to quit school and wage war on
anyone who opposed to communism. The students were organized into
an army known as the Red Guards.
These students attacked, imprisoned, and even killed anybody who was
suspected not agreeing with Mao.
The Cultural Revolution created mass chaos in China for almost 10 years.
Many schools and factories closed and people were denied healthcare and
transportation by the government.
Mao Zedong died in 1976 and the Revolution finally ended. Chinas new
leader, Deng Xiaoping, made many reforms to Maos rules, but the
government still stayed communist.
Deng began to allow farmers to own their own land, he allowed some
private businesses to open, and opened China to foreign investments.
Unfortunately, the Chinese people were still not open to basic rights like
freedom of speech and religion or the right to a fair trial.

Tiananmen Square
Over 10,000 students gathered to protest Chinas corrupt
communist government in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. They filled
the square for 7 weeks, peacefully speaking against communism.
On June 4, 1989, the Chinese government dent soldiers and tanks
into the square killing hundreds of innocent people. Counties
around the world condemned this violence and urged China to
improve the human rights of their people.