Newly Independent States
India is free but she has not achieved unity, only a fissured and broken freedom.
—Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950)
Learning Objectives
- G: Explain how political changes in the period c. 1900 to the present led to territorial, demographic, and nationalist developments.
- H: Explain the economic changes and continuities resulting from the process of decolonization.
A s imperialistic powers handed over governmental control to their former
colonies, they often created new states. Between 1945 and 2000, the number of independent states in the world more than doubled, from approximately 75 to around 190. The boundaries of the new states often led to conflicts, population displacement, and resettlement. In India, as lamented by Sri Aurobindo, an Indian nationalist and philosopher, the country was partitioned into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan. Later, Pakistan divided again, creating Bangladesh. In the Middle East, the newly created Israel displaced Palestinian residents.
Newly independent countries often instituted strong policies to promote economic development. At the same time, migrants from the newly independent countries kept alive cultural and economic ties as they migrated to the colonizing countries, usually to the large cities.
Sections
Israel’s Founding and Its Relationships with Neighbors
Cambodia Gains Independence and Survives Wars
India and Pakistan Become Separate Countries
Women Gain Power in South Asia
Tanzania Modernizes
Emigration from Newer Countries to Older Ones
Think As a Historian: THINK AS A HISTORIAN: USE EvIDENCE TO SUPPORT, MODIfY, OR REfUTE A CLAIM
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Reflect
REFLECT ON THE TOPIC ESSENTIAL QUESTION
1. In one to three paragraphs, explain the political changes that led to territorial, demographic, and nationalist developments and the economic shifts that resulted.
AP Exam Practice
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