African Independence

Africa has been a center for conflict ever since Europe made desperate grabs for land during the mid 1800’s.

Africa first came under European influence in the Industrial Revolution, specifically during the Scramble for Africa, a period from 1881 to the early 1900’s. European settlers, in search of raw goods and market for their booming cities traveled to Africa. Countries like Britain, France, Belgium, Portugal, Germany, Italy, and Spain led different campaigns into lush African territory, with each carving up their own spheres of influence. They constructed harsh borders, which viciously cut off the interaction between the Africans, their cultures, and their resources. These European countries relied on their African territories for raw goods and industry all throughout the first part of the 20th century. However, it became apparent during and after World War II, that Imperialism was a dying cause for many countries. Especially Britain, who had suffered the mutinies of the Indians, began to see their control over their overseas colonies more as a problem than benefit. Several factors began to add up to convince the Africans to break the barriers created by the Europeans. Gandhi was a very influential example. When Gandhi had made his extraordinary exhibit of independence from Britain in BLAH, other subjects of Britain strove for their own independence. African veterans of the second World War stressed how Britain had consistently spoke about protecting freedom, so they theorized that they should fight for their native land’s freedom too.

In the 1950’s, the Africans were ready for change. The feeling was there, but the ultimate success of this could not have been possible without the collaborative efforts of the people and various leaders. Taking cues from Mahatma Gandhi, was Kwame Nkrumah. He and his followers were greatly inspired by the non-violent protest values of the Indian leader, and applied it in gaining their own independence. He applied passive-aggressive methods to convince his controllers to free his people. He organized protests and boycotts, which tallied up positive results. In 1957, he had won Gold Coast’s independence, making it the first African country to liberate itself from Britain. It was named Ghana, after the great African empire that had once existed there. He wanted to rebuild the entire Africa as an “United States of Africa.” In doing so, he put forth rigorous plans to develop Ghana, but mostly importantly provided for neighboring African nations. This crippled the country financially, and when the army seized over the weakness of country, it has since then swayed between military and domestic control.

Another revolutionist of the African freedom movement was Jomo Kenyatta. He and the Mau Mau (who acted separately) were the leading forces in freeing the Northern highlands of Kenya from their white opposition. It was a rural community compromised of farmers. The Mau Mau, utilizing a form of terrorism, scared the farmers out of the region. Because of his alleged involvement with the Mau Mau, he was arrested, but then released in 1960 at the forceful request of the Kenya African National Union. 1963 was the year Kenya saw independence, and Kenyatta became its president.
The map provided on the blog page and the text book vividly addresses the explosion of European owned colonies into full-fledged nations. In only twenty years, the entire face of Africa had morphed into a new existence. Many African leaders have taken a role in the movement towards a new Africa, and like the map shows, virtually all had ended in success.

9th Grade Review -=- The Neolithic Revolution

The modern world owes itself for the revolution that turned the world on its head, the Neolithic Revolution. What did the Neolithic revolution do for us? It introduced to us the concept of civilization. All the cities and the communities you see around you today are a result of the millions of years of evolution of the human populous’ psyche. Though many historians argue that this change to civilized societies was inevitable, the bare bones of the revolution remain static.

Before the revolution, there were Nomads. Nomads are people who lived off the land (hunters and gathers basically), who relied on animal game and fruits and berries for their food source. They change their home seasonally, usually with the movements of their game. When food was scarce, either they resorted to attacking other nomad communities to restock their supplies, or they just changed their location again until a sufficient source was found. They harnessed simple tools, and most of which were designed especially for hunting. This era was called the Paleolithic Age. Humans lived this way since the dawn of their existence until 10,000 BC, when humanity took a u-turn. In 10,000 BC, mankind had discovered agriculture. They became able to grow food, virtually wherever they wanted. Now they no longer had to aimlessly search for food, because they’d be able to create it in a place they found suitable. They didn’t have to travel anymore, because their food would always stay in one place. It was from this simple innovation that the first civilizations would sprout from.

The Neolithic Revolution was not an immediate change. In fact, it took nearly one million years for communities of people to discover, and then perfect this new way of living. On top of that, the communities did not learn this all at the same time; depending on their geographical location, some individuals gained the knowledge of agriculture sooner than others. In the end however, all the people of the world had learned about the agrarian way of life.

The revolution’s introducing of the sedentary way of life brought various changes to the active lives of the nomads. Whole communities began to revolve around the new technology that was agriculture. They built settlements by sites for growing crops, since they did not need to move anymore. They produced the crops native to their area, and after years of testing to see which produced the most yields, they’d establish their staple crop. This advancement into the realm of farming signals the beginning of the sedentary lifestyles that the people of the world live in today. Of course, this sedentary lifestyle encouraged the development of individual roles in a community. Before, during the Paleolithic Age, jobs were the same among men and woman; typically the men hunted, and the women gathered. However, the growth of civilized communities also brought the beginning of a structured society and specialized jobs. For farming, new tools were needed. To keep their settlement safe from outsiders, they needed new weapons. To keep the settlement under control, they needed a leader. It was these basic necessities that the people developed the first civilizations from. The first jobs were created, and for the first time it was not the exact same between genders. Varieties of jobs became available as the needs of the people increased (ex Clothe weavers, artisans, warriors, etc). It also called for the need of a government, or a way to maintain the people. Early societies made use of a “Chief Elder,” who would be advised by his subordinates, a “Council of Elders.” Only those with high merit would be allowed to lead the people.

The Neolithic Revolution also had a significant effect on the human race itself. First, it increased the birth rate. Food was usually no longer a problem for people, and with an abundance of food, mothers were healthier, thus babies being born healthier. The closed communities also fostered the growth of children because their food source was always their, unlike during the time of the nomads that food had to be fought for. Theoretically, the number of people born would have risen exponentially, but because of these communities, new problems arose. Famine, disease, war between rivaling settlements, and natural disasters became the biggest threat for people. But besides that, the people were able to grow. Second, it increased life span. Again, the food surplus allowed people to live healthy, and prolonged their life. The limiting factors like famine and etc. helped to curb the population to a safe level. In times that overpopulation occurred, people died as the food become more and more scarce; when the rate of which food was grown / found became greater than or equal to the rate the people consumed them, the communities returned to the normal state. Third, and last, the Neolithic brought us to control our own evolution. Humans during the Paleolithic age evolved with their environment, taking whatever nature threw at them, and becoming stronger against it. But the Neolithic revolution encouraged something else. WE took control over nature. Instead of using our body for everything, we relied on technology to do it for us. We brought our own evolution through technology. I can’t prove the following opinion, but maybe, the Neolithic revolution might have been a u-turn for the worst because we are hindering our bodies to evolve as it should with the earth; relying on technology, which is essentially one of the things brought to existence by the revolution, could make us too weak in the future if this technology were to be taken away from us.

The European Union

Anybody who has studied global history can readily agree on this one fact: Europe has always been a hot spot for conflict. But, the conflict between its members had never been on such a large scale until the mid-1800 and towards the end of the Second World War. And so, they all made up. The European Union (EU) was first developed as a way to maintain an economic relationship between the coal and steel producers of Europe. From this harmless, simple start, it gained success, and expand further. It outgrew its self, and now not only betwixt the members economically, but militarily, culturally, and even supported multi-national committees. The EU essentially (and almost ironically) became a spiritual clone of the United States.

The European Union shares many similarities with the U.S.A, making them a stark paragon. First off, it allows free-form traveling around the Union, much like the United States. Before, passports were required to enter and leave a nation, like how America requires a passport to enter of leave the country. But America doesn’t require a passport to move from state to state, does it? Nope, because they are all conjoined under the hood of the U.S. Likewise, the Union borrows this concept and applies it to Europe. Another similarity is the nonexistence of restrictive laws that say a citizen of one part of Europe cannot move to another. Present prior to the present, this was not possible. A citizen would generally stay in their own country because of the amass of “special papers or permission,” which they’d need to just work somewhere else. The other similarity is that now because of their amazing growths in economy and various assorted factors, they’ve become a world power. The U.S. had a short time to savor its time above all the world as the only world power in 1991, but them they were forced to slide over a bit soon as the European Union entered the scene.

Economically, the EU has become a sort of rival for the U.S. Euro, the currency of the Union, is now the most widely used currency in the world, and its value continues to trump that of the once favorable American dollar. So now, as market is easy for the United States, it has been reached for the European Union.

It was inferred over and over. The European has brought little else than multitudes of benefits. It has united the warring people of Europe, who for centuries on end had been entangled in agonizing conflict. It brought the nations of Europe together under a secure parliament, like how the U.S. has managed peace over its own states. It even has developed its unique military, most likely including soldiers from all the nations part of the EU. Most importantly, it has stopped conflict. Maybe they were just tired off all this fighting, or perhaps they realized that a relationship with each other would benefit them both, while also promoting peace. Whatever its justification, it has ultimately won over the peace of Europe that hasn’t been present for years upon end.

Film Lesson - The Right Stuff

The Space Race, similar to the many other ”races” occurring between the US and the USSR, was the central theme behind the 1983, award winning film, The Right Stuff. This particular race was a competition during the Cold War, between the two leading world powers to outplay the other in creating the more superior space technology; the first goal of the two nations was to first develop a capable aircraft, and then launch the first human into space, as was depicted in the movie. The film touched very lightly on the Cold War itself, but all its inferences were made quite visible through the fierce competition between the former allies in World War II.

The U.S. and the USSR were competing to dominate the other in several fields during the Cold War. From politics, to ideology, to military, and to science, these two nations duked it out on each other, neither dropping out. The Right Stuff focuses on the Space Race, the struggle between the two world powers to dominate humankind’s newest frontier: space. The movie showed numerous attempts on the American side to produce the first rocket. But first, they started miniscule. It was implied in the movie that the first they need to do was break the sound barrier. Attempts were made before, but the main character of the story, one of the greatest pilots in the world, managed to pull it off. Fast forward a bit, and now America was creating its first vessels. Unfortunately, most of the first rockets sort of exploded, or fell under their own weight. The Russians were quick to beat them, launching the first object into space, the Sputnik, complete with footage on the groundbreaking event. The Americans quickened up their game after hearing (and seeing) the news. In time, we were able to launch a monkey into space. But then the Russians beat them again, this time launching a human into space. America trailed behind, and finally won over Russia when we were the first to land a human onto the moon. “It isn’t over until the fat lady sings” would be a good expression for this battle for space, since the Russians seemed to have dominated us through most of the race, until we stepped up and won over them in the end.

Many of the scenes in the movie were portrayed the actual event in a more comical light. For example, the government meetings in America to discuss what they would do to counteract the Soviet advances seemed more like a comedy than a serious event (which I would think it was). It was probably true to fact though, which is what counts. The two scenes that showed the government conference will help me to remember this Cold War event because its abstractness, and the abstractness of the official’s ideas really proved how desperate the U.S. were to outmatch their rival in space technology. Another scene, played three times I’m pretty sure, was the black and white film grain footage of the man who had invented the rocket, standing in a cloud of smoke in his own successful invention. Oddly, this gave me chills. Seeing this from the point of view of a member of the government in 1957, I would have been fear-stricken and angry. I’d probably think “Damnit! They got ahead of us?!,” and some other stuff that I don’t want to put here, but the point gets across. This will definitely help me to remember the space race and Cold War because of the sheer emotion that I imagined the senators / congressman of the meeting probably felt.

Cuban Missle Crisis

The world had never been closer to an apocalyptic end than in 1962, the time when “Nuclear catastrophe was hanging by a thread ... and we weren't counting days or hours, but minutes.” Like other catastrophic events in history, this crisis did not begin without a prelude of quick motions on the state of the world. When World War II ended, the world was left in shock and awe: the most deadly weapon to grace human existence was manifested in America, and used almost insignificantly on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. Thereafter, the world trembled. However, not all the fear-stricken nations were completely powerless. The Soviet Union, allied with the Americans during the war, had achieved the same as their former allies: the production of their own nuclear bomb. Now with these two countries placed at the highest pedestals in the world, both competed with each other to surpass the other. The rest of the world could do little but watch. Western Europe, fearing the unparalleled force of the Soviet’s, created an organization with America to insure its security. The Soviets did likewise, forming an alliance with its adjuvant nations. The bitter tension between America and the Soviets bore holes into the psyche of its members and citizens, giving the signature name to this period in history, the Cold War. Consequently, in the early 1960’s the Cold War had almost exploded into a full-scale war, one which could destroy whole nations. It could have been the first nuclear war.

The center of the crisis was Cuba. Having just recovered from an overthrowing of the government, its new leader (dictator actually, Fidel Castro, issued numerous changes to the way of life in Cuba. Though from a reading standpoint most of these reforms seemed beneficial to the people, there were a select few that left the Caribbean island and into Florida, in the U.S. When the press heard of the stories told by the immigrants, America took a stand against their close neighbor. This led to the Americans deciding on an invasion of Cuba. The attempt to bypass the shores of Cuba, in the famed battle, the Bay of Pigs, was a complete failure. Castro theorized that a successive attack would not entirely out of the question. To protect his nation, he sought the help of Khrushchev, the Soviet Leader, who made an offer to install ICBMS (Inter-continental Ballistic Missiles) onto the island. The plan was that the missiles would remove any thought of invasion from U.S. The plan was soon carried out in mid-1962, setting the steps that would bring the Cold War to its highest peak.

The day was October 15th, 1962. A U-2 spy plane (nicknamed the Dragon Lady), a one man plane developed by the United States in 1957, hovered over Cuban airspace, which was a normal practice. However, a striking set of recon photographs revealed that Cuba had something going on without there noticing, until now. The aerial photos revealed a hive of missile bases planted across the borders of the island, and a few inland. However, this was not entirely new news. A recon photograph taken on September 4th, 1962, revealed that missile bases were being constructed in Cuba; however, they were non-offensive missiles. Twelve days later on September 16th, more U-2 revelations showed that materials, equipment, and missiles were being ported to Cuba for the construction of bases. It was becoming obvious then that there was a threat coming, but it wasn’t until the 15th of October that it was confirmed the Soviet missiles were present in Cuba.

This terrifying news was not revealed to the president until the next day at 9 a.m. He immediately assembled a group of his most trusted advisers. This group was named the Executive Committee of National Security Council, or ExComm for short. They and President Kennedy developed three ways to try to halt the crisis, but seven days after the news of the missiles, the one decide on by the members was posing a blockade on Cuba, which was less likely to start any all out conflict. It was on this seventh day that it was revealed to the public that Cuba had nuclear ICBMs, which could cause unparalleled destruction in the states. Kennedy declared to the Soviet Union that a launch of any of the missiles would be labeled an attack on America, so he demanded that the Soviets withdraw their nuclear weapons from Cuba. On October 27th, a U-2 plane was shot down over Cuba. ExComm received two letters from Khrushchev that day. One negotiated that if they were to remove their ballistic missiles from Cuba, America would remove their missiles from Turkey. The other negotiated that if America were to promise not to invade Cuba, they would dismantle their missiles. Kennedy, after heavy discussion, took the latter. However on October 28th, the Soviets removed their missiles, despite that they chose to follow the second letter. The Americans complied with the Soviets, also retracting their missiles in Turkey.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was definitely the highest peak of the Cold War. Millions of people’s lives teetered on the edge of death. Any mistake or misconception in negotiation could have marked the end of two great nations. For a week, the world rested on the shoulders of the leaders of the two most powerful nations in the world at the time, the US, and the USSR. Then, the people became notified on this catastrophe seven days after the conflict started, just when the tension began to burst the world apart. Can you imagine the fear these people had to face for the week that followed? Where would we be had these leaders not reached a “peaceful” settlement on the crisis?

NATO and The Warsaw Pact

The U.S. was the first nation to create the atomic bomb. The U.S. was the first nation to use the atomic bomb. The U.S. seemed to control the entire fate of the inferior world after the close of World War II. They held the most controversial, and devastating weapon ever known to man at their fingertips. It only took an order, and any city could be wiped from existence. But, what do you think happens when another nation successfully tested its own atomic bomb? Most would assume war, but thankfully that wasn’t the case: in its place, was a cold tension between possessors of the deadly weapon. Neither side dared to make a move, because if one were to act with their bombs, the other would do likewise. This tension soon became a fierce rivalry and competition between nations to become the greatest, in fields such as industry, technology (like the Space Race), military, and ideology. Hence the tension and war of ideals, but no physical conflict, the term “Cold War” has been most widely accepted among historians.


The Cold War saw the creation of two organizations, both of which dealt with their member’s security. The first to be formed was NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Actually, NATO didn’t exactly begin as the “NATO” we know: it was actually the Western European Union. It technically began with the signing of the Dunkirk Treaty in March 4th, 1947, providing a mutual relationship between signed nations; the primary purpose of the treaty was to protect the nations in case the Germans were to break the economic and militaristic limitations placed on them and take a second stab at controlling Europe. A year later, on March 17th, 1948, an abridged version of the Dunkirk Treaty was written and signed. It was called the Treaty of Brussels, and its main highlight was the creation of an organization called the Brussels Treat Organization, soon to become known as the Western European Union. Its signatories included the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxemburg. Similar to the alliances formed in World War I, the Treaty of Brussels created the outline that if a nation were to attack any of the allied nations, the members of the organization would come together to support and defend their comrade. When the USSR’s power became more and more prevalent in the east, the nations of the Western European Union did not fear the Germans nearly as much as they had previously. As Europe had done in the preamble to World War I, it had subconsciously divided into two camps: the Soviet Union, and Western Europe. Western Europe were not capable in their current state to hope to resist the soviets, so they turned to the next nation who had about as much power as their opposition: the U.S. The U.S. itself feared the developments in the Soviet Union as well, so they were quick to accept the negotiations made by Britain. To include America, and also Canada into their union, a new treaty was written. This was the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washing, DC 1949, and giving rise to NATO.

There were numerous objectives that the NATO was designed to resolve and fulfill. Its most important was providing a mutual security for all its members. If a nation were to lead a sudden attack against any of the nations secured by NATO, the rest of the NATO nations would become a coalition against the aggressor. This became increasingly important as the Cold War progressed, because the Soviet Union’s military power was expanding at an alarming rate, to a point that it almost matches the power of the United States. Another purpose of the NATO was expressed through the Marshal Plan, an operation that outlined how Western Europe would be restored after the devastation of World War II. The restoration of the ruined countries helped for the relationship between the allied nations to level out, allowing them to become more accustomed with their allies. The last purpose of NATO was to prevent the spread of the Soviet’s communism into surrounding estates.

The Soviets did not sit and watch as Western Europe joined together to impede the spread of communism. For the five years after NATO’s initiation, the Soviets had viewed the organization as a threat to their security, but when NATO had accepted Western Germany into the organization through the Paris Peace Treaties on May 9th, 1955, they moved swiftly to form their own alliance. On May 14th, 1955, in Warsaw, Poland, the second alliance of the Cold War was established through the Warsaw Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (shortened to Warsaw Pact). Its members included the Soviet Union (who exerted the most control over the alliance) and its satellite nations, Poland, Bulgaria, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Albania. Nikita Khrushchev and Nikolay Bulganin, the newly elected leaders of the Soviet Union, took advantage of this time to position troops within the satellite nations to empower their authority their.