育教僑華 頁三第張七第日二十月四年戌壬膳夏
WAH KIU YAT PO
報日僑華
1982.
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History (30)
Philip Y.L, Wọn
Mill & Dale Press Ltd.
1What is nationalism?
Describe it in the **1870-1914 period and
show how it contributed to the outbreak of the First World War.
When nationalism first became popular In the early 19th
tury, it referred the advocacy for national independence from foreign control and unity among a people of a common racial origin. But tovards the late 19th century, when many European peoples lived: of their
under tionalism meant
patriotism or love of one's fatherland. The former was defensive the latter.
The Buressive.
Between 1870 and 1914, many conflicts between the Furopean powers had their roots in nationalism, all the more so as the force was becoming increasingly militant. The hatred between Germany and France, the rivalry between Austria and Italy, the restless ambitions of the East European peoples who worked to free themselves from either Hapsburg. (Austrian) or Ottoman (Turkish) control, were "all typical examples. Thus the two Serbian. pravinces of Rosnia- Herzegovina in the Balkans desired a political union with Serbia, as the two provinces were under Turkish rule. The Turkish Empire was -corrupt and weak, and this encouraged minor nationalities to rise against the Turks, Complicating the already explosive ssituation was the
う
nationalist interest sthat the great powers
had in the region. Germany dreamt of uniting all Germans the Balkans to form
reater empire, and Sussia dreamt of
uniting all fellow Stav people in the areas under her leadership. All was rooted in nationalë se,
Given this teuse European scene which Ttense nationalism helped bring about, how then did the force contribute to the out- break of the First World War? Que cannot say, after all, that the war was in part brought about by aggressive nationalism because there was aggressive nationalism In the period 1870– 1914 and there was the war at the end of the period.
The trouble-making Balkans provided much of the explanation. First, the Sarojevo assassination that sparked off the war was basically a Bationalist attempt on Bosnia's part to challenge Austrian supremacy. The
copsequent conflict between Austria and
Serbia orginated from nationalist resentment the Serbian resentment
against Austria in
blocking Serbia's
attempt at uniting
Serbs, and the
against the
Austrian resentment Serbian challenge. Later, tlie. Russians and the Germans intervened: Russia in support of Serbia, and Germany in support of Austria,
Both did so because of, in part at least, the desire for nationalist glory and leadership.
There were less direct ways how nationalism brought about the First World War. Nationalists of
each of the great- pavers urged their governments to take strong foreign polices, out of emotional patriotic reasons. The great povers, in an at
tempt to divert home. discontent and attention to international affairs, were fond of adopting precisely those strong foreign policies. In fact, this was one of the reasons for 3 Austria's aggressive
and adventurous
involvement in the Balkans. The great- power rivalry in colonialism, in which nationalism also
a part, had strained÷
The 1914 crisis therefore drev öne after another of the great powers into the enlarging conflict. The First World War was the result.
(a)The reasons for the
decline of European colonialism after the Second World War-
After the Second World War, European
colonial empires were fast disintegrating and disappearing. In 1939, 500 million: people in Asia and Africa were under European rule. In 1970, the number had fallen. to 21 million. During these years, the British rapidly granted independence to India, Pakistan, Burma and Malaya. The Dutch could not hold their Far Eastern possessions and the Dutch East Indies
• became Indonesia în 1945. France withdrew From Indo-China. In Africa, Tunis, Morocco, Algeria, French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa, had
11 gained independence from France hy 1962, Meanwhile, the British gave their African colonies self-rule. Ghana became
independent in 1957. followed by Nigeria in 1960. By the 1970s, old-style colonialism had practically ceased. to exist.
Many factors explained this phenomenon. Firstly, both the US and Soviet Russia were hostile in sentiment and policy to colonialism and obstructed the attempts by European powers to re-establish colonial control after 1945. The US, for example, was reluctant to answer French. appeals for help in Indo-Ching, Russia,'' oni the other hand, positively sent aid to
countries struggling against imperialism.
through the Cominform (Communist Information Bureau) Such aid was a significant factor in Ho Chi Minh's
·
success in Indo-Ching,
Secondly, owing to the effects of the two world wars,
the
what
influence and attitude of the colonial powers had changed. In 1945, they were exhausted and bankrupt, and they wanted was domestic reconstruc tion, not further imperial wars in their colonies. The French were greatly relieved
after their government had decided on total withdrawal in 1954, as made evident in the vote of the French Assembly which approved the Indo- China settlement by 471 votes to 14. Also, the principle of national independence was popular among European opinions. Before 1939, colonial rule was still justifiable, provided that the rule was good-intentioned and benevolent. Yet the Second World War had changed this self- confidence, a
as German imperialism in Europe aroused horror. In British government circles, for example, officials like Attlee believed that Britain- must leave India. Such a kind of view could he
found in other Weat European countries too. As a result, Europé abandoned many of her colonies long before she was forced to do 901
Thirdly, during the Second World War, Japanese victories in
greatly affected the future of Western colonialism. At the height of her power, imperial Japun controlled Indo-China Malaya, Burma, the Philippines, the East Indies and Thailand. Harsh rule of the **** Japanese stimulated intense East Asian nationalism. Then, towards the ending years of the war, a number of concessious of independence were given to these Last Asian countries by. Japan.
Once Japan was defeated, it would thus be morally impossible for the Western colonial powers to refuse these Eastmi Asian countries real independence. The Japanese occupation convinced these countries that the Western powers were not all that powerful. After 1945, with the rise of nationalism, these former colonial countries struggled for independence in South and Southeast: Asia.
Finally, the strength of colonial nationalism was indeed mighty. Such colonial nationalism had 3 roots. First, in colonial areas like Hindu India and Moulom North Africa, native cultures were preserved against European and Christian influence, which led to the rise
of native nationalism. Second, the introduc- tion of European ideas and practices
stimulated nationalism Lcountries colonized
i.n.
三期星
by European Powers. European ideals of liberty, equality and independence made the colonial people resent their subordination. Third, social and economic changes brought by the colonial powers to colonial societies hød. the effect of creating discontent among the nutive peoples. Consequently, strong national movennents arose in countries like India or Indonesia. In the end, a rapid end to the European Empires was
xa de. (b)Reasons for the rapid
economic recovery of Europe after 1945-
Years of warfare and devastation had by 1945 exhausted most of the European countries. Yet after 1948 on A economic recovery for Europe as a whole was generally quick. There are many reasons for the phenomenon, tu which we will now
turn.
First, the abundant supply of capital for economic growth was a factor vorth
considering. Such capital came from the large amounts of public and private investment in ware related industri
108. during the war years. Even in Germany, the capital stock available for renewed peace-time: industrialization was greater than the pre- war level. No longer- necessary to continue the war-efforts, many European countries could employ war- related equipment for peaceful uses,
At the same time, labour was abundant.
Despite the war which killed many people, the European population wus still large, thereby providing e potential working. force for economic. reconstruction. The large number of refugees and rural migration to towns increased such a force for urban industrien. Besides, these people were willing to work in new and rapidly expanding branches of industry. As labour was cheap, investment was encouraged.
Government policies also played an important part in the economic recovery. Instead of continuing with the pre-war unsound economie policies, the European governmenta pow adopted new economic polices that actively promoted full employ- ment for the people. As the people expected the government to give then a higher material standard of living and economic prosperity, the government was forced to develop welfare measures, the costa of which could be met by economic growth.
In France, för example, an ambitious. national plan of
economic development was drawn up in 1946. In short, European. governments became more active and enthusinatio in assuming the role of stimulating their countries' economic activities.
Internationally, the
日五月五年二八九一层公年一十七國民華中
protectionist economic
policies adopted by
European governments before World War II
now gave way to liberal commercial free-trade after 1945. This could he seen in the founding ‚of international
organisations for. economic cooperation, like the OFEC (organisation for European Economic Cooperation) in 1945 and the EEG
(European Economic Community) in 1958. Both of them greatly helped in their members! economic performance,
for
trade was made easier. and greater industrial specialization was made possible.
We must not, however, overlook the, important contributions made by the US to Europe's economic recovery. In 1947, George Marshall, then the American Secretary: of State, announced a program to help the European economies. which was known as the Marshall Plan. By mid- 1950, nearly 10,000 million US dollars had been made available to European countries. Besides, the military aida that the US sent to Europe and the expenses of American troops there had the saue beneficial effects for the European countries. A
Lastly, scientific
and technological advance served to quicken the speed of industrialization. For instance, "uses of oil, natural gas and nuclear energy began to replace the traditional
dependence on coal for power. As more machines performed human jobs, muanual work was
reduced.
There are these points to bear in mind when sitting for the exam:
1. Read the question.
carefully,
(a)You may know much
about a topic, but the question may ask you about a part of it only. Then select what to write, select
relevant facts and arguments. The marker vill assume that you cannot- even knoż
what is bor sure.
asked
if you say every- thing without judgement. (b)You may know very little about a topic, but the question may ask you about more than what you know, Then there is of course no magie to play. But still say the relevant things only, Elaborate them in full. Don't repeat them agoin and again. By elaboration I mean detailed explanation (as if the marker. is a stupid chap knowing practically nothing about history). Otherwise there is simply not enough things to write for 45 minutes.
2. Plan your answer.
(a)Jat down important.
points or facts.
你如
whatever that is relevant on the question sheet given to you (not on a paper of your own, for fear that people may mistake you to be cheating or some sort). (b)Decide whether you
should spend much. time on some Darts of the question or not. In most cases, don't spend too much time
on one part only. If the question asks 2 things, it's not advisible to write on the first thing for 30 minutes and the second thing only 15 minutes. Of course you
dave to write, in black white what time you will spend. Just bear in mind the timing factor. And when writing, look at your watch from time to time, Sometimes. students are too happy (when they see a. question with which they are very familiar, and forget that they have only 45 minutes,
3. Use the most simple.
and straitforward: language to say what you want to say. Don't. go round and round an argument. The marker has to mark hundreds of scripta, among which yours is only one. Don't expect him to guess what you wanted to say. Either you can say it straigh or he will dismiss your essay as being incomprehensible, which is even norë disastrous tlian writing irrelevant.
things.
Paragraph writing is important. Even though your understanding of history is in the form of points (obtained from your textbook or referenco book), develop the points into paragraphs. You don't have to develop one point into one. paragraph. A few. points can be grouped together (especially if they are of the same nature),
to conclude your essay (even if the conclusion is more or less the same sort of thing already. described). This will give the marker the impression that you are in control of your essay and you know what an essay should, consist of. Nowadays, the marking system is different from that in the past. In the olden days, wherever the marker spotted a stort phrase or a few words that matched the points in his marking scheme, then a script would be awarded some marks. So students could recite passages, knowing that in an exam a faithful reproduction of those passages would mean the marker giving ticks and marks accordingly. Now the marking scheme is very general. The marker: uses his judgement whether the student writing the essay really understands the things written. If you stuff an essay with recited passages, one can easily tell that the essay is not written to answer the
specific question,
So here it is, the last issue of this history column. You won't be in need of things like this next year. By thên
you will be in Form-6 or working or otherwise. Again, there's nothing tộ worry about, though I had been a student and I know what the feeling was. Maybe you don't need this
But for the time being, good luck!