Five Major Events of World History
Five Major Events of World History
In this essay I hope to explain the 5 events in each of these three struggling country. All these countries have things in common like lack of unity, lack of adequate economic development, lack of education. These countries struggle throughout the a couple of decades, but now slowly recovering with the aid of other countries.
In Africa, Colonialism left a legacy of problems. Most of the new nations were based on the colonial units set up by the Europeans. The boundaries of those units, however, showed no regard for the people who lived there. As a result, boundaries often divided ethnic groups, enclosed rival groups, or contained so many different groups that a sense of unity was almost impossible to develop. Nigeria included groups that were traditional enemies. The result was civil war in which more than a million people died. By contrast, Uganda had so many different groups that the government radio had to broadcast 24 different languages.
In many countries, colonial practices had undermined community and family life. Thousands of men had been forced to work in the gold and copper mines of the Congo, Rhodesia, and South Africa. Often they were away from home for months or years at a time, unable to visit their families. Elsewhere forced migrations disrupted communities and weakened traditional ties and the customs of everyday life.
Most ruling powers had done little to develop schools or to educate people as doctors, engineers, technicians, or government workers. Thus the new nations lacked both professional people as leaders and skilled workers to aid in economic development. The low rate of literacy also made it difficult for nations to develop stable governments. Rulers had avoided developing democratic traditions, and there were a small middle class. Tanzania’s success in achieving an 80 percent literacy rate showed that support for education could bring progress.
Africa had a population explosion between 1950 and 1980. The population doubled in these years from 215 million to nearly 500 million. The UN set up a Health Organization to help fight diseases. This progress in the battle against disease was a remarkable achievement. Because birthrates remained high, however, it also led to population growth. The birthrate exceeded 4 percent per year -- the highest in...