The two following papers were required written assignments for World Geography at Ashworth College. Although I retain the copyrights to both papers, I do this simply to protect my right to use these works as my own. My only wish is that these written works can be of some value to whomever reads them. If you have found something essential in them, then please, pass them on to others who might also benefit from them.
China: a Discussion of the "Middle Kingdom", Population, and Industrialization
China’s history has been long and varied throughout her existence. From ancient times to modern, she has seen and made great strides both in her influence around the world, and amongst those of her own people. China is the originator of inventions such as paper, printing, the compass, and gunpowder. The Great Wall, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, and the Yun Gang Grottoes are only a touch of the magnificent architectural structures that the Chinese have forged in her long history. However, China has also experienced devastating times that have nearly destroyed it and its people. From the feudal dynasties of the past to the failed and disastrous policies of the “Great Leap Forward”, China has seen and experienced times that were almost her undoing. In the midst of her roller coaster ride however, one thing has remained constant: the Sino-centrism of the Chinese people.
This attitude can most readily be seen in the Chinese name for itself: 中国(pronounced Zhōng guó) literally means middle kingdom. From ancient times the Chinese have thought of themselves as a superior people who ruled all others from the center of the world. If you weren’t Chinese, you were either a barbarian or at best, a vassal who was forever a servant of the Chinese. While this belief has changed in modern times, the Chinese people today still have a nationalistic pride in their country.
China has long been known for her belief in and use of “soft power”; that is, the domination of another country not by force, but rather through subtle cooperation and attraction. This use of soft power has been around for centuries, even if it has not always been intentional. Many characteristics of Chinese culture have been adopted by neighboring countries. Japan, Korea, and others share certain aspects of Chinese religious beliefs, written script, and the predominate importance of the group being more important than the individual. In more modern times, this use of soft power can be seen in the acceptance of cheap Chinese labor from other countries, which has brought billions of dollars in income to the Chinese government and its people. Even as recently as 2007, Chairman Hu Jintao informed the 17th Communist Party Congress that it was important for China to increase its use of power.
Of course, with the increase of power and prestige comes a whole new slew of problems. In China this can be seem most predominately in the issue of population growth; a continuing problem that has yet to be fully addressed or solved. Even though steps have been taken in recent years to curb the population explosion, it appears to be a problem that will haunt China for many years to come.
Probably the most devastating quest initiated by China’s first chairman, Mao Zedong, was to declare that there was power in numbers, thus encouraging an already extremely large population of people to begin propagating at an unprecedented rate. In 1949, the first year of Mao’s reign, the population of China was already at 541 million, nearly twice that of the population of the United States, the world’s third largest country, in 2011. Today, China boasts, albeit not proudly, of having more than 1.3 billion people at her disposal. China, which has only 7% of the world’s arable land, nonetheless holds roughly 20% of the world’s population.
Despite the fact that nearly 30 million people died due to the disastrous policies instituted during the “Great Leap Forward”, and the many policies put forth by the Chinese government to curb the number of births in China, many other factors have contributed to great increases in the numbers of Chinese people. Amongst these was the fact that between 1945 and 2008, the infant mortality rate fell from 200 per 1,000 to 23 per 1,000. In addition, life expectancy rose from an average of 35 to 74 years. When China instituted the one child policy it was predicted that China’s population would be around 1.25 billion by 2000 and decrease to 500 million by 2070. But these numbers have proven to be way off. In 2000 the population was already at 1.27 billion.
As has happened in many cultures in the past, China was not content to grow at a slow and steady pace. With his introduction of what would become known as the “Great Leap Forward”, Mao Zedong put forth policies putting forth changes which would transform China from a predominately agricultural society to an industrial society. These changes, which were put forth too soon and at too great a pace, would almost completely decimate the land and the people. In an already large and still growing society of people, lowering the amount of agricultural production was almost sure to lead to homegrown famine and starvation. When industrial production began to decline, the already impoverished nation was left with no food, but also no income to purchase food from the outside world. Millions would never live to tell their story.
Since the late 1970s, China has seen a need to make some changes not only to their domestic policies, but also to their foreign policies. It was discovered that if they were to survive as a nation, they must be more open to investment and subsidies from other countries. Deng Xiaoping, Mao Zedong’s successor, saw the value of an open door policy declaring, “It doesn’t matter whether it’s a black cat or a white cat, as long as it catches mice.”
While many improvements were made considering foreign policy during Deng’s time, many more improvements have been since then. In 1998 the Chinese people were encouraged to begin buying their own houses, as opposed to living in company owned houses. This led to a growth in the building sector. Although many businesses still remained the property of the government, many of the decisions formally made by the government, have now been handed over to the firm managers.
Although China has many more years and much more work to do, she has made drastic steps toward becoming a mighty global power. The people of China have the potential and wherewithal to become a great nation, but will they have the patience needed to succeed remains a viable question.
© 2012 Stephen Moore. All rights reserved.
This attitude can most readily be seen in the Chinese name for itself: 中国(pronounced Zhōng guó) literally means middle kingdom. From ancient times the Chinese have thought of themselves as a superior people who ruled all others from the center of the world. If you weren’t Chinese, you were either a barbarian or at best, a vassal who was forever a servant of the Chinese. While this belief has changed in modern times, the Chinese people today still have a nationalistic pride in their country.
China has long been known for her belief in and use of “soft power”; that is, the domination of another country not by force, but rather through subtle cooperation and attraction. This use of soft power has been around for centuries, even if it has not always been intentional. Many characteristics of Chinese culture have been adopted by neighboring countries. Japan, Korea, and others share certain aspects of Chinese religious beliefs, written script, and the predominate importance of the group being more important than the individual. In more modern times, this use of soft power can be seen in the acceptance of cheap Chinese labor from other countries, which has brought billions of dollars in income to the Chinese government and its people. Even as recently as 2007, Chairman Hu Jintao informed the 17th Communist Party Congress that it was important for China to increase its use of power.
Of course, with the increase of power and prestige comes a whole new slew of problems. In China this can be seem most predominately in the issue of population growth; a continuing problem that has yet to be fully addressed or solved. Even though steps have been taken in recent years to curb the population explosion, it appears to be a problem that will haunt China for many years to come.
Probably the most devastating quest initiated by China’s first chairman, Mao Zedong, was to declare that there was power in numbers, thus encouraging an already extremely large population of people to begin propagating at an unprecedented rate. In 1949, the first year of Mao’s reign, the population of China was already at 541 million, nearly twice that of the population of the United States, the world’s third largest country, in 2011. Today, China boasts, albeit not proudly, of having more than 1.3 billion people at her disposal. China, which has only 7% of the world’s arable land, nonetheless holds roughly 20% of the world’s population.
Despite the fact that nearly 30 million people died due to the disastrous policies instituted during the “Great Leap Forward”, and the many policies put forth by the Chinese government to curb the number of births in China, many other factors have contributed to great increases in the numbers of Chinese people. Amongst these was the fact that between 1945 and 2008, the infant mortality rate fell from 200 per 1,000 to 23 per 1,000. In addition, life expectancy rose from an average of 35 to 74 years. When China instituted the one child policy it was predicted that China’s population would be around 1.25 billion by 2000 and decrease to 500 million by 2070. But these numbers have proven to be way off. In 2000 the population was already at 1.27 billion.
As has happened in many cultures in the past, China was not content to grow at a slow and steady pace. With his introduction of what would become known as the “Great Leap Forward”, Mao Zedong put forth policies putting forth changes which would transform China from a predominately agricultural society to an industrial society. These changes, which were put forth too soon and at too great a pace, would almost completely decimate the land and the people. In an already large and still growing society of people, lowering the amount of agricultural production was almost sure to lead to homegrown famine and starvation. When industrial production began to decline, the already impoverished nation was left with no food, but also no income to purchase food from the outside world. Millions would never live to tell their story.
Since the late 1970s, China has seen a need to make some changes not only to their domestic policies, but also to their foreign policies. It was discovered that if they were to survive as a nation, they must be more open to investment and subsidies from other countries. Deng Xiaoping, Mao Zedong’s successor, saw the value of an open door policy declaring, “It doesn’t matter whether it’s a black cat or a white cat, as long as it catches mice.”
While many improvements were made considering foreign policy during Deng’s time, many more improvements have been since then. In 1998 the Chinese people were encouraged to begin buying their own houses, as opposed to living in company owned houses. This led to a growth in the building sector. Although many businesses still remained the property of the government, many of the decisions formally made by the government, have now been handed over to the firm managers.
Although China has many more years and much more work to do, she has made drastic steps toward becoming a mighty global power. The people of China have the potential and wherewithal to become a great nation, but will they have the patience needed to succeed remains a viable question.
© 2012 Stephen Moore. All rights reserved.
South Africa's Apartheid Policy of 1948
In order to fully understand the rise of apartheid (Afrikaans: apartness) and its ensuing polices, it is necessary that the history of South Africa prior to 1948 first be comprehended. For many years this area, once known as the Boer Republic, had long been ruled by whites who had come from Europe. Up until 1899, this area was ruled by Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers. When the British Empire invaded in 1899, the Boer republic consisted of two independent states: the South African Republic, and the Orange Free State.
This Second Boer War, which lasted nearly three years, would end in a British victory. Both Boer republics were annexed by the British Empire and were subsequently incorporated into the Union of South Africa in 1910. In spite of the fact that they had once been enemies, Great Britain and the Union of South Africa became allies and joined forces against the German Empire in World War I. Former generals in the Boer War against Great Britain, Prime Minister Louis Botha and Defense Minister Jan Smuts, were now both members of the Imperial War Cabinet.
Defense Minister Smuts was a member of the United Party. In 1948 his party was defeated by the Reunited National Party (RNP) headed by Protestant cleric Daniel Malan, who ran on a policy of apartheid. The RNP joined forces with the Afrikaner Party and later merged to form the National Party (NP). Malan became the prime minister, and thus was started the era of apartheid.
Apartheid legislation in reality was not anything new, as it was in fact based on former British laws that Great Britain had put into place after the Anglo-Boer war in an effort to keep the different races segregated. Using the British laws as a model, the NP leaders reasoned that South Africa was not a united nation, but rather four nations separated along racial lines. While some of their reasoning might seem strange to us today, they were in fact in line with most beliefs of the day that tended to not only look down on interactions between different races, but in many cases deemed them immoral, or even in certain situations illegal.
Although there were several sub-groups designated, the country was divided into four main racial groups: whites, blacks, Indians, and colored. The whites were either immigrants from or descendants of English and Afrikans speaking immigrants from Europe.
There were two types of apartheid laws instituted: grand apartheid and petty apartheid. Grand apartheid was the separation of peoples along racial lines. The grand apartheid laws separated the cities into small townships where people were moved to based on skin color. All interaction between the races was illegal. Petty apartheid laws were those dealing with everyday places such as beaches, clubs, restaurants, and the like.
An article on the website Stanford.edu states “that with the enactment of apartheid laws in 1948, racial discrimination was institutionalized. Race laws touched every aspect of social life, including a prohibition of marriage between non-whites and whites, and the sanctioning of ``white-only'' jobs.” (History) The first law was the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act which made it a crime for people to marry outside their race.
The second such law was the Population Registration Act of 1950 which required people to carry an identification card indicating which racial group they belonged to.
In 1950 the Group Areas Act was passed. This apartheid law officially sanctioned the separation of the races into areas based solely on race. Forced removal was often implemented.
According to an article on the website africanhistory.about.com, the Reservation of Separate Amenities Act 0f 1953 was “forced segregation in all public amenities, public buildings, and public transport with the aim of eliminating contact between whites and other races. "Europeans Only" and "Non-Europeans Only" signs were put up. The act stated that facilities provided for different races need not be equal.” (Boddy-Evans)
The Suppression of Communism Act of 1950 banned the South African Communist Party and any other party that subscribed to any form of Communism. The law was written in such a broad sense though, thatany form of government that opposed apartheid could be banned regardless of whether it had anything to do with communism or not.
The Bantu Education Act of 1953 created a system of schools and universities that were tailored for individual races. With this type of educational system, it made it impossible for blacks to become anything other than common laborers.
While interracial contact in sport was frowned upon, there were no official laws separating the races in sports.
Other nations, by way of the United Nations (UN) began to show concern about the apartheid laws in 1946, but it was deemed that this was an internal affair better left to the care of South Africa. Finally, in 1960, after the Sharpeville Massacre, in which 69 protestors were killed by police, the UN agreed on a concerted action against apartheid. It was demanded that apartheid and racial segregation be eliminated in South Africa.
In 1962 the UN passed Resolution 1761 which formally condemned the South African policies. Resolution 181 was passed in 1963 calling for a voluntary arms embargo against South Africa. Apartheid became officially illegal and was classified as a crime against humanity, open to prosecution to any perpetrators. In 1977 Resolution 181 was changed from a voluntary to a mandatory arms embargo.
During the 1980s, many leaders tried to reform apartheid in an effort to quell several uprisings, but to no avail. It was determined that the only way to solve the problems in South Africa was to repeal the apartheid laws and in 1990 then President Frederik Willem de Klerk began negotiations to repeal them. Although all the apartheid laws were repealed in 1990, the recognized end of apartheid was not until 1994 when South Africa held its first non-
racial general elections which were won by the African National Congress under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, who only 4 years prior had been released from prison after serving 27 years of a life sentence for leading protests against apartheid.
© 2012 Stephen Moore. All rights reserved.
This Second Boer War, which lasted nearly three years, would end in a British victory. Both Boer republics were annexed by the British Empire and were subsequently incorporated into the Union of South Africa in 1910. In spite of the fact that they had once been enemies, Great Britain and the Union of South Africa became allies and joined forces against the German Empire in World War I. Former generals in the Boer War against Great Britain, Prime Minister Louis Botha and Defense Minister Jan Smuts, were now both members of the Imperial War Cabinet.
Defense Minister Smuts was a member of the United Party. In 1948 his party was defeated by the Reunited National Party (RNP) headed by Protestant cleric Daniel Malan, who ran on a policy of apartheid. The RNP joined forces with the Afrikaner Party and later merged to form the National Party (NP). Malan became the prime minister, and thus was started the era of apartheid.
Apartheid legislation in reality was not anything new, as it was in fact based on former British laws that Great Britain had put into place after the Anglo-Boer war in an effort to keep the different races segregated. Using the British laws as a model, the NP leaders reasoned that South Africa was not a united nation, but rather four nations separated along racial lines. While some of their reasoning might seem strange to us today, they were in fact in line with most beliefs of the day that tended to not only look down on interactions between different races, but in many cases deemed them immoral, or even in certain situations illegal.
Although there were several sub-groups designated, the country was divided into four main racial groups: whites, blacks, Indians, and colored. The whites were either immigrants from or descendants of English and Afrikans speaking immigrants from Europe.
There were two types of apartheid laws instituted: grand apartheid and petty apartheid. Grand apartheid was the separation of peoples along racial lines. The grand apartheid laws separated the cities into small townships where people were moved to based on skin color. All interaction between the races was illegal. Petty apartheid laws were those dealing with everyday places such as beaches, clubs, restaurants, and the like.
An article on the website Stanford.edu states “that with the enactment of apartheid laws in 1948, racial discrimination was institutionalized. Race laws touched every aspect of social life, including a prohibition of marriage between non-whites and whites, and the sanctioning of ``white-only'' jobs.” (History) The first law was the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act which made it a crime for people to marry outside their race.
The second such law was the Population Registration Act of 1950 which required people to carry an identification card indicating which racial group they belonged to.
In 1950 the Group Areas Act was passed. This apartheid law officially sanctioned the separation of the races into areas based solely on race. Forced removal was often implemented.
According to an article on the website africanhistory.about.com, the Reservation of Separate Amenities Act 0f 1953 was “forced segregation in all public amenities, public buildings, and public transport with the aim of eliminating contact between whites and other races. "Europeans Only" and "Non-Europeans Only" signs were put up. The act stated that facilities provided for different races need not be equal.” (Boddy-Evans)
The Suppression of Communism Act of 1950 banned the South African Communist Party and any other party that subscribed to any form of Communism. The law was written in such a broad sense though, thatany form of government that opposed apartheid could be banned regardless of whether it had anything to do with communism or not.
The Bantu Education Act of 1953 created a system of schools and universities that were tailored for individual races. With this type of educational system, it made it impossible for blacks to become anything other than common laborers.
While interracial contact in sport was frowned upon, there were no official laws separating the races in sports.
Other nations, by way of the United Nations (UN) began to show concern about the apartheid laws in 1946, but it was deemed that this was an internal affair better left to the care of South Africa. Finally, in 1960, after the Sharpeville Massacre, in which 69 protestors were killed by police, the UN agreed on a concerted action against apartheid. It was demanded that apartheid and racial segregation be eliminated in South Africa.
In 1962 the UN passed Resolution 1761 which formally condemned the South African policies. Resolution 181 was passed in 1963 calling for a voluntary arms embargo against South Africa. Apartheid became officially illegal and was classified as a crime against humanity, open to prosecution to any perpetrators. In 1977 Resolution 181 was changed from a voluntary to a mandatory arms embargo.
During the 1980s, many leaders tried to reform apartheid in an effort to quell several uprisings, but to no avail. It was determined that the only way to solve the problems in South Africa was to repeal the apartheid laws and in 1990 then President Frederik Willem de Klerk began negotiations to repeal them. Although all the apartheid laws were repealed in 1990, the recognized end of apartheid was not until 1994 when South Africa held its first non-
racial general elections which were won by the African National Congress under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, who only 4 years prior had been released from prison after serving 27 years of a life sentence for leading protests against apartheid.
© 2012 Stephen Moore. All rights reserved.
References
Apartheid Legislation in South Africa. Date published unk. Alistair Boddy-Evans. 3 July 2012
http://africanhistory.about.com/library/bl/blsalaws.htm
Stanford. Date published unk. Author unk. 3 July 2012
http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~cale/cs201/apartheid.hist.html
http://africanhistory.about.com/library/bl/blsalaws.htm
Stanford. Date published unk. Author unk. 3 July 2012
http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~cale/cs201/apartheid.hist.html