Haiti: Why did the buildings fall?

Haiti has countless earthquakes every single year. In fact, earthquakes almost became part of everyday life for Haitians, and they believed that they would never be truly threatened by any earthquake, despite what experts said. However the catastrophic earthquake on January 12, 2010 that decimated the already impoverished nation was the most intense in history. The earthquake, which struck near Haiti’s capital and most populous city, Port-au-Prince, had shockwaves that affected almost every single building in Haiti. However, in order to understand exactly why the Haitian earthquake in 2010 was so devastating, it is important to first understand Haiti’s history and geography, and what it was like to live in Haiti even before the earthquake struck.

Haiti is a very small country composed of many tiny islands Haiti is a nation located in the West Indies, part of the main island it shares with the Dominican Republic. Haiti is also located directly on the Septentrional fault, which is an active fault line that causes many earthquakes to shake Haiti. In fact, in the year preceding the magnitude 7.0 earthquake, there had been tremors almost every other day. However, Haiti never prepared for the earthquake. Unlike what some people say, the answer is not because Haitians are lazy; the answer lies in Haiti’s long history of political corruption and foreign interference.

Haiti, which originated with tribal groups called cacicazgos, which are chiefdoms. However, all this changed when the French colonized Haiti in 1625. White plantation owners arrived who forced the natives and slaves from Africa to grow products such as tobacco, indigo, cotton, and cacao. This opened the door for the slave trade to reach Haiti. In fact, Haiti became the drop-off point for African slaves in the Northwestern passage. Many slave camps were set up, with some killing a third of the arriving slaves within a few years. Furthermore, the Europeans brought disease with them such as small pox, and they soon virtually wiped out all of the Haitian natives that had not yet fled to the mountains. (Haiti is two thirds mountainous)

The French revolution in 1789 led the Haitian colony with its slaves to declare independence after reform was not enough. It became the first ever successful slave revolt in the history of the world. However, although Haiti became the 1^st ever independent black Republic, it was still left with many problems from the imperialistic French. For example, under the French, massive deforestation had occurred in order to create more space for planting crops. This weakened the long term soil conditions, and later on made it harder for Haitians later on to grow crops. In addition, when France agreed to acknowledge Haitian independence, Haiti had to pay 150 million gold francs. Ironically, Haiti was forced to take loans from France at an incredibly high interest rate, which would hamper Haiti until 1947, when they finally paid back the loans. In fact, 80% of Haiti’s national budget went to paying off its debt, leading to almost nonexistent social programs and infrastructure. The problems caused by European imperialism have plagued Haiti to this day.

President Boyer later took control, who was also ousted in 1843, and soon afterwards, coup followed after coup, with no leader able to retain power. This essentially weakened the already declining Haitian economy and the Haitian government. From this point on until 1915, countries from all over the world would raid Haiti, including Syria, France, the U.S., and England all taking money from the National bank of Haiti by force.

The U.S. occupied Haiti in 1915 under the Roosevelt Corollary and the Monroe Doctrine. Another Haitian revolt had occurred, and the U.S. was worried. However, the U.S. was not concerned about the stability in Haiti; they were more concerned with preventing the Haitians from defaulting on U.S. bank loans and on French ones as well. Although the U.S. did help pay off the Haitian debt, improve their police force, develop better health care and highways, and augment public education, it did so through a government that did not give the Haitians any say. It put down several native uprisings, and eliminated Haiti’s constitution in order to get the required labor for the highway system through labor conscription. Furthermore, the U.S. established national guards in Haiti that ruled through mass violence and fear after U.S. marines left. When U.S. forces finally gave control back to the Haitians, chaos reigned once again. The Dominican Republic, who lost land during the U.S. occupation of Haiti, killed more than 10,000 Haitians in revenge. Haiti’s leaders were unable to make changes, and one president fell to a coup, while another resigned due to a general strike. Once again, Haiti’s lack of leadership severely damaged its economy.

At this point, Haiti finally elected Francois Duvalier as President in 1957, who advanced the rights of blacks. However, although he did promote increased equality, he also stayed in power as a dictator through the creation of groups that terrorized the populace, such as the Tonton Macoute, a Haitian military force responsible for the assassination and outright murder of Duvalier’s opponents in broad daylight. He would later become known as Papa Doc. His rule resulted in the deaths of more than 30,000 Haitians, and the departure of many of the country’s best minds. The brain drain would lead to effects from which Haiti today has still not recovered from. His son, Jean Claude, known as Baby Doc, succeeded him as president.

In fact, during both Papa Doc and Baby Doc’s reigns, corruption was rampant. Papa Doc embezzled an unknown amount of money by transferring it directly into his bank account. As he famously said, “I am the state.” Although unemployment in Haiti was the highest in the Western Hemisphere, Baby Doc still threw a 3 million dollar wedding and lived a lavish lifestyle in the midst of soul-crushing poverty. Furthermore, some say that he embezzled $350 million dollars, but no conclusive evidence exists because the Duvalier regime kept no written records. Also, the tobacco monopoly in Haiti was essentially used by the family as their personal slush fund. However, we do know that Baby Doc did embezzle a significant amount of money, and some estimate his net worth at 120 million dollars, all of it plundered from Haiti in some way. Finally, 5 million dollars was found in his Swiss bank account.

The Haitian people later overthrew Baby Doc in 1986, forcing him to flee to France. Once again, despite the overwhelmingly supported Haitian constitution, a power struggle still developed from competing political factions. Eventually, the Haitian people held an election 3 years after the ouster of Baby Doc, electing Aristide as president in December 1990 with 75% of the vote.. Aristide, who was born into poverty like most Haitians, saw the suffering and grew deeply disillusioned by the rules of Papa Doc and Baby Doc. He was a vocal critic, saying “The path of those Haitians who reject the regime is the path of righteousness and love.” Also, Aristide was a priest, with a deep religious belief. Aristide was not a perfect president. As a matter of fact, Aristide was extremely corrupt, embezzling huge amounts of money just like his predecessors. He deposited millions of dollars from Haiti to his own bank account, and other vast sums of money simply disappeared. In addition, Aristide condoned, and as some say, ran the drug trade in Haiti. One report claims that Aristide controlled 85% of all the cocaine trafficking in his country, and several of his top advisors have already been convicted on drug charges. Although there were certain bad things that Aristide did, he was much better than the Duvalier’s.

Aristide was perhaps the first Haitian leader in the 20^th century to try and undergo political and economic reform. For example, he doubled the minimum wage from a dollar a day to 2 dollars. He also tried to eliminate the racial and ethnic prejudice that was hampering Haiti. In addition, he attempted to reform the military, which under the Duvalier regime had committed countless crimes against the Haitian people, including murder and extortion. Amazingly, he also managed to balance the national budget, a concept that even the U.S. senators struggle with. For the first time, Haiti appeared as if it were improving. Aristide built more schools than all his predecessors combined. Unfortunately, all of this reform and social equality did not sit well with the Haitian elite. Together with the remnants of the Duvalier regime, they mounted a coup which overthrew Aristide before he completed even a year of his presidency.

Once again, Haitians were desperate to flee the country. Many travelled on boats that were not fit for the rough seas, and an unknown number of Haitians drowned. They attempted to get to the U.S. as illegal immigrants, rather than face their dead-end future in Haiti. As a result, the Clinton administration tried to reinstate Aristide as president, if only to eliminate the massive amount of Haitian illegal immigrants. Through a combination of economic sanctions and international diplomacy, Aristide once again returned to Haiti. However, he was unable to stay in power. In 2004, armed military forces captured many cities in Haiti when Aristide eliminated the army because it had become too powerful and refused to change. The U.S. reportedly flew in a team of soldiers and kidnapped Aristide and eventually brought him to Africa. However, unlike Baby Doc, Aristide was still widely popular in Haiti, especially among the poor that he tried to help. In fact, his return in 2011 was greeted with great public approval, unlike Baby Doc, who demands to have high security around him.

The political corruption led to a terrible economy, mass poverty, and the lowest GDP in the Western hemisphere. The countless coups in Haiti’s history have prevented it from moving into the 21^st century, especially from a technological standpoint. This low-tech part of Haiti can easily be seen from the fact that there are few large buildings in Haiti, and almost none that are earthquake resistant. Unlike high-tech and wealthier countries like Japan, who also faces earthquakes, Haiti’s lack of both technology and money prevented it from taking steps in order to make the country’s structures more earthquake resistant.

In addition, the incredibly lenient building codes were not enforced by the dysfunctional government. This meant that construction companies would cut corners themselves or hire people who cut corners, resulting in buildings that were not structurally sound. The buildings in Haiti were built with bricks that were handmade, meaning that there was no quality control. Furthermore, when people were making concrete, they would often use an incorrect balance of materials by using more sand than gravel or putting too much water in, in order to meet demands or to make it cheaper. In addition, larger buildings lacked steel rebar, which meant that they were prone to collapse. In fact, one study revealed that had buildings in Haiti been just 5% more reinforced, much of the damage could have been avoided.

The buildings in Haiti fell because no one expected such a powerful earthquake, and no one prepared for it. A combination of a lack of enforced building codes and irresponsible builders focused more on making a profit than on designing safe buildings. All of this led to essentially all of the buildings in Haiti being knocked know by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, killing more than 300,000 and leaving more than 1.5 million homeless, and laying the grounds for deadly cholera outbreaks due to unsanitary conditions. Haiti’s history, namely its history of corruption, political failure, and foreign interference, was why the earthquake in Haiti was so devastating.

 

Haiti: Can the buildings be rebuilt?

After the catastrophic earthquake on January 12, 2010 in Haiti that reduced the entire nation to rubble, we must wonder: Can their buildings and nations ever be re-built, stronger and more resistant? There is evidence that suggests that Haiti may become another failed nation with massive poverty and no economic production, or it may use the opportunity to start over together as a unified nation with foreign support. However, things in Haiti never run smoothly, either because of a lack of infrastructure and education or because of an inefficient government. For outsiders who do not understand Haiti’s history or culture, relief efforts can often be frustrating and fruitless. Haitians have shown the will to work and improve themselves given the proper help and advice, and they are not content to simply receive handouts. There are 2 crucial factors that will determine Haiti’s future.

Perhaps the most important factor is the Haitian government. In order for Haiti to be successful, the government has to play an active part in helping its citizens. Unlike in the past, where the Haitian government has been an obstacle to progress, a new Haitian government must be formed that actively helps its own people. It must undertake reform to ensure that a crisis like the Haitian earthquake in 2010 would not happen again through the implementation and enforcement of stricter building codes. Also, as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, the new Haitian government must actually be democratically elected and have a sincere will to help the people. In the end, the Haitian government must step up and take responsibility for the improvement of Haiti, and not let Haiti continue to be known as the “Republic of the NGO’s”.

The current president of Haiti, Michel Martelly was elected in 2011. A former musician, he has been a partial success for the Haitian people. He promised to help rebuild the nation after the Haitian earthquake, and although cholera still remains a problem, and there are still many homeless people, improvements have started. For example, several of the largest destroyed areas now are public plazas, and renovations have occurred at the Port-Au-Prince international airport. He is also trying to reinvigorate Haiti through the development of some small businesses. However, most importantly, he appears to be attempting to make a change for the better through the establishment of a public hospital and free schooling for 1 million Haitian children. Unfortunately, there have also been problems. As a musician with an array of friends who all know little about politics, his ability to collaborate with other groups in the government became a serious problem. It was difficult for him to garner support in the largely hostile Congress, and as he said when asked about how he would rate himself: “”I would give myself an eight, eight-and-half, a nine, because everything I did, I did without a government. Everything I did, I did at a time when I had so many problems, when so many people tried to stop me. Everything I did, I did whether the money was there or not.” Haiti’s future will depend on whether Martelly can keep power and collaborate with the Haitian Congress; if he can, then things may finally change for the better, but if he cannot, and becomes another one of Haiti’s leaders to be ousted, then Haiti may find itself in an even larger problem.

The 2^nd factor is international aid and the Haitian economy. It is rumored that in total more than ten billion dollars worth of aid has been donated to Haiti. Although, this aid is certainly helping the impoverished nation, it is not a solution to the real problem in Haiti. The two true problems in Haiti are a lack of jobs and a lack of education to fulfill higher paying jobs. Most NGO’s simply donate money or food, which obviously helps people in the short term. Unfortunately, this aid has left many Haitian farmers out of jobs, simply because there is no market for their goods. The only way to help Haiti rebuild is through NGO’s that work with Haitians to help them rebuild their own nation.

There are many NGO’s in Haiti that are ineffectual, sending supplies that never even reach the Haitians in need. Other groups or organizations that act out of good intent often misuse their time, effort, and resources by not fostering long term solutions. For example, one American group went to Haiti to help build a house, but it was only one house and they would not stay for a long time. Instead, as the neighbors watched idly, the Americans should have taught the Haitians how to build a house. Furthermore, groups need to work from the ground-up at a grassroots level. An American who comes to Haiti for a few months and manages a project has a limited impact because once he leaves, the Haitians are once again without support. Instead, the organization must use Haitians as managers and assistants. These Haitians can help other Haitians by using Western Aid to create viable long term solutions to give Haitians a stable life.

For example, one extremely successful group has employed Haitian caseworkers to offer advice and assistance to Haitians in need. One family who had barely subsisted by working on odd jobs, and were unable to send their children to school received help. With Western money, they received 4 baby chicks, 15 mango trees, and the tools and expertise necessary to enter the lumber business. Now, they are living a relatively comfortable lifestyle with a stable source of income, good long term prospects, and even the hopes of sending their children to school.

Another group, CHF International funded numerous projects, including one that gave Haitians workers, both skilled and unskilled, tools and supplies that enabled them to be more productive and hold better paying jobs. The same organization also provided small business grants to get the small business owners off the ground, such as giving food vendors and storekeepers some money to resupply after the Haitian earthquake destroyed all of their previous supplies.

In addition, foreign companies are investing in Haiti, such as Coca-Cola and a South Korean garment company. Coca-Cola is determined to make Haiti its base for importing Mangoes, which are in high demand. The South Korean garment company is opening factories in Haiti, tapping into the unused and hard-working Haitian community. Foreign investment is especially important because no nation can sustain itself forever off of welfare from other nations. In fact, long term jobs such as the mango and garment industry are especially important because they will provide sustainable jobs.

In a country where the per capita GDP is $1200, simple economic assistance can make a huge difference. However, there are obstacles to success. Although it is not nearly as bad as some people claim it is, Haiti isn’t a bottomless money pit filled with people who are not willing to work; rather, it is a country where its leaders have failed it. From a horrific lack of hospitals and clinics to treat even basic illnesses and injuries, to a nearly-nonexistent public education system, the Haitian government has not provided the basic necessities. It must work in conjunction with foreign governments and organizations to improve its laws and its own contributions. Perhaps a start would be to make it easier for small businesses. It takes an average of 3-5 years for property to change hands, and often times, the people cannot even make it formal because they cannot afford to pay the tax that comes with exchanging property. This makes everything convoluted and difficult for foreign organizations. Haiti is not a hopeless situation, but change can only come gradually through sustained hard work and determination of the Haitian people, from foreign NGO’s and corporations, and the Haitian government themselves.

Organizations and governments around the world must act quickly and correctly. Simply throwing money and supplies into Haiti without ever seeing that it goes to the people will never work. As the old proverb holds true, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

 

 

 

 

Tiananamen Square Massacre

The Tiananmen Square massacre was a conflict between a strong authoritarian and conservative government that was used to being obeyed and a hundred thousand workers and students, disillusioned with government corruption and wanting both political and economic reform. The protests started on April 15, 1989, and ended on June 4, 1989. They were sparked after the death of former general secretary, Hu Yaobang, who was a supporter of democracy and reform, after he was removed from power for being too “soft” on liberalization. He did not receive the honorary rites usually given to a high ranking official, and the general populace started a public mourning for Hu Yaobang, that eventually developed into a protest for reform that would sweep the entire nation, including Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Xi’an, and Changsha. These protests expressed the frustration and anger of an entire generation.

The protests empathized a few main points: Freedom of press, democratic reform within the government, anti-inflation, and also a cleansing of government corruption. Freedom of press would allow people to print what they want about government, which, the reformers believed, would greatly benefit and speed up government reform. Democratic reform within the government would allow people to actually become represented, and to actually be able to make decisions that would decide aspects of their own lives. The controlling of inflation was a primary concern of workers, who were afraid that if inflation was not controlled, they would not be able to survive. Finally, cleansing government corruption would be a crucial step in both improving the economy and instituting democratic reform. These main points were points that are necessary to freedom, happiness, and for a high quality of life.

The Chinese government was hesitant about what to do. Their main problem was that they were not sure if the army would support them in action. However, the Chinese government declared martial law on May 4, and finally attacked on June 1, with real ammunition, and killing from a few hundred to thousands of people. Unfortunately for the Chinese government, it was the same day that Gorbachev, Soviet leader, was also there. The city was swarming with news reporters, and when the tanks opened fire, the reporters knew what was going on. The western world denounced the massacre, but the upper echelons of the communist leadership maintained that the protesters were trying to eliminate socialism, not fight corruption. It also decided to undergo a major party purge, removing or arresting all people that it thought were too lenient on Westernization. The Tiananmen demonstrations had far-reaching consequences, affecting the lives of many powerful members of the communist party, as well as hundreds of thousands of lower ranking officers that were also removed or jailed for their “liberal” sympathies.

Every war or conflict has its icons, something that you think of when you think about the event. For the Revolutionary War it was liberty, for the Civil War it was slavery, and for World War 2 it was the nuclear strikes on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For the Tiananmen Square massacre, it was, without doubt, the Tank Man. The Tank Man was the one protester who stood up against a line of tanks. When the tank tried to drive to his left, he followed it, and even jumped onto the tank, and whispered something to the person inside. Later, some people pulled him away, whether it were some concerned civilians or the secret police, nobody is sure. The Tank Man symbolizes how the protesters refused to back down or use violence, even when faced with a line of tanks. It also represents the awkward situation the Chinese Government would soon be in. It looked even more ridiculous throughout the world, when this shot, captured by many photographers, was displayed by every single major newspaper in Europe; a line of tanks against one protester. The Tank Man symbolized the strength and empowerment the protesters felt, and the ruthlessness of the Chinese Government.

Freedom is something that is desired by everyone. Every society must feel free, and feel that they can make a difference, and when they do not, violent upheaval is always on the horizon. The United States was created through a fiery revolution, with some of the most brilliant words ever written, and even Russia, had to have its own Bolshevik revolution. It came as no surprise that 22 years after Tiananmen, the spring of 2011 was dubbed Arab Spring. It is a time where many protests are occurring in the Middle East, including Egypt, Syria, Libya, and many others. They have come to protest for the same thing as the Tiananmen Square demonstrators: A voice in their own government. They are disillusioned by the unemployment rate, the poverty, and their own lack of power.  In fact, the Egyptian president for life, Mubarak, has already stepped down. However, other dictators are less willing to give up power. Despite this, the revolt is still a crucial 1^st step in improvements to everyday life.

The Tiananmen Square massacre brought China’s problems to the world stage in a way that captured the attention of the entire world, and led to the Economic reform that generated the Chinese Economic Miracle, transforming China from a third-world developing nation to an economic powerhouse and world leader, as well as sped up the reform of the government, making it more democratic than it was before.

What did Mao do when he gained power?

Mao Zedong was at the head of a Communist government in China during the year 1949 when it finally forced the Nationalists to retread to Taiwan. Mao, or as he was known during this time period, the Great Leader Chairman Mao, announced: “The Chinese people have stood up.” However, Mao had a long way to go before China, one of the largest nations in the world, would be on an even technological and economical foothold with the rest of the developed world. In order to achieve his goals, Mao passed forward a series of plans.

One of Mao’s first plans was land reform. Utilizing the massive number of peasants in poverty, Mao ordered that in every village, at least one landlord was to be executed as an example, and that all the property was to be equally redistributed. Although this did help to close the massive income and social disparity in China, it did so at the cost of millions of lives. In addition, Mao continued to cement his political and economic control of the nation through the “Campaign to suppress counter revolutionaries”. Although this campaign was provoked by Nationalist remnants who tried to foster armed rebellion and conduct acts of terrorism such as sabotaging rail lines and buildings and stealing cattle and animals, it grew to target anyone who opposed Mao and the Communist Party. The campaign altered between lenient punishments to assuage the public, but also mass executions when Mao felt that the Nationalist influence grew too strong. This would later pave the way for the Anti-Rightist movement and the Cultural Revolution, both of which were targeted to Mao’s opponents.

Mao’s next policy was to try and improve China’s economic capability through what would come to be known as “The Great Leap Forward” Mao demanded that large farming communes would be formed, and that private land ownership would be banned. In addition, he advocated the U.S. of furnaces that were not properly fueled to turn scrap metal into usable material, which became a miserable failure. In order to meet the man-power requirements of his ideas, he diverted factory workers and others to work on the communes and in the production of iron. Furthermore, Mao utilized untested and theoretical planting techniques, such as over-seeding of the same plant type, deeper planting for supposedly “better root growth”, and concentration of fertilizer on one type of ground while not planting other areas. All of these policies were eventually proved to be faulty, and combined with ecological disaster, crop growths dropped by a huge amount. However, low-level communist leaders, both fearful of being targeted for a failure to meet goals, and excited for a chance to move higher on the Communist totem pole, lied and exaggerated grain and food production. As a result, the government took food for export even when the farmers themselves had nothing to eat, resulting in mass famine. In the end, “The Great Leap Forward” turned out to be a massive step backwards.

However, Mao, unlike other leaders who would ignore their mistakes, Mao would fix the problems when he realized there was one. For example, when he realized that the home-made furnaces were useless, he discontinued them and moved to formal furnaces powered by coal. In addition, he also admitted that the Great Leap Forward had been a mistake, and allowed his subordinates to import grain and give some private land ownership. Unlike other dictators who would never acknowledge that they were wrong, despite the deaths of their citizens, Mao admitted that he was wrong and would attempt to change for the better.

One thing Mao was able to do that greatly assisted China was that he turned to the future and replaced the corrupt and inept Qing dynasty. Also, he drove out the Nationalists, who were responsible for brutal killings and were essentially tyrants without the support of the people. Also, he righted the massive income disparity in China where the wealthy had an enormous amount of wealth and power while the poor farmers and workers had nearly nothing. This allowed China to start over anew, and to move forward as an entire nation, not just the privileged upper class leaving the lower class behind like other 3^rd world or 2^nd world nations.

Another thing Mao did do well was to empower China as an independent nation. Previously, China had been extremely weak to the outside world. So-called Western “democracies” would often use a better equipped army to force open unfair trade routes or make money in other unfair ways. Also, England used its superior military to win the Opium war. However, under Mao, despite the fact that China was still economically and technologically behind other nations, Mao was able to create an army that stalemated one of the world’s superpowers, the U.S. Also, during this time period, undue foreign influences greatly diminished, and China’s military strength grew greatly, becoming one of the nations to have successfully detonated the Atomic bomb. Mao was able to make China a powerful military nation capable of defending itself against outside invaders, something that no previous imperial dynasty had been able to successfully accomplish.

Despite Mao’s failures, he did manage to unite the country as one and to start the process of bringing China up to speed with the rest of the world. He built up an industrial force by forcing people to work on factories and farms. As a leader and a motivator, he was able to spurn his nation into attempting to increase production and becoming superior to the Western nations. However, as a Chairman who frequently felt threatened by others, he also initiated many violent movements to cement his control of the Communist Party and of an entire nation. Mao Zedong laid the foundation for China to come onto the world stage, and Deng Xiaoping and other reformers built upon that foundation to create the economic and political skyscraper China is today.

 

The Rise of Mao

Mao Zedong was one of the most influential people in the world; shaping an entire nation and changing the world, through his difficult and often brutal rise to power at the head of a powerful Communist government. Mao’s rise to power can be attributed to a variety of factors, but in order to understand one of the most powerful people of the 20^th century, we must first learn a little bit about him and about China.

Mao did not know about Marxism until 1920, at the age of 26. However, he participated in revolutions at an early age. In 1911, he participated in the Xinhai revolution against the Qing dynasty, which overthrew China’s dysfunctional imperial government. Interestingly enough, growing up, Mao’s parents had just enough money to ensure that Mao could receive an education, and he soon graduated from school in 1918. At this point, he went to Beijing, where Yang Changji, his college teacher, recommended him highly, allowing him to stay as an assistant at a library, where he sometimes listened to seminars by famous intellectuals such as Cheng Duxiu, a leader of the Xinhai rebellion. During this time, Mao learned about Marxism, and in 1921, he attended the first session of the National Congress of The Communist Party in China. Soon, he came achieved more and more power because of his charisma and because of his “lack of Soviet education”, making him seem more Chinese. During this time, the Communist Party and the Nationalist Party, (Kuomintang) were allied with each other, and Mao became responsible for setting up the Hunan branch of the KMT and CPC.

However, in 1927, the KMT, growing fearful both of the communist influences in Shanghai and China, but also because of their massive public support, decided to purge the Communists from the government. This led to the Shanghai massacre, and the formal split between the CPC and the KMT. During the Shanghai massacre, protestors were shot by government forces when they denounced Chiang Kai-shek and the actions of his army. The deaths range from 300 to 400 people that were officially executed, and the 5000 that went missing. This figure is almost as significant as that of the Tiananmen Square massacre, which had around 3000 confirmed deaths. However, because the 5000 people that went missing were communists, the Western governments still continued to support Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang.

At this point, Mao, both a charismatic speaker who believed that all change had to come from a grass-roots movement led by peasants from the countryside and a brilliant military general, constructed his first army, named the Revolutionary Army of Workers and Peasants. Mao believed that it was necessary to win the hearts and minds of the people through education, which was a concept that Chiang Kai-shek never placed enough emphasis on. Although Mao’s first army was defeated, he soon gathered another one at Jiangxi, which would come to be known as the Red Army. Using Guerilla warfare, the terrain, and the support of the local populace, Mao’s small army was able to win 4 major victories against the superiorly trained and equipped KMT forces. However, Communist high command, fearful and envious of Mao’s success, removed his military authority by appointing him to a civilian post. This led to their crushing defeat in the last battle, and the Long March.

The Long March was what cemented Mao’s position as the leader of the Communist party both as a military and as a political leader. During this March, one of Mao’s chief opponents defected to him, and the general populace realized that Mao’s strategy of Guerilla warfare had been right all along. However, when Japan attacked, the CPC and the KMT were forced to ally to stop the outside invaders. The Red Army, although not nearly as well equipped as the Nationalist army, was more devoted and had a superior military commander in Mao. Downed Western pilots reported that the troops from the Red Army not only were more popular, but were also more helpful and less corrupt than the KMT’s army. However, despite the Red Army’s seeming friendliness and general support, the Western fear of Communism prevented meaningful and longtime connections to occur between the CPC and the Western democracies. After World War 2, America continued to support the Nationalists, but this did not stop Mao from completely defeating them in 1949.

However, through Mao’s rise to power, not all of it was through charisma and leadership, Mao was also known for eliminating political dissidents, which started in Jiangxi after his rule was challenged by other Communist leaders. He frequently purged his ranks of people he deemed dangerous, and Maoism essentially calls for repeated violent revolution of the peasantry against the upper class. Using these violent methods, Mao was able to cement his control over the Communist party and unify them against both the KMT and Japanese invaders.

Taiping Rebellion

The Taiping rebellion was a period of Chinese history that would come to be known as one of the most violent military conflicts in the history of the world, ultimately leading to around 20 million dead over 14 years of warfare. However, in order to understand the causes and effects of this bloody conflict, one has to first learn about China’s history during that time period.

The Qing Dynasty, which ruled China from 1644 to 1912, was founded by the ethnic minority, the Manchu. Although the Qing Dynasty did become largely integrated with Han Chinese culture, keeping the imperial exams, and even expanding China’s power, during the mid 19^th century things started falling apart. The Manchu leaders were viewed by the Han Chinese as incapable as well as extremely corrupt. Furthermore, there were not many Han Chinese in positions of power.

The Qing Dynasty’s power had gradually been eroded as Western powers forced the Dynasty to sign numerous treaties that reduced its power. As the empire shrunk, and as it started to lose sovereignty of its ports to the Western powers, public discontent with the Qing Dynasty, and absolute monarchy, began to rise. After being defeated by England in the First Opium War in 1842, as well as other defeats, the Han Chinese, especially the lower class workers in Southern China, grew even more disillusioned with their Manchu leaders.

The outbreak of the Taiping rebellion was due to ethnic differences, political corruption, economic difficulties, and natural disasters. The Manchu were already non-native, and as a result, the Han Chinese did not fully accept them. They had not considered rebelling in the past because the Qing Dynasty emperors before had tried to promote increased standards of living for everyone. In addition, the economy was prosperous, due to European trade as well as tributes from neighboring regions. Unfortunately, this resulted in a massive population boom, quadrupling from 100 million to 420 million over 200 years and the reign of several powerful Qing leaders. The government lacked appropriate measures to deal with this increased population, which led to lower standards of living. To compound these problems, opium, which although was officially banned, was still very much prevalent in China. This led to a major kickback system, weakening the law and reducing respect for the imperial court. (Much like prohibition in the U.S.) Finally, droughts caused mass famine among the poor, causing many to die of starvation.

During this period of chaos, one man named Hong Xiuqing, who had failed the imperial exams 5 times, fell into delirium. However, after emerging, he believed that he was the younger brother of Jesus and chosen by god to be the one who would drive the corrupt Manchu leaders and Confucius from the land. He had policies that were sort of Christian, and they did seem to be logical. For example, he banned polygamy, stopped the practice of foot-binding, drugs, and slavery. As a charismatic leader, he quickly rallied an army more than 10,000 strong. After defeating Qing forces first at Jintian, and then captured Nan jing, establishing his kingdom from there. His forces continued winning victories against the Qing Dynasty. In fact, he ended up controlling much of the South. However, he was unable to win the support of the European powers, as well as the upper class, who thought that his policies were disturbing.

In the end, political infighting destroyed him, as he was tricked into believing his subordinate, Yang Xiuqing was attempting to usurp the throne. As a result, he allowed the massacre of all people related to Yang Xiuqing by one of his generals to occur. Afterwards, he realized he had been tricked, and ordered the general to be executed. This infighting eventually weakened his public support, and the tide of war turned against him. Eventually, the Qing Dynasty, backed by

England and France, defeated him at Nanjing, and ended his Heavenly Kingdom. However, even after the fall of Nanjing and the death of Hong, rebel forces still continued fighting. It would take until 1871 to completely finish the remnants of all the armies.