1. The bottom of the ladder isn't something you
choose, it's done to you.
No one chooses to live without enough for food and shelter. No one chooses for their children to be deprived or to grow up without a chance for better. No one chooses to trap their family in a bad neighborhood among dangerous people and destructive influences. It's done to you on a rather large scale, a part of class discrimination and exclusion by race, ethnicity, wealth, lineage, or what ever might be used to divide 'us' from 'them'.
More than 20% of children in the U.S. live in poverty. (2016)
2. History helps.
There have been a few cultures and civilizations that didn't insist on wealth for the few at expense of everyone else. Just a few. There have perhaps been governments that favored the citizenry over the elite. There have even been dictators (just a few, known as benevolent dictators) that ruled for the general good. In the absence of adequate controls, however, power corrupts governments, organizations, and individuals.
When things get bad enough, protest and revolution always follow, and it can take decades to recover. Decades. (Socioeconomic upheavals: the American and French revolutions are in the list, as are the Cuban revolution and hundreds more. Among the primary causal factors, economic oppression. As has been noted, "Show me a highly unequal society, and I will show you a police state or an uprising. There are no counterexamples. None." ~Hanauer)
3. Power depends on inequality.
There have been attempts at equal opportunity and mutual benefit, at caring for those less fortunate. Today in America, the wealthy have a great chance at a great education, a great career, and a great income, but the lower echelons can expect much less. For fifty years, they've lost ground, the GAP has widened. Why might that be?
"Occupy Wall Street, the Arab Spring, the African uprisings, even the anti-austerity stance of new political parties in Spain and Greece, all have one thing in common: the recognition that the only way for a tiny group of people to become obscenely rich is for huge masses of others to be kept chronically poor." ~JASON HICKEL, JOE BREWER, AND MARTIN KIRK 03.12.15
Is this perhaps a good time to reopen the discussion? It's called 'economic inequality' or the GAP, and it has spread through our financial system and trade agreements to the world. When 'too big' is part of the conversation, there are needed adjustments that are perhaps unlikely to be easy.
"Occupy Wall Street, the Arab Spring, the African uprisings, even the anti-austerity stance of new political parties in Spain and Greece, all have one thing in common: the recognition that the only way for a tiny group of people to become obscenely rich is for huge masses of others to be kept chronically poor." ~JASON HICKEL, JOE BREWER, AND MARTIN KIRK 03.12.15
Is this perhaps a good time to reopen the discussion? It's called 'economic inequality' or the GAP, and it has spread through our financial system and trade agreements to the world. When 'too big' is part of the conversation, there are needed adjustments that are perhaps unlikely to be easy.
Is Trump the leader we need? Or Sanders? Or Clinton or Cruz?
Income and Wealth Concentrations have returned to 1920's levels |
In 1848 as an example, the gap between the elite and the peasants, the rich and everyone else, prompted revolutions across Europe and beyond aimed at the privileged and their governments. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in history, but within a year, most uprisings were crushed. The revolution began in France and quickly spread to most of Europe and parts of Latin America. More than 50 countries were affected.
Among the causal factors: widespread dissatisfaction with political leadership; demands for more participation in government and democracy; the demands of the working classes. Tens of thousands died but little structural change followed despite decades lost in reconstruction; ideological conflict continues as injustice and inequality boil up through the years and today. What might we expect? On whom might we depend?
Among the causal factors: widespread dissatisfaction with political leadership; demands for more participation in government and democracy; the demands of the working classes. Tens of thousands died but little structural change followed despite decades lost in reconstruction; ideological conflict continues as injustice and inequality boil up through the years and today. What might we expect? On whom might we depend?
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For some historical perspective, here's a (very roughly assembled) list of just major rebellions, revolutions, and violent uprisings. The purpose of such a list is to note the frequent instability following oppressive and unjust rule. There is a point at which a father will refuse to tolerate such abusive practices against himself and his family. He will fight and if need be die for the sake of his children and their future. Such efforts often fail. In most cases, win or lose, the attempts are accompanied by economic upheaval, a significant death toll, and years in arduous recovery for participants. In some cases, it's many decades.
(2020 Update:
there have been 20+ uprisings and rebellions since 2016.)
2016 Yemeni Civil War, continuous since 2015
2016 Second Libyan Civil War, continuous since 2014
2016 Iraqi Civil War, continuous since 2014
2016 War in Donbass, continuous since 2014
2016 South Sudanese Civil War, continuous since 2013
2016 Central African Republic conflict, continuous since 2012
2016 Syrian Civil War, continuous since 2011
2016 Sudanese nomadic conflicts, continuous since 2009
2016 War in North-West Pakistan, continuous since 2004
2016 War in Darfur, continuous since 2003
2016 Somali Civil War, continuous since 1988
2016 Peruvian conflict, continuous since 1978
2016 War in Afghanistan, continuous since 1978
2014 Ukraine - Revolution of Dignity
2014 Burkinabé uprising
2014 Abkhazian Revolution
2013 Eritrean Army mutiny
2013 Egyptian protests, which led to Mohamed Morsi being removed in what he and his organization accuses of being a "coup d'état"
2013 South Sudanese political crisis
2013–14 Tunisian protests against the Ennahda-led government.
2013-current Rojava Revolution
2012 Tuareg rebellion
2012–present Central African Republic conflict François Bozizé, president of the Central African Republic, is overthrown by the rebel coalition Seleka, led by Michel Djotodia.
2012–2013 M23 rebellion
2011 The Egyptian revolt ousts Hosni Mubarak.
2011 Post-civil war violence in Libya
2011 The Libyan Civil War kills the leader Muammar Gaddafi.
2011 - present -- the Syrian uprising
Bahraini uprising of 2011
2011 Iraqi protests
2011 Jordanian protests
2011 Omani protests
2011 Yemeni revolution - the revolt that lead to the eventual resignation of Ali Abdullah Saleh as President of Yemen.
2011–12 Moroccan protests
2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests
2011 Israeli social justice protests
2011 Azerbaijani protests
2011–12 Iranian protests
2011–13 Russian protests
2011–13 Spanish protests
2011–12 Maldives political crisis: Public protests and police mutiny lead to resignation of President Mohammed Nasheed
Libyan Civil War (2011)
2011 Yemeni Revolution
2010 Kashmir pro-independence protests
Kyrgyz Revolution of 2010
2016 Yemeni Civil War, continuous since 2015
2016 Second Libyan Civil War, continuous since 2014
2016 Iraqi Civil War, continuous since 2014
2016 War in Donbass, continuous since 2014
2016 South Sudanese Civil War, continuous since 2013
2016 Central African Republic conflict, continuous since 2012
2016 Syrian Civil War, continuous since 2011
2016 Sudanese nomadic conflicts, continuous since 2009
2016 War in North-West Pakistan, continuous since 2004
2016 War in Darfur, continuous since 2003
2016 Somali Civil War, continuous since 1988
2016 Peruvian conflict, continuous since 1978
2016 War in Afghanistan, continuous since 1978
2014 Ukraine - Revolution of Dignity
2014 Burkinabé uprising
2014 Abkhazian Revolution
2013 Eritrean Army mutiny
2013 Egyptian protests, which led to Mohamed Morsi being removed in what he and his organization accuses of being a "coup d'état"
2013 South Sudanese political crisis
2013–14 Tunisian protests against the Ennahda-led government.
2013-current Rojava Revolution
2012 Tuareg rebellion
2012–present Central African Republic conflict François Bozizé, president of the Central African Republic, is overthrown by the rebel coalition Seleka, led by Michel Djotodia.
2012–2013 M23 rebellion
2011 The Egyptian revolt ousts Hosni Mubarak.
2011 Post-civil war violence in Libya
2011 The Libyan Civil War kills the leader Muammar Gaddafi.
2011 - present -- the Syrian uprising
Bahraini uprising of 2011
2011 Iraqi protests
2011 Jordanian protests
2011 Omani protests
2011 Yemeni revolution - the revolt that lead to the eventual resignation of Ali Abdullah Saleh as President of Yemen.
2011–12 Moroccan protests
2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests
2011 Israeli social justice protests
2011 Azerbaijani protests
2011–12 Iranian protests
2011–13 Russian protests
2011–13 Spanish protests
2011–12 Maldives political crisis: Public protests and police mutiny lead to resignation of President Mohammed Nasheed
Libyan Civil War (2011)
2011 Yemeni Revolution
2010 Kashmir pro-independence protests
Kyrgyz Revolution of 2010
Anti-austerity protests in Ireland
in 2010, notably the 2010 student protest in Dublin and the March for a
Better Way.
Greek protests against austerity measures in 2010-2012. 2010 G-20 Toronto summit protests 2010-2011 'Putin must go' protests in Russia. 2010–2012: Arab Spring: 2010 The Tunisian revolution (2010–2011) forces President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to resign and flee the country, and sets free elections. 2010–12 Algerian protests Kyrgyz Revolution of 2010 2010 Tunisian Revolution 2009: 2009 Iranian presidential election protests, leading to development of Iranian Green Movement 2009: 2009 Bangladesh Rifles revolt took place in Dhaka, Bangladesh killing 57 army officers. 2009–2011: A civil uprising popularly known as the Kitchenware Revolution brought down the Icelandic government after the collapse of the country's financial system in October 2008. 2009: The 2009 Malagasy political crisis in the Madagascar 2009: The Dongo conflict In the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 2008: 2008 Armenian presidential election protests 2008: A Shiite uprising in Basra. 2008: Attacks in Lanao del Norte in the Philippines by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front led by Kumander Bravo and Umbrfa Kato. 2007–2015: The Civil war in Ingushetia 2007–2009: The Second Tuareg Rebellion in Niger. 2007: The Burmese anti-government protests, including the Saffron Revolution of Burmese Buddhist monks. 2006: Democracy movement in Nepal. 2006: The 2006 Oaxaca protests demanding the removal of Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, the governor of Oaxaca state in Mexico. 2006–present: The Mexican Drug War. 2005: The Cedar Revolution, triggered by the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, asks for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. 2005: The Tulip Revolution (a.k.a. Pink/Yellow Revolution) overthrows the President of Kyrgyzstan, Askar Akayev, and set new elections. This is the fourth colour revolution. 2005: April 15 Intifada – Arab uprising in the Iranian province of Khuzestan. 2004–present: The Shi'ite Uprising against the US-led occupation of Iraq. 2004–2005: The Orange Revolution in Ukraine. After Viktor Yanukovych was declared the winner of the presidential elections people took to the streets in protest demanding new elections. This was the third colour revolution. 2004: A failed attempt at popular colour-style revolution in Azerbaijan, led by the groups Yox! and Azadlig. 2004–present: The Naxalite insurgency in India, led by the Communist Party of India (Maoist). 2004–2013: The Kivu Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 2003: The Rose Revolution, second of the colour revolutions, displaces the president of Georgia, Eduard Shevardnadze, and calls new elections. 2003–present: The Iraqi insurgency refers to the armed resistance by diverse groups within Iraq to the U.S. occupation of Iraq and to the establishment of a liberal democracy therein. 2003–present: The Darfur rebellion led by the two major rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement, recruited primarily from the land-tilling Fur, Zaghawa, and Massaleit ethnic groups. 2001–present: The Taliban insurgency following the 2001 war in Afghanistan which overthrew Taliban rule. 2001: The 2001 EDSA Revolution peacefully ousts Philippine President Joseph Estrada after the collapse of his impeachment trial. 2001: Supporters of Philippines former president Joseph Estrada violently and unsuccessfully stage a rally, so-called the EDSA Tres, in an attempt of returning him to power. 2001: Cacerolazo in Argentina. Following mass riots and a period of civil unrest, popular protests oust the government and two additional interim presidents within months. 2001 December riots in Argentina 2000–2004: The Second Intifada, a continuation of the First Intifada, between Palestinians and Israel. 2000 The bloodless Bulldozer Revolution, first of the four colour revolutions (in 2000, 2003, 2004, and 2005), overthrows Slobodan Milošević's régime in Yugoslavia. 1999–present: The Second Chechen Rebellion against Russia. 1999–2003: The Second Liberian Civil War against the government of Liberia. 1999: The Iran student protests, July 1999 were, at the time, the most violent protests to occur against the Islamic Republic of Iran. 1998–2003: The Second Congo War in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 1998–1999: The Guinea-Bissau Civil War against the administration and government of President Joao Bernardo Vieira. 1998: The Indonesian Revolution of 1998 resulted the resignation of President Suharto after three decades of the New Order period. 1998: The election in Venezuela of socialist leader Hugo Chávez known as the Bolivarian Revolution. 1997–1999: The Republic of the Congo Civil War 1997–1999: The Kosovo Rebellion against Yugoslavia. 1997: The 1997 rebellion in Albania sparked by Ponzi scheme failures. 1996–1997: The First Congo War in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 1996: An Islamic movement in Afghanistan led by the Taliban established Taliban rule. 1994–1996: The First Chechen Rebellion against Russia. 1994: The Zapatista Rebellion: an uprising in the Mexican state of Chiapas demanding equal rights for indigenous peoples and in opposition to growing neoliberalism in North America. 1994: The 1990s Uprising in Bahrain, Shiite-led rebellion for the restoration of democracy in Bahrain. 1992–1995: Bosnian War of Independence. 1992: An Afghan uprising against the Taliban by United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan, or the Northern Alliance. 1991–2002: The Sierra Leone Civil War against the administration of president, Joseph Saidu Momoh. 1991: Somali National Movement rebels establish the Somaliland administration in northwestern Somalia, and declare the region independent from the rest of the country. 1991: The Shiite Uprising in Karbala, Iraq. 1991: The Kurdish uprising against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in Iraqi Kurdistan. 1991: The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front take control of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, after dictator Haile Mariam Mengistu flees the country, bringing an end to the Ethiopian Civil War 1990–present: United Liberation Front of Asom launch major violent activities against Indian rule in Assam.To date, the resulting clashes with the Indian army have left more than 10,000 dead. 1990–1995: The Log Revolution in Croatia starts, triggering the Croatian War of Independence. 1990–1995: The First Tuareg Rebellion in Niger and Mali. 1990–1992: Anticommunist forces led a National Democratic Revolution that overthrew President Ramiz Alia and ended with the win of elections by Democratic Party of Albania the biggest anticommunist party in Albania. 1989–1997: The First Liberian Civil War 1989–1991: The Singing Revolution, bloodless overthrow of communist rule in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. 1989: The violent Caracazo riots in Venezuela. In the next few years, there are two attempted coups and President Carlos Andrés Pérez is impeached. 1989: Armed resistance breaks out in the Kashmir valley against Indian administration. 1988–1991: The Pan-Armenian National Movement frees Armenia from Soviet rule. 1988: The 8888 Uprising In Burma or Myanmar. 1987–1991: The First Intifada, or the Palestinian uprising, a series of violent incidents between Palestinians and Israelis. 1986–1991: Somali Rebellion as a result of military dictator Siad Barre beginning to attack clan-based dissident groups. 1986: Khalistan Commando Force started armed movement for the establishment of Khalistan, an independent Sikh homeland. The movement, as is the case with other Sikh nationalistic movements, was fueled in part by the Indian army's Operation Blue Star. The armed struggle resulted in thousands of mostly civilian deaths. 1986: The People Power Revolution peacefully overthrows Ferdinand Marcos after his two decade rule in the Philippines. 1985: Soviet and Afghanistan P.O.W.s rose against their captors at Badaber base. 1984–1999: Kurdish uprising for independence from the Republic of Turkey 1984–1985: Pro-independence Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) forces in New Caledonia revolt following an election boycott and occupy the town of Thio from November 1984 to January 1985. Thio is retaken by the French after the assassination of Éloi Machoro, the security minister in the FLNKS provisional government and the primary leader of the occupation. 1983–2005: The Second Sudanese Civil War was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War, and one of the longest lasting and deadliest wars of the later 20th century. 1983: Prime Minister of Grenada, Maurice Bishop, overthrown and subsequently executed by high-ranking government officials. 1983: Overthrow of the ruling Conseil de Salut du peuple (CSP) by Marxist forces led by Thomas Sankara in Upper Volta, renamed Burkina Faso in the following year. 1983 Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the Government of Sri Lanka by the LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers. 1982: General Hussain Muhammad Ershad seizes power through a bloodless coup, deposing president Abdus Sattar in Bangladesh. 1981: Second Entumbane uprising in Zimbabwe. 1981: Assassination of Ziaur Rahman in Bangladesh sparks protests and riots. 1980–2000: The Communist Party of Peru launched the internal conflict in Peru. 1980: First Entumbane uprising in Zimbabwe. 1980: The Santo Rebellion in the Anglo-French condominium of New Hebrides 1980: National Socialist Council of Nagaland launches its struggle against Indian administration and the establishment of the greater Nagaland. 1979–1992: Salvadoran Civil War 1979: New Jewel Movement led by Maurice Bishop launch an armed revolution and overthrow the government of Eric Gairy in Grenada. 1979: Cambodia is liberated from the Khmer Rouge regime by the Vietnam-backed Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party. 1979: The Iranian Revolution overthrows Shah Reza Pahlavi, resulting in the formation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. 1979: The popular overthrow of the Somoza dictatorship by progressive/Marxist Nicaraguan Revolution. 1978: The Saur Revolution led by the Khalq faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan deposes and kills President Mohammad Daud Khan. 1977: Egyptian Bread Riots the riots were a spontaneous uprising by hundreds of thousands of lower-class people, at least 79 people were killed and 800 wounded. 1977: The Market Women's Revolt in Guinea leads to a lessening of the state's role in the economy. 1976: Student demonstrations and election-related violence in Thailand lead police to open fire on a sit-in at Thammasat University, killing hundreds. The military seizes power the next day, ending constitutional rule. 1975–1991: The Western Sahara War was a conflict between the Sahrawi national liberation movement named POLISARIO against the armies of their neighbours, Morocco and Mauritania, who have entered the territory when the Spanish colonizers troops fled. 1975: Lebanese Civil War lasted from 1975 to 1990. 1975: Coup led by Brigadier Khaled Mosharraf and Colonel Shafaat Jamil in Bangladesh to depose President Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad. Three days later a counter-coup by Colonel Abu Taher puts Ziaur Rahman in power. 1975: A revolution in Cambodia. 1975: 15 August, coup led by young military officers and the Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Bangladesh. 1974–1975: The Carnation Revolution overthrows of right-wing dictatorship in Portugal. Lead to the independence of Cape Verde 1974: A revolution in Ethiopia. 1973: Wounded Knee Incident. American Indian Movement activists and Oglala Lakota besiege the small town of Wounded Knee in protest of government policies towards Native Americans and the corrupt Wilson Regime. Part of the Red Power movement 1973: Mohammad Daud Khan overthrows the monarchy and establishes a republic in Afghanistan. 1973: Worker-student demonstrations in Thailand force dictator Thanom Kittikachorn and two close associates to flee the country, beginning a short period of democratic constitutional rule. 1972: A revolution in Benin. 1972: A military-led revolution against the civilian government of President Philibert Tsiranana in the Malagasy Republic; a Marxist faction takes power in 1975 under Didier Ratsiraka, modeled on the North Korean juche theory developed by Kim Il Sung. 1971: The Bangladesh Liberation War led by the Mukti Bahini establishes the independent People's Republic of Bangladesh from the former East Pakistan. 1970–1971: Black September in Jordan 1970: The Black Power Revolution occurs in Trinidad. 1970: A rebellion in Guinea by what its government identified as Portuguese agents. 1969–1998: The Troubles: the Provisional Irish Republican Army and other Republican Paramilitaries waged an armed campaign against British Security forces and Loyalist Paramilitaries in an attempt to bring about a United Ireland. 1969: The Days of Rage occur, part of the Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War. 1969: A mass movement of workers, students, and peasants in Pakistan forced the resignation of President Mohammad Ayub Khan. 1968: The King assassination riots, also known as the Holy Week Uprising, was a wave of civil disturbance which swept the United States following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968. Many believe it to be the greatest wave of social unrest the United States had experienced since the Civil War. Some of the biggest riots took place in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Chicago, and Kansas City. 1968: The May 1968 revolt: students' and workers' revolt against the government of Charles de Gaulle in France. 1968: The revolution in the Republic of Congo. 1968: A failed attempt by leader Alexander Dubček to liberalise Czechoslovakia in defiance of the Soviet-supported communist state culminates in the Prague Spring. 1968: A coup by Juan Velasco Alvarado in Peru, followed by radical social and economic reforms. 1967–1970: Biafra: The former eastern Nigeria unsuccessfully fought for a breakaway republic of Biafra, after the mainly Ibo people of the region suffered pogroms in northern Nigeria the previous year. 1967–1968 Iraqi communists launched an insurgency in southern Iraq. 1967: Anguillans resentful of Kittitian domination of the island expelled the Kittitian police and declared independence from the British colony of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla. British forces retook the island in 1969 and made Anguilla a separate dependency in 1980. There was no bloodshed in the entire episode. 1967: The Naxalite Movement begins in India, led by the AICCCR. 1967 - 1973: The Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War begins to turn violent, the violence later escalates. Incidents include the Weather High School Jailbreaks and the Greenwich Village townhouse explosion 1966–1998: The Ulster Volunteer Force was recreated by militant Protestant British loyalists in Northern Ireland to wage war against the Irish Republican Army and theRoman Catholic community at large. 1966–1993: A guerrilla warfare was conducted against the government of François Tombalbaye from the Sudan-based group FROLINAT. 1966-1990: A South African Police patrol clashes with militants of the South West African People's Organization in 1966, sparking the Namibian War of Independence. The conflict is part of the larger South African Border War and linked closely with South Africa's intervention in the Angolan Civil War. It largely ended with Namibia's first democratic elections in 1989. 1966: Kwame Nkrumah is removed from power in Ghana by coup d'état. 1966- The year it is estimated the Black Power movement began, with no exact official end date. 1965: The March Intifada in Bahrain: a Leftist uprising demanding an end to the British presence in Bahrain. 1964–present: The Colombian Armed Conflict. 1964–1979: The Rhodesian Bush War, also known as the Second Chimurenga, was a guerrilla war which lasted from July 1964 to 1979 and led to universal suffrage, the end of white minority rule in Rhodesia, and the creation of the Republic of Zimbabwe. 1964–1975: The Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO), formed in 1962, commenced a guerrilla war against Portuguese colonialism. Independence was granted on June 25, 1975; however, the Mozambican Civil War complicated the political situation and frustrated FRELIMO's attempts at radical change. The war continued into the early 1990s after the government dropped Marxism as the state ideology. 1964: Simba Rebellion in the Congo. 1964: The Zanzibar Revolution overthrew the 157-year-old Arab monarchy, declared the People's Republic of Zanzibar, and began the process of unification with Julius Nyerere's Tanganyika. 1964: The October Revolution in Sudan, driven by a general strike and rioting, forced President Ibrahim Abboud to transfer executive power to a transitional civilian government, and eventually to resign. 1963–1970: The Bale Revolt in southern Ethiopia, was a guerrilla war by local Somali and Oromo against Amhara settlers. 1963: White Revolution in Iran. 1963: Syrian coup d'état in Syria who bring Ba'ath Party to Power 1962–1975: Dhofar Rebellion in Oman. 1962–1974: The leftist African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) wages a revolutionary war of independence in Portuguese Guinea. In 1973, the independent Republic of Guinea-Bissau is proclaimed, and the next year the republic's independence is recognized by the reformist military junta in Lisbon. 1962: The military coup of 1962 in Burma, led by General Ne Win, who became the country's strongman. 1962: A revolution in northern Yemen overthrew the imam and established the Yemen Arab Republic. 1961–1991: The Eritrean War of Independence led by Isaias Afewerki against Ethiopia. 1961–1975: The Angolan War of Independence began as an uprising against forced cotton harvesting, and became a multi-faction struggle for control of Portugal's Overseas Province of Angola. 1961–1970: First Kurdish Iraqi War erupts as a result of Barzanji clan uprising. 1960: April Revolution erupts in South Korea, leading to the end of the First Republic of South Korea. 1960: A group of disaffected Ethiopian officers make an unsuccessful attempt to depose Emperor Haile Selassie and replace him with a more progressive government, but are defeated by the rest of the Ethiopian military. 1959–1962: In the Rwandan Revolution, the Tutsi king of Rwanda is forced into exile by Hutu extremists; racial pogroms follow an assassination attempt on Hutu leaderGrégoire Kayibanda. 1959: The failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule led to the flight of the Dalai Lama. 1958: The Iraqi Revolution (14 July Revolution) led by nationalist soldiers abolishes the British-backed monarchy, executes many of its top officials, and begins to assert the country's independence from both Cold War power blocs. 1958: A popular revolt in Venezuela against military dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez culminates in a civic-military coup d'état. 1956–1962: The Border Campaign led by the Irish Republican Army against the British, along the border of the independent Republic of Ireland and British Northern Ireland. 1956–1959: The Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro removes the government of General Fulgencio Batista. By 1962 Cuba had been transformed into a declared socialist republic. 1956: The Tibetan rebellions against Chinese rule broke out in Amdo and Kham. 1956: The Hungarian Revolution, a failed workers' and peasants' revolution against the Soviet-supported communist state in Hungary. 1955–1972: The First Sudanese Civil War was a conflict between the northern part of Sudan and a south that demanded more regional autonomy. 1955–1960: The Guerrilla war against British colonial rule of Cyprus led by the EOKA (National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters). 1954–1962: The Algerian War of Independence: an uprising against French colonialism. 1954: The Uyghur uprising against Chinese rule in Hotan. 1954: The Kengir uprising in the Soviet prison labor camp Kengir. 1953–1975: The Laotian Civil War in Laos. 1953: The Vorkuta uprising was a major uprising of the Gulag inmates in Vorkuta in the summer of 1953. Like other camp uprisings it was bloodily quelled by the Red Army and the NKVD. 1952: Egyptian Revolution of 1952 1952: The Rosewater Revolution in Lebanon. 1952: A popular revolution in Bolivia led by Víctor Paz Estenssoro and the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR) initiates a period of multiparty democracy lasting until a 1964 military coup. 1950s: The Mau Mau Uprising. 1950: The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Revolts of the 1950s in Puerto Rico, attempt on the life of US president Harry S. Truman in the Blair House, and shooting at Congress, was a call for Puerto Rico's independence and uprising by the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party against United States Government rule of Puerto Rico. 1950: The Cazin uprising in the town of Cazin, Bosnia and Herzegovina 1949: The communists under chairman Mao Zedong expels the ruling Nationalist Party in the Civil War and establishes the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China's control is reduced to Taiwan and its outlying islands. 1948–1960: The Malayan Emergency. 1948: Al-Wathbah (the Leap) uprising in Iraq. 1948: The Costa Rican Civil War precipitated by the vote of the Costa Rican Legislature, dominated by pro-government representatives, to annul the results of the presidential election of 1948. 1948: Following the liberation of Korea, Marxist former guerrillas under Kim Il Sung work to rapidly industrialize the country and rid it of the last vestiges of "feudalism.". 1947–1952: In the Albanian Subversion, the intelligence services of the United States and Britain deployed exiled fascists, Nazis, and monarchists in a failed attempt to foment a counterrevolution in Communist-ruled Albania. 1947: Angami Zapu Phizo declared the independence of Nagaland from India only to be subdued by the Indian army. 1947: Three months after an abortive coup, civil war broke out in Paraguay. The rebellion was crushed by the government of dictator Higinio Morínigo. 1947: The 228 Massacre occurred following discontent and resentment of the native Taiwanese under the early rule of the KMT of the island. 1947: India wins independence from Britain. 1947 : Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan waged and led a guerrilla war against the Maharaja Hari Singh of Kashmir and formed a revolutionary Government on 24 October under his Presidency. He captured a large area of Kashmir called Azad Kashmir. | ||
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