With the end of World War II , the old European imperialist powers, including Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan as far away as Asia have been greatly weakened. The world has entered a "bipolar era." The United States and the Soviet Union competed for hegemony and the Cold War began. In the process of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union began to support various colonial national movements out of the political need to continue to weaken the old imperialism and suppress the other's sphere of influence.
This led to an upsurge in the national liberation of the world. Among them, the independence of Namibia in 1990 marked the completion of the African national liberation movement and the final collapse of the world colonial system. However, the world is so big that there are no surprises. Just when the national independence movement was surging and anti-colonial activities swept the world, there was such a country that was "colonized" wholeheartedly and resolutely refused to move toward "independence."
Bolivar the liberator of South America
This is French Guiana located in the north of South America .
France and Guyana
Guyana is actually not unaffected by independent activities. Once Guyana was divided into three by Britain, the Netherlands, and France. In the independence movement, British Guiana and Netherlands Guiana have moved towards independence. Formed today’s Guyana and Suriname . The rest of French Guiana was unmoved. Not only was it not interested in independence, it even rejected France's proposal to grant them greater autonomy.
The benefits of independence are obvious. Externally, there is no need to be exploited and oppressed by the colonial sovereign state, and internally, it can usher in the political and economic "master of the house" power. However, French Guiana has simply abandoned these benefits. French Guiana, why has it been so maverick?
The navigator who first visited Guyana,It is the Italian navigator Columbus sponsored by the Spanish royal family. However, due to the lack of strategic value, the initial colonists did not pay much attention to Guyana, and only the Netherlands was colonized here. It was not until the seventeenth century that Guyana’s rich mineral resources were discovered, and its important strategic value for colonizing South America gradually emerged. This led to fierce competition among European powers.
After a long battle, the three kingdoms of Britain, France, and the Netherlands are divided into three parts of Guyana, and Guyana has entered the "Three Kingdoms Era". Among the three places of British Guiana, Dutch Guiana and French Guiana, French Guiana is the most special place among them.
What is special about French Guiana? It's very simple, it can be briefly summarized in five words-"the sky is high and the emperor is far away". For various reasons, France did not effectively develop French Guiana. For most of the time, France only used this place as a prisoner in exile. For the French, Guyan is their "Ningguta".
There are many reasons for this situation. The main reason is that the two places are too far apart. But this situation did not last long. After all, it was an overseas colony that took great effort to win. Of course, it is impossible for France to completely ignore it.
Therefore, in 1946, France listed , the colony of North Africa , , Algeria , and French Guiana in South America as French overseas provinces and territories. Since then, the two places have been under the direct jurisdiction of the French central government, which also means that the two places have become official territories of France. A year later, France granted French Guiana partial autonomy, and French Guiana now has two seats in parliament. In 1977, French Guiana became a large region of France.
French Guiana, why not leave it?
Residents of French Guiana have French nationality, and the treatment of residents is the same as that of native French residents, and they enjoy all civil rights and benefits. This is actually a special colonial policy promoted by France-the "local extension policy". This policy assimilated the locals through various methods, and eventually turned all kinds of people into French.The effect of turning the colony into a real French territory.
There is no doubt that the French policy is undoubtedly successful. Guyanese today agree with the identity of the "French". This stronger sense of identity is one of the reasons that Guyana refuses to leave France. Of course, the sense of identity cannot be eaten as a meal. In the final analysis, the real reason for French Guinea’s reluctance to divorce is still because of interest. To put it bluntly, independence is not bad, but it (France) gives too much.
French overseas territories map
French Guiana covers an area of 86,000 square kilometers, which sounds not small, but 90% of the territory is covered by forests. The economic form is agriculture, forestry and Fisheries dominate. In agriculture, French Guiana mainly produces cassava, rice, corn, sugarcane, tropical hardwood and rosewood, etc. The industry has small light industries such as sugar making and wine making. It is relatively rich in mineral resources, including bauxite. , Kaolin and gold mines.
Because the industrial base is quite weak, the industrial sector is also not sound. Therefore, French Guiana needs to import a large amount of manufactured products, food and energy to maintain the operation of the country and people’s lives, but output and imports are not balanced. Therefore, the economic development of French Guiana depends on French investment, and the maintenance of imports also depends on France. Appropriation.
The sugar industry is usually accompanied by colonial activities.
French Guiana's dependence on France can be seen from GDP . In the other two regions that are moving towards independence, Guyana's 2018 GDP per capita was 4,635 U.S. dollars, and Suriname's per capita GDP was 5,950 U.S. dollars. With the aid of France, French Guiana has a nominal per capita nominal GDP of US$18,000, which is US$2,000 higher than Chile , which is known as the South American bully. It is the only developed region in South America.
But in fact, the resource conditions of Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana are similar, and the huge gap in GDP is entirely due to France’s “upgrading”.The inhabitants of French Guiana enjoy a lot of benefits from the cradle to the grave just like the native French residents, all of which depend on the financial allocation of the French central government.
The upscale community of French Guiana
This is why French Guiana is not willing to be independent. Even in order to stay safe and secure in the French system, French Guianas rejected the French government’s proposal to expand autonomy.
This incident occurred in 2010. Facing the French government’s proposal to expand autonomy, French Guiana held a referendum. More than half of French Guianas participated in the vote, and 70% of the French The Guyanese expressed opposition because they were "worried about the reduction of aid by the French government."
On the other side, the French government is unwilling to allow French Guiana to become independent. After all, there are only 250,000 people in this 8.6 square kilometers of territory. Even if it is kept, it does not cost much, but its role is very important.
The space launch center built by France is located in French Guiana. For rocket launches, the closer to the equator, the more linear velocity of rotation can be obtained, and the more power the rocket launch can obtain. While French Guiana is close to the equator, it is undoubtedly an excellent location for the construction of the space center. Once French Guiana becomes independent, France also needs to consider where to move its launch center.
French Guiana Kuru Space Center
In the end, a relatively stable and mutually beneficial relationship has formed between France and French Guiana. France needs French Guiana, and French Guiana cannot do without France. In particular, Guyana and Suriname, which have been working hard and independent, are still in a half-dead state of economy until now. It is even more fortunate for the French Guianas.
Freedom is precious, but sometimes people give up freedom for the sake of wealth.
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