Text/Editor丨Qingtian Imperial History
●—<前言>—●
Historically, due to the oppression and exploitation of Western powers, the surging independence revolution broke out from the south to the north, and after the restoration of freedom, most of them became sovereign countries, and the people's living standards were much better. However, the two remaining colonies in the world, despite their hard-won opportunities for independence, are not willing to leave their colonial identity at all.
Now, in order to free them from the humiliating control of the suzerain, even if they have been asked to become independent many times, these two countries have not agreed. Why is that? What's the secret behind this?
●—<跪求也不肯独立>—●
Since 1967, Puerto Ricans have voted six times to join the United States, becoming the 51st state of the United States, and in 2012, the fourth referendum, with as many as 61 percent of Puerto Ricans supporting joining the United States. In order to be an American and enjoy the treatment of American citizens, they do not even want the status and autonomy of the independent federation that they have fought for bloodily.
As a world superpower, the United States has a large amount of territory overseas, not only in states such as Alaska and Hawaii, but also in colonies such as Samoa and the U.S. Virgin, while Puerto Rico always dreams of becoming a state of the United States like Hawaii and transforming into an American. What is the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico, and why can't it be a state in the United States?
In 1508, Puerto Rico became a Spanish colony, and it had been unable to endure Spanish colonial rule for independence, but during this time, the United States and Spain fought for itself, which led to its partition to the United States, and the United States had the right to rule Puerto Rico after the Treaty of Paris. The colonies had never had a voice of their own, and the people of Puerto Rico had endured economic, political and cultural oppression by the United States, and had fought numerous independence uprisings, all of which had been suppressed by the United States government.
After World War II, when a wave of national liberation movements hit, the United States, seeing that colonial power, which lacked resources and lagged far behind many countries, decided to allow Puerto Rico to vote on its own future. However, in five referendums, the first three were in favor of becoming a free state in the United States. The last two referendums were a 180-degree shift – wanting to become a state in the United States, and in the fifth referendum in 2017, the percentage of voters was 97 percent.
One important reason is that everyone wants sugar daddy. At that time, after World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union became two superpowers, and the United States enjoyed an important voice. In order to prevent the Soviet Union from infiltrating the Americas, the United States sent various troops to Puerto Rico and invested a lot of economic aid, making it one of the most economically affluent regions in the region, North and Central America and the Caribbean.
At first, Puerto Rico thought it was good to be content with the status quo, but in the 90s of the 20th century, the United States canceled this series of benefits. This has led to a sharp decline in all aspects of Puerto Rico, and it has experienced a 13-year recession. Although they have obtained the status of American citizens, as "second-class citizens", they are not eligible to participate in the universal suffrage of the president of the United States, and they do not even have the opportunity to become members of Congress, so their desire to become a state in the United States has become extremely strong.
Puerto Rico wants to become a state of the United States, and the United States has been trying to persuade Puerto Rico to become independent, and the United States has tried all kinds of methods and even coercion and inducement, but they are still enjoying it and enjoying all kinds of benefits provided by the United States. And the reason why the United States is reluctant to make it its own state is precisely because it is a hot potato.
In 2017, Puerto Rico was in a dire financial position without all kinds of benefits from the United States, owing more than $70 billion in debt, and filed for bankruptcy protection, making it the largest local government debt restructuring in U.S. history. Even if he is not accepted as one of his states, more than 500,000 of Puerto Rico's 3.4 million people have come to work in the United States.
In addition to the unwillingness of the United States to accept the bottomless pit of Puerto Rico, the United States also wants to protect Latin America through control. Although the collapse of the Soviet Union no longer posed much of a threat to the United States, Puerto Rico's strategic location was crucial. From the perspective of the United States, it would be more cost-effective to control Puerto Rico than to occupy it.
●—<长达两百年的血汗奴役史>—●
Guyana is France's largest overseas territory and a tropical country known for its natural and ecological paradise. France, which was located in the northern hemisphere at that time, stretched out its hand to this country in the southern hemisphere. Not only is it the size of Portugal, but it is also home to France's only Kourou space centre and has carried out dozens of rocket launches, making Guyana one of France's 13 overseas territories.
After the national awakening in the 20th century, one colony after another began to try to get rid of French oppression, move towards the road of independence, and get rid of the history of humiliation. However, Guyana has always been reluctant to leave the embrace of France, and continues to let the French be the masters of their own affairs. You must know that after Columbus discovered Guyana in 1498, because it had "the world's largest gold reserves", rich fishery resources and timber resources, it caused a period of turmoil here.
Since the 15th century, wars have broken out here, and Western European capitalism has begun to seize Guyana, among which the Netherlands has taken a fancy to Guyana's favorable terrain and wants to establish a transit point here that can promote its global trade, France also sees the favorable terrain of Guyana and wants to establish an outpost here to attack Spanish ships, and Britain sees the agricultural value here.
The Dutch first strike eventually occupied almost all of Guyana, and France and Britain later joined the competition for Guyana. In the 19th century, after many battles, Britain, France and the Netherlands signed a boundary treaty to divide Guyana into three parts for colonial rule. In order to develop the land, the French sent 12,000 peasants to reclaim the land, which later became a prison for exile prisoners, but the harsh conditions there led to a large number of deaths for peasants and prisoners.
Eventually, France established the Space Research Center here, and the success of the Guyana Space Center brought in $1 billion a year in revenue and revitalized the local economy to a certain extent. On the one hand, the basic livelihood and economic development of the people of French Guiana are brought by France, and on the other hand, the French social security system is adopted, which has led to the average life expectancy in the local area has increased to 76 years for men and 83 years for women.
Locally, children also have free and compulsory education in France, and even the French in Guyana have provided up to 40 million euros in funding for economic and social projects when the local unemployment rate is as high as 20%. In 2018, an additional 10 million euros were allocated for the grant, and this and various kinds of assistance made 70% of the local indigenous people not support independence.
In 2016, French Guyana grew to twice as much GDP as its neighbours Guyana and Suriname combined. British Guiana gained independence in 1966, but French Guiana was reluctant to secede from France. Since there is no guarantee that he will be able to have today's results after independence, it is better to continue to live a happy life with the assistance of the owner's father.