Libya: The North African Revolution of the 20 th Century

By: Alexis BrownPeriod 1

Libya is located in North Africa between Egypt to the east and Sudan to the southeast, borders Algeria and Tunisia to the east and Chad and Niger to the south.

Libya is a vey large country, but has a small population for its size; this is rather unusual.

90% of the people live in 10% of the land area, mainly along the coast

88% is urban Has a population of about 6.5 million; half

are under the age of 15 Culture is a mix of Arabs and Berber

ethnicies. Main language spoken is Arabic.

Muhammad Gaddafi• Born in a Bedouin tent in 1942• Joined the military and seized control of Libya

in 1969 at the age of 27• He felt threatened by a failed coup attempt

from his fellow officers in December 1969 that led him to put in a law criminalizing political dissent.

• In 1970- expelled remaining Italians from Libya as well as the Jewish community

• In 1974- published his book Green Book which was an explanation of his political philosophy.

Gaddafi was despised by most of the international community.

By June of 2011, The International Criminal Court issued warrants for Gaddafi’s arrest.

On Thursday October 20th Gaddafi was killed near his hometown of Surt.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/oct/20/syria-libya-middle-east-unrest-live

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Zi0qxqSVXo

Both the Libyan revolution and the American revolution had civilians of their countries unhappy with the way their leaders ruled /overlooked the government.

This led to revolts and rebellions in both countries.

The rebels gained victory in both countries and received foreign aid

In Libya, the rebels were fighting against their own ruler; Gaddafi, while in the American Revolution, the rebels were fighting against Britain; mother country.

The American revolution lasted for about 8 years while the Libyan revolution was only 8 months; nearly 10 times less of the American revolution time period.

The American Revolution was performed in precise fighting units and used military techniques while the Libyan Revolution was just an all out fight with no clear fighting style or militia.

I believe Libya in going in a more positive path since Muhammad Gaddafi was killed. His rule led to the downfall of Libya which resulted in the death of Gaddafi. Now with a new ruler, the country can start all over with a new path of political institutions and economic decisions. The revolution of Libya was a success and now the country can live in peace for awhile.

Karon, Tommy. “Libya: Perils of the End Game”. Time.com. August 15th, 2011. October 26th, 2011. http://fcps.blackboard.com/webapps/portal/frameset .jsp?tab_id=_2_1&url=%2fwebapps%2fblackboard%2fexecute%2flauncher%3ftype%3dCourse%26id%3d_645011_1%26url%3d

"Libya." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libya>.

"Muammar Al-Qaddafi Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com." Famous Biographies & TV Shows - Biography.com. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://www.biography.com/people/muammar-al-qaddafi-39014>.

"Where Is Libya Located? - Answers.Ask.com." Ask Answers - Answers.Ask.com. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://answers.ask.com/Science/Geography/where_is_libya_located>.