8.5 Flashcards
Decolonization after 1900
What were the two methods of gaining independence from 1900-present?
- armed resistance
- negotiation
Explain the process of the decolonization of India.
India gained independence through negotiation.
- 1920: Mohandas Gandhi led the Indian National Congress, espousing nonviolent civil disobedience
- Great Britain didn’t have the resources or the power to continue ruling colonial India after WWII, so they negotiated with India and India gained independence in 1947
- Muslims established the Muslim League in 1906, when anti-colonial sentiments were becoming more prominent, and advocated for an independent Muslim state
*ended up being Pakistan, established as an independent state in 1947 as well
Explain the process of decolonization in French West Africa.
This occurred mostly through negotiation. French West Africa included the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Niger, and more.
- France ruled with minimal occupational force (indirect ruling style) since the 1800s, mostly relying on the cooperation of local chiefs and governments to maintain power
- relationship began to erode due to the eroding notion of European superiority and the growth of nationalism and call for self-determination
- France decided to negotiate independence, and most of their colonial states became independent by 1959
Explain the process of decolonization in the Gold Coast
Mostly done by negotiation.
- it was a British colony with an independence process similar to India’s
- gained independence in 1957, the first president being Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah was nationalistic and created a victorious narrative of Ghana’s history, including an official flag, a national anthem, and monuments that glorified Ghana.
The Gold Coast is synonymous for what?
Ghana
Explain the process of decolonization in Algeria.
This was mostly a violent process brought along by armed resistance.
- mid 20th century: Algerians resisted the French colonial government
*France didn’t want to give up this colony, because they’d just lost their Indochinese colony
- French colonial government responded with harsh laws and violence
- 1954: Algerian war for independence began. Algerians organized themselves into the National Liberation Front, which used guerrilla tactics and brutalization against the French
- violence spread to France, where the population was split between supporting Algeria’s independence vs. supporting French colonial rule in Algeria
*the communist party of France was the most fervently and outspoken supporter of Algeria’s independence
- 1958: the French president Charles de Gaulle officially plans steps for Algerian independence
- Algeria gains independence in 1962
Explain the process of decolonization in Vietnam.
- Vietnam was a French colony
- during WWII, France was expelled from Indochina, but promptly returned after WWII to occupy South Vietnam
*North had communist government under Ho Chi Minh, with the goal of getting rid of the French and unite Indochina under communism - Ho Chi Minh started Vietnam’s war for independence, resulted in the creation of two countries: North Vietnam and South Vietnam
- in 1975, the North and South were united as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Became a proxy war, with North Vietnam being communist and supported by the USSR while South Vietnam was democratic and supported by the USA.
What is Vietnam synonymous for?
Indochina
Explain the process of decolonization in Egypt.
This process was primarily violent. Egypt was technically independent since 1922, but the British occupied lands close to the Suez Canal to protect their economic interests.
- after WWII, General Gamal Abdel Nasser (outspoken socialist) led the overthrow of the king, established the Republic of Egypt, and became Egypt’s second president
- he nationalized the Suez Canal in attempts to get rid of colonial influence, but previously Egypt had signed a contract that leased the Suez Canal to France for 99 years, and the British didn’t want to leave, either
- led to the Suez Crisis
*France got Israel (their ally) to invade Egypt
*Britain and France’s troops occupied land surrounding the canal
*US and USSR disapproved of the British and French’s actions, intervened with the United Nations, and negotiated to make the Suez Canal international, under Egypt’s sovereignty
Explain the process of decolonization in Nigeria.
This process had a mix of negotiation and armed resistance.
- 1960: negotiated independence from Britain
- 1967: civil war broke out over fight for political power in the newly independent Nigeria
*Igbo people: westernized, Christian, lived in the south, tried making their own nation named Biafra… but their land had lots of oil
- Northern government resisted violently, and won in 1970, establishing a united Nigeria
Explain the Quebecois Movement.
- Quebec was a French colony in Canada, with French culture
- 1700s = British gained control over most of Canada, led to a divide between Quebec’s French Catholics and the British Protestants everywhere else around them
- many attempts (all failures) t make a new state in Quebec
- 1960s: in Quebec, nationalism was growing and the liberal party was growing in popularity
- 1963: violence broke out, culminating in terror bombings, but the Quebecois Movement failed and Quebec remained a part of Canada
