chapter 18: relations with indigenous people Flashcards
How did Indians respond to British colonial rule between 19114-1947?
Conflict during and in the aftermath of the war. Mainstream political leadership in India was overwhelmingly loyal as they sent money and troops to aid the British. However, there were anti-British outbursts in Bengal and Punjab . The expatriate Indian population, particularly in the USA, Canada and Germany, headed by the Ghadar Party, tried to encourage uprisings in India, with Irish Republican, German and Turkish help
-There were a number of failed attempts to provoke a mutiny in the British Indian Army e.g. the 1915 Ghadar
Conspiracy and the Singapore Mutiny (a 7-day mutiny of Indian sepoys against the British in Singapore)
-The 1919 Government of Indian act failed to satisfy nationalist demands which provoked further protest. These
uprisings led to recommendations for the 1919 Rowlatt Acts which allowed political cases to be tried without juries and provided for the internment of suspects without trial
-The conflict came to a head in the 1919 Amritsar (or Jallianwallah Bagh) massacre in Punjab, after rioting had
bought British deaths and the near breakdown of civil order in the region
-British army troops, commanded by Reginald Dyer, fire upon a crowd who had gathered to protest against the arrest of 2 nationalist leaders as well as Sikh pilgrims who had gathered in the public gardens of Jallianwallah
Bagh, adjacent to a sacred site in order to celebrate the Sikh New Year. The British government claimed that 379 were killed and 1200 wounded but the Indian National Congress claimed that 1000 died and over 1500 were wounded
-The massacre provoked a huge reaction. Indian Congress politicians claimed that it showed that Britain no
longer possessed any moral authority to rule. It also galvanised Gandhi’s non-co-operation movement o 1920-22
-There was further conflict with the Chauri Chaura incident of 1922 in the Gorakhpur district of the United
Province. Violence erupted among a large group of protestors participating in the Non-Cooperation Movement and the police opened fire. The demonstrators attacked and set fire to a police station, and 3 civilians and 23 policemen were killed. The Indian National Congress called for an end to the Non-Cooperation movement on
the national level as a direct result of the incident
-Discontent continued to simmer for the next 25 years with outbreaks of conflict and protest erupting but thanks
to Gandhi’s belief in non-violence, the conflict was probably less bloody
-The emergence of the Muslim league in the 1930s brought a new and increasingly militant element into the struggle
-Non-violent campaigns were relatively easily contained (hence the failure of Gandhi’s 1942 ‘Quit India’
campaign which failed because of the heavy-handed suppression, its weak coordination and the lack of a clear cut programme)
-A wave of violence spread through the country as Hindus and Muslims fought or ascendancy after WW2 and rejected the British offer of Dominion status
-India finally received independence in 1947 amidst scenes of mounting communal violence. 400 000 died
during the conflict that had led to partition
how did people in the Middle East respond to British Colonial rule?
In Egypt, there was a countrywide revolution by Egyptians and Sudanese against the British occupation in
1919, after the British exiled the nationalist leader Saad Zaghloul and other members of his party
-There was widespread civil disobedience, rioting, demonstrations and strikes encompassing all classes of society
-There were attacks on military bases, civilian facilities and personnel, in which Egyptian villages were burnt
and railways destroyed
-At least 800 Egyptians were killed and 1600 wounded
-Following the ‘Milner report’, Egypt was granted independence in 1922, but relations remained strained
-Britain refused to recognise full Egyptian sovereignty over Sudan or to withdraw all its forces
-Even after a further treaty in 1936, Britain retained troops in the Suez area
-There were also tensions in Palestine and these escalated in the 1930s as more Jews, fleeing Nazism, entered
the country
-Arab protest mounted and the inter-racial violence increased as the Jews formed the Haganah (an underground
Jewish militia in Palestine 1920-48 that became the national army of Israel after the partition of Palestine in
1948), to protect themselves
-More militant Jewish nationalist formed secret units e.g. the Stern Gang (a militant Zionist terrorist
organisation founded in 1940 by Avram Stern) which wage open war on both the British and the Arabs
-By 1945 there was open conflict between the two communities that the British were unable to control
-Britain announced their departure in 1947, leaving the issue to the united nations
how did people in Ireland respond to colonial imperial rule?
Before the war, the British government was already facing the prospect of civil war in Ireland where a
religious divide between the Protestant and the Catholic was threatening to wreck the 1912/13 Home Rule Bill granting Irish independence
-In March 1914, British soldiers at Curragh mutinied, refusing to take action to enforce Home Rule on the
hostile north
-Conflict occurred as both sides armed themselves: the ‘Ulster Volunteers’ versus the ‘National Volunteers’ in
the south
-There were three deaths and many casualties in July 1914 and Home Rule had to be suspended for the duration of the war
-Protest escalated during the war and a southern pro-independence organisation, Sinn Fein organised an
unsuccessful rising in Dublin during Easter 1916
-In 1919, the frustrations caused by the delays to Irish Home Rule led members of Sinn Fein, who won a majority of the Irish seats at Westminster in 1918 general election, to establish an Irish assembly in Dublin
-The declared the Irish Republic and their Irish Republican Army (IRA) began a guerrilla war against the British, who reinforced the Royal Irish Constabulary with the ‘Blank and Tans’ (temporary policemen)
supporting them
-The conflict ended with the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty which created the Irish Free State as a self-governing
Dominion within the British Empire
-The 6 northern counties promptly used their legal rights to ‘opt out’
-Eamon de Valera, one of the principal Irish leaders, refused to accept the treaty – partly because the Irish Free State was not a republic and partly because it involved splitting the country
-This brought further civil war which ended in 1923 with the defeat of Valera and the republicans
-Southern Ireland was subsequently treated as a Dominion, gaining equality of status in the 1931 Statute of
Westminster
* Valera still continued his protest, however. He refused to attend the Imperial Conference of 1937 and drew up a new constitution which effectively turned Ireland into a republic – Eire
-Eire adopted a position of neutralist in the Second World War and in 1948 separated itself entirely from the
rest of Britain in the Republic of Ireland Act
-The Irish showed that British imperialism could be successfully challenged
Who was Jawaharlal Nehru and why did his views differ to Gandhi?
He was also a layer who became a close ally and friend to Gandhi despite their different visions.
- He was the westernised son of a wealthy Brahmin lawyer
-He joined the Congress in 1919. He was elected as president of the Indian National Congress in 1928 and imprisoned during the anti-salt tax campaign
-He was re-elected as president in 1936 and he supported Britain in 1939. He gave reluctant support go Gandhi’s 1942 ‘Quit India’ movement and was consequently imprisoned until
1945. He became president in 1948 and India’s first Prime Minister in 1937 at independence . He was a committed socialist who sought modernisation and industrialisation of India through state economic planning
-He supported for the British during the Second World War and was only reluctantly pulled into the Quit
India’s campaign
Who was Sabhas Chandra Bose?
He was Nehru’s rival for the leadership of the Congress party in the 1930s. He wanted the Congress to adopt a more militant line. He was president of the Congress between 1938-39. He was placed under house arrest but escaped and fled to Germany. In 1939, he allied himself with Britain’s enemies, Germany and Japan. He formed the Indian National Army in 1942, intending to lead the force to free India
Who was Muhammad Ali Jinnah?
He was a prominent member of the Congress Party and an active member of the Muslim League which he led from 1913. Initially, he favoured Hindu-Muslim political co-operation, but he resigned from the Congress Party in 1920,
disagreeing with the policy of non-violent protest. By 1940 he believed there should be a separate Muslim state. He was appointed the first Governor-General of Pakistan in 1947 following his efforts to create it
How did the idea of partition (Pakistan) come into being by 1940?
In 1930, Dr Muhammad Iqbal, a European-educated Muslim poet and philosopher from Punjab, suggested that
a Muslim nation-state might be created from the North West Indian states of Punjab, the North-West Frontier
Province, Sind and Baluchistan. Muslim nationalist Choudry Rahmat Ali proposed the name ‘Pakistan’ in 1933. The league was not initially united in its desire for partition and Jinnah rejected the idea until 1940
Why was it difficult for African nationalism to develop prior to WW2?
There was tribal politics; no defined national identity
-There were less educated elites (to lead nationalist groups) – indigenous people were not represented in the civil service
* There was a less educated population (to engage)
* There was a less urban population (poorer communication) – fewer common grievances
* There was less political representation (esp. in colonies with white settlers) – which meant there was no clear
forum for grievances
* There was widespread collaboration of chiefs and local rulers (who liked the status quo)
* British policies undermined nationalism (esp. Trusteeship) – which made the local population believe the Brit.
might improve things
* Limited economic development (made the creation of modern nation-state less viable)
how did nationalism develop in West Africa?
In West Africa, the colonies of Nigeria, Gambia, Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast already had legislative councils by 1914, although their powers were limited and African representation was minimal. This prompted a group of political activists from all these territories to hold a meeting in Accra to found the National Congress of West Africa in 1919. These activists were dominated by the educated elite. Some concessions were granted in the 1920s – but the nationalists were outnumbered by appointed (rather than
elected) African chiefs from the interior of the colonies on the legislative councils. With the spread of education, a new young and more radical group of nationalist leaders emerged in the 1930s.
The West African Students’ Union – founded in 1925 helped to bring together students from various West African countries studying in London. It was the key political, social and cultural organisation for West Africans in Britain. It campaigned against racism in Britain (colour bar) and against colonialism and for independence in West
Africa. It inspired greater radicalism among its members and acted as a training ground for future West African politicians. Members included Nnamdi Azikiwe and Kwame Nkrumah – both who would emerge as significant post-war nationalists’ figures. A major influence on the anti-colonial movements in Nigeria, the Gold Coast
WW2 brought faster economic development to the West African colonies because Britain relied even more on its raw materials for the war effort as it had been cut off from its colonies in Asia thanks to the Japanese
occupation. In 1945, a Pan African Congress was convened in Manchester which called for the ‘autonomy and
independence’ of black Africa. It was an important step towards the end of imperial powers in Africa
Who was Harry Thuku?
Born into an influential Kikuyu family. Missionary educated. Joined the Kikyru Association but left, disillusioned with the organisation’s reluctance to use direct and illegal methods to resist British rule. Helped form the East African Association in 1921. Imprisoned in 1922 for being involved in a protest which turned violent. Released in 1931. 1932 became president of the Kikuyu Central Association
How did nationalism develop in East Africa?
Harry Thuku developed the first East African political protest movement. He was initially involved in the formation of the Young Kikuyu, a non militant group that was set up to recover the land that had been lost when Kenya became a crown colony in 1920. Jomo Kenyatta joined in 1922 and the movement gradually broadened into a campaign for African rights and representation as the East Africa association. The Second world war had a profoundly radicalising effect and Thuku helped develop the Kenya African study union which in 1946 became the Kenya African Union. in 1947 Jomo Kenyatta became the its president which had a crucial role in post war decolonisation.
