Decolonisation

Question 1

Macmillan’s ‘Winds of Change’ Speech (1960)

Answer 1

• Shift in British policy towards decolonisation was signalled by WoC speech
• Pre-1960: central aim of imperial policy was to defeat nationalist revolts, maintain control over British colonies
• Other European colonial powers, e.g Belgium, France and Portugal were fighting similar wars against nationalist uprisings
• Speech given in Cape Town, Africa
• Made on foreign affairs
• Described the ‘winds of change’ blowing through the African continent, recognition of independent movements
• Targeted at the British public, white minority govs in Rhodesia and South Africa
• Voted in a referendum a year later to break ties with Britain

Question 2

Kenya - Mau Mau Rebellion
(1952-1960)

Answer 2

• Broke out in 1952
• Independence for Kenya was unthinkable, prior to the Suez Crisis
• Assumed it could be broken up with military
• Leader of revolt: Jomo Kenyatta was imprisoned by authorities, later emerged as the first president of an independent Kenya
• 1950s there was struggle which led to bitterness on both sides
• Mau Mau fighters were accused of committing atrocities
• Revelation about the brutal treatment of Kenyan captives held at the Hola prison camp badly damaged Britain’s reputation

Question 3

Impact of Suez on British Decolonisation

Answer 3

• Struggle to contain the Mau Mau rebellion already demonstrated issues with Britain’s colonial policies
• Post-Suez: British policymakers began to reconsider the pace of decolonisation
• Many colonial countries wanted independence after witnessing the events at Suez

Question 4

Decolonised Countries with Dates/Circumstances (1951-1964)

Answer 4

• 1957: Ghana - first British African colony to become independent
• 1960: Nigeria and Cyprus
• 1961: Tanganyika and Sierra Leone
• 1962: Uganda
• 1963: Kenya