South African Nationalism And Decolonisation Flashcards
What was Nelson Mandela’s primary aim in South Africa?
To achieve equal rights for black people there and to end the apartheid regime established in South Africa in 1948
Where was Mandela from but how was his education typical of African nationalist leaders?
. Came from the Xhosa people and Thembu royal family
. Educated by Methodist missionaries and given the name Nelson (becoming part of the educated elite in Africa)
. Became involved in anti-colonial politics whilst studying law at fort hare and the Witswatersrand universities
Which groups and campaigns did Nelson Mandela support in his career?
. Helped form the youth ranks of the ANC in 1944, rising through the ranks
. Supported the radical ‘Programme of Action’ in 1949
. Headed the ‘defiance campaign’ in 1952 of civil disobedience against unjust laws
Which ideology changed Mandela’s tactics in fighting the apartheid regime?
. He was exposed to Marxism and secretly joined the SA communist party (SACP), sitting on its central committee
. 1961 - Co-founded the militant Spear of the Nation in association with the SACP
- this became the ANC’s armed wing and led a brutal sabotage campaign against the apartheid government
How did Mandela travel outside of SA to gain support for his armed struggle?
. Left SA in 1962 and travelled around africa, also visiting Britain
. Received military training in Morocco and Ethiopia
. Returned to SA in July 1962, ready to go back to fighting for equal rights
How was it clear that the Apartheid government believed Mandela was a serious threat to them?
After his return to SA in July 1962:
. Arrested, charged with leaving the country without a permit and inciting workers to strike
- sentenced to five years imprisonment
. Police raid on ANC’s Rivonia hideout while Mandela was in prison bought him a further conviction
. October 1963 - Mandela and colleagues prosecuted in Rivonia trial
. June 1964 - Mandela and seven others given life in prison on Robben Island
How did Mandela enduring all of his sentences and arrests help fight for equal rights in the end?
He was seen as a martyr to his cause and served 27 years in prison instead of his full life sentence
- 1990 - international campaign in support of him got him released (his influence was clearly huge)
- hailed as a champion and inspirational leader
- 1994 - became president of SA till 1999
When was the ANC banned?
In 1960 in the midst of the ANC’s treason trial (1956-61)
How did Mandela use his law education to his advantage in working for equal rights?
. 1952 - created the first black law firm in South Africa, representing disenfranchised (not properly belonging to SA society) black people
When was the ‘all in Africa conference’ and what was the significance of it?
25th-26th march 1961: Mandela spoke out for a national strike in South Africa, although it never actually came about (he was arrested for this when it didn’t even happen)
How did white minority of South Africa have pretty much full autonomy by 1931 and what was the impact of this?
Due to the granting of dominion status for them in the statute of Westminster
- this allowed the increasing divisive racial policies to become firmly entrenched in South Africa
How did apartheid come about and what was it?
. 1948 - Afrikaner nationalist party won power and implemented apartheid policy
- segregated races
. In practice, non-white people were severely repressed
Who mainly led opposition to the apartheid regime and how was it dealt with?
. African national congress
. Through 1950s-60s, South Africa brutally responded to protests: 69 protestors were killed by the police in the Sharpville massacre in March 1960
What happened to South Africa’s relations internationally and with Britain during apartheid?
. International opinion grew critical of the brutal methods of segregation and repression
. Relations with Britain became strained
In what ways did British relations with South Africa become strained?
. apartheid brutality and the image it would have on the empire
. Since 1948, SA were unsuccessfully trying to get Britain to hand over its remaining colonies in the region (Basutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland)
- Britain refused these pressures and South African population voted for a republic in 1961 = led to leaving the commonwealth
What happened to British control over South Africa after it left the commonwealth?
. Didn’t signal the end of the empire there
- Britain tried to counterbalance the influence South Africa had in the empire by building up nearby colonial possessions that were deemed ‘useful’:
. Northern Rhodesia = mineral rich (copper)
. Southern Rhodesia = agriculturally rich, big white settler population (trustworthy)
. Nyasaland = relatively economically underdeveloped territory
Why did Britain choose to strength N and S Rhodesia as well as Nyasaland after SA left commonwealth?
These three territories had worked well together with Britain to assist the war effort, so they gained the respect and confidence of the British empire, believing a joint administration of these territories would prove effectively similar to what South Africa was in the empire
What was the Central African federation (CAF) and when was it created?
1953 - the joint administration and effectively singular colonial state made up of N+S Rhodesia and Nyasaland
How did the CAF show the advancement of the British empire in accepting African influence, with a new clean slate without SA and it’s history?
. Constitution for the CAF included some protection for African rights: discriminatory legislation against Africans could be vetoed by Britain (which they would as they are more understanding by this time of races, especially after the world wars)
. Some limited provision for African representation in the new federal assembly
How was it clear that the level of African rights accepted in the CAF wasn’t enough for many African?
. Powerful African nationalist movements emerged in all the territories of the CAF as they saw the chance to gain independence and free themselves from colonial rule
. The Africans in these movements were suspicious of Britain’s intentions, possibly their territories were just being used to exploit their materials or to try and re-establish imperial power
How did the the nationalist movements in the CAF get worse?
The white governors in the CAF arrested and imprisoned nationalist leaders, creating even more disorder
- it seems like decolonisation was a necessity on the horizon by now
Why was there much black resentment in both the Rhodesias (north and south) ?
. Low pay
. Few rights, which had intensified due to increase in white settlers after WW2 (like in Kenya)
. 129k white settler population in southern Rhodesia wanted to preserve white power
. 36k white settler population in northern Rhodesia wanted white control even though it was already a protectorate, directly ruled from London
Why did it seem as though the southern Rhodesian’s wanted to extend their influence into northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland and how did Britain react to this?
There was much mineral wealth in northern Rhodesia,
To try and prevent this expansion, Britain created the CAF, where all three territories had its own legislature and government
How did Britain hope the CAF would affect southern Rhodesian interests expectation vs reality?
Expectation: it would protect black Africans in north Rhodesia and Nyasaland from the discriminatory Southern Rhodesian laws
Reality: southern white people tried to use the CAF to reinforce their own political leadership and give the white northern rhodesians the same political influence (both white sides wanted white power)
- it seems as though the CAF allowed white power movement in north and southern Rhodesia to come together agains Nyasaland as it had a small white population and resisted the CAF’s creation
How did black African nationalism occur in northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland to counter the growth of potential white power from the CAF?
. Black African nationalist congress parties emerged in these regions
. 1959 - Dr Hastings Banda of Nyasaland returned from the Gold Coast (worked there as a doctor) to lead a campaign to end the CAF
How did British influence in Nyasaland respond to the potential ending of the CAF under Hastings Banda’s influence?
As the CAF was essentially the last string of British authority in southern and central Africa, the governor of Nyasaland, Sir Robert Armitage, had to act promptly:
. Declared a state of emergency (like in Malaya)
. Banned the Nyasaland African Congress (NAC) and imprisoned its leaders (including Hastings Banda and Kenneth Kaunda)
How did the British act very aggressively and outlandishly during the state of emergency in Nyasaland?
. Around 1300 black Africans detained without trial, mostly from the congress parties
. Over 2000 imprisoned for offences related to the Emergency
. Reinforcements from Northern and Southern Rhodesia were used to round up activists, 51 killed by troops or police, including 20 at Nkata Bay incident
Clearly Britain overstepped in this state of emergency, trying to hold on to their influence in South Africa. However, this brutality is never a good idea as it makes the empire look bad and gives more motion to nationalist campaigns
Why was the South Rhodesian constitution often referred to as being ‘colour-blind’?
It allowed black people voting rights but in a way that the majority couldn’t get e.g had to meet stringent education and property requirements
What was the role of the white settlers in northern and southern Rhodesia and what is the implication of this?
. Northern Rhodesia = mostly involved in the copper mining industry
. Southern Rhodesia = mostly wealthy farmers
Both of these roles displaced many black Africans in these areas from their land and jobs, contributing towards feelings of nationalism
Why was the state of emergency in Nyasaland such a mistake for the empire’s image and grip on southern and central Africa?
. British commission of 1959 concluded that the emergency was an overreaction and condemned Nyasaland for employing illegal and unnecessary force (similar to reactions to treatment in hola camp) - ashamed of empire
. Clearly Nyasaland Africans were opposed to federation, leaving macmillan with no choice but to agree to break up the CAF
Did Britain have an easy time breaking up the federation and coming up with a solution towards the independence of Rhodesia and Nyasaland?
No, the UNIP (United national independence party) contested the British proposals for new constitutions of the territories that paved the way for majority rule and independence in 1961
- this meant violence continued until a solution for independence was found
By 1964, where had Rhodesian and Nyasaland independence been successful?
. Northern Rhodesia - became Zambia and part of the commonwealth, with an emerging black African majority government
. Nyasaland - became Malawi, part of the commonwealth and with black majority rule
Where did Britain fail to smoothly establish independence in Rhodesia by 1964 and why?
Southern Rhodesia under Ian Smith as PM (part of the Rhodesian front party)
- he had a white-dominated government that heavily opposed black majority rule
1965 - smith illegally declared UDI (unilateral Declaration of Independence) as ‘Rhodesia’
What was the Rhodesian front?
A party formed in south Rhodesia after the CAF seemed doomed around 1961. It rejected British demand for black majority rule or some kind of power sharing as the price of independence. It was a hard-line, anti black white settler movement
What is a unilateral Declaration of Independence?
When a region declares independence from imperial rule without the normal two-sided negotiations and legal procedures
How did the world react to Ian smith declaring UDI in southern Rhodesia?
Britain, USA, UN and rest of the world rejected it as illegal and unconstitutional, but smith defiantly pursued his independence of ‘Rhodesia’
How was southern Rhodesia able to deny the British sanctions to Ian Smith’s UDI?
Southern Rhodesia had a small army
- clearly Britain were a shadow of their former empire now if they’re not able to get a region with a small army to cooperate with them
How did the independence process in Rhodesia reveal the powerlessness of the British empire?
. Desperately trying to cling onto power using brutal methods in states of emergency that made people ashamed of the empire
. While claiming to still be a dominant world power, couldn’t even deal with rebels in its ex-colony as with southern Rhodesia
. Britain received much criticism from the commonwealth for betraying commonwealth ideals in not dealing with southern Rhodesia effectively
Clearly the empire is a mess and it is time to let go the perception that they are still a global superpower, trying to compete with USA and the USSR
How did the Rhodesian front try to assert white power but was it successful?
. Imprisoned black African nationalist such as members of the ZANU and ZAPU
. However, the UDI triggered a 15-year civil war between white people and black nationalists in ‘Rhodesia’
. This was finally won by the black nationalists and Zimbabwe was created in 1980 under black African majority rule (last British African colony to become independent)
The fact that the black Africans won against the Rhodesian front and Britain couldn’t do it shows the shift of power that Britain had to accept.
