The Role of Individuals 1947-67 Flashcards
Who was Onn bin Ja’afar, and what was his influence on Malaya (3)?
1) The founder of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), becoming the president of the UMNO in May 1946.
2) He organised rallies and amassed public support in order to force a British retreat in favour of the ‘Federation of Malay States’ in 1948.
3) Onn participated in successful negotiations for independence from Britain in 1957.
Who was Tunku Abdul Rahman?
A supporter of Onn bin Ja’afar, and Malaya’s first Prime Minister after independence in 1957.
Who was Chin Peng?
The leader of the MCP and the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA), the military arm of the MCP.
Who was Tan Chang Lock, and what was his influence on Malaya (2)?
1) The leader of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), opposing the UMNA.
2) He participated in successful negotiations for independence in 1957.
What was the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO)?
An organisation that campaigned to rally the Malays against the Malayan Union, est. by Britain in 1946 to unite British possessions on the peninsula (not Singapore).
What was the Malayan Emergency?
A violent guerrilla war (1948-60) between the armed forces of the British Commonwealth and the MNLA.
Who was Kwame Nkrumah (6)?
1) He was educated in a Catholic Missionary School, where he was exposed to Western ideals. Whilst studying in the USA (1930s-40s) he became involved in black activism and became politicised.
2) In 1945, he helped to organise the 5th Pan-African Congress in Manchester, establishing an international reputation.
3) In 1947, he was invited to become General-Secretary of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), which had the goal of independence.
4) Briefly imprisoned in 1948, he founded the Convention People’s Party (CPP), so successful that he became Prime Minister 1953-57, moving the Gold Coast towards independence as Ghana in 1957.
5) Ghana became a republic in 1960, with Nkrumah holding power until a military coup in 1966.
6) He was a figure for black nationalism across Africa, with many political and intellectual supporters from Africa, the Caribbean and Black Americans.
What was the Organisation of African Unity?
An organisation representing states across Africa dedicated to improving the lives of Africans.
What were the 4 key tenants of Kwame Nkrumah’s political philosophy?
1) Pan-Africanism: Africans should work together politically for their collective good, founding the Organisation of African Unity in 1963.
2) Popular nationalism: Nkrumah associated himself with the demands for change of the people.
3) Marxist socialism: Believed the British Empire served the interest of international capitalists, responsible for the poverty, inequality and repression in Africa. Despite his Marxist beliefs on the redistribution of wealth, he did not associate himself with the USSR/the Communist world.
4) Responsible leadership: Recognised the importance of a working relationship with Britain to gain their confidence and support, in order to establish a stable postcolonial state during the Cold War.
Who was Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, and what was his influence on Nigeria (4)?
1) He had a Western education in Nigeria and in the USA. He helped to create the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) in 1944, becoming its leader.
2) Due to the ethnic/religious divisions in Nigeria, Azikiwe had to work with his political rivals in order to achieve Nigerian independence as one state.
3) Preventing civil war, Nigeria gained independence in 1960, establishing Nigeria’s first government with himself as president.
4) His ability to compromise earned him the trust of a variety of nationalists and the British. He convinced the British that Nigeria’s ethnic groups could work cooperatively, without imperial rule.
How was Nigeria divided (3)?
1) The North, housing approx. 1/2 of the population, was largely Muslim, dominated by the Hausa and Fulani. Their main nationalist political group was the Northern People’s Congress (NPC)>
2) The West was dominated by the Yoruba. Their main nationalist political group was the ‘Yoruba Action Group’.
3) The East was dominated by the Ibo. Their main nationalist political group was the NCNC.
Who was Jomo Kenyatta, and what was his influence on Kenya (7)?
1) A member of the Kikuyu, he joined the Kikuyu Central Association (KCA), established to defend the Kikuyu land holdings, encroached on by white settlers.
2) He lived in London for 17 years, having an education, before returning to Kenya in 1946, becoming president of the Kenya Africa Union (KAU) in 1947.
3) From 1948-51, he toured around Kenya campaigning for the return of the Kikuyu land and for independence within 3 years.
4) The Mau Mau movement led to the banning of the KAU, and Kenyatta was arrested in October 1952 for ‘managing and being a member of’ the Mau Mau Society. He was imprisoned for 7 years with hard labour.
5) Whilst in Jail, he was elected the leader of the Kenya African National Union (KANU). With the State of emergency lifted in January 1960, he was released in 1961.
6) He negotiated with Britain, gaining independence in December 1963. He became president in 1964 until his death in 1974.
7)He ensured Kikuyu dominance in political positions and over other groups. The Kikuyu lived a wealthy lifestyle, and Kenyatta persecuted political opponents. Kenyatta created a one-party state in 1964.
What is Jomo Kenyatta’s saying about British expansion?
‘When the Missionaries arrived, the Africans had the land and the Missionaries had the Bible. They taught us how to pray with our eyes closed. When we opened them, they had the land and we had the Bible’.
Who was Apolo Milton Obote, and what was his influence on Uganda (5)?
1) He developed his socialist and anti-colonial views working as a construction worker in Kenya. Returning to Uganda in 1956, he joined the Uganda National Congress (UNC).
2) In 1957, he was elected to the Colonial Legislative Council, and later was appointed Prime Minister of an independent Uganda in 1962.
3) Despite the position of Governor-General being replaced by the ceremonial presidency of Mutesa, the King of Buganda in 1963, Obote held the real power through the military, under Idi Amin.
4) In 1966, Obote suspended the constitution and declared himself president, cementing his power through a new constitution in 1967.
5) He was overthrown by Idi Amin in 1971, but returned to power in 1973. This second rule was characterised by repression and civil war. Tainted by power, Obote’s rule led to post-colonial violence and corruption.
Who was Nelson Mandela, and what was his influence on South Africa (6)?
1) He helped to form the youth league of the African National Congress (ANC) in 1944, rising through the ranks. He supported the ‘programme of action’ campaign in 1949, and in 1952 he was chosen to head the ‘Defiance Campaign’.
2) He established South Africa’s first black law firm in 1952. He became a national figure when the ANC was banned in 1960 after a series of arrests and a treason trial (1956-51).
3) He was influenced by Marxism, and joined the South African Communist Party (SACP), sitting on its Central Committee. In association with the SACP, he co-founded the Umkhonto weSizwe (Spear of the Nation) in 1961, which became the armed wing of the ANC, leading a sabotage campaign against the apartheid government.
4) He left South Africa in 1962, travelling across Africa, and to Britain, to gain support. Returning to South Africa in July 1962, he was arrested and sentenced to 5 years for inciting strikes and leaving the country without permit.
5) A police raid on the ANC’s hideout brought further conviction, and in October 1963, he was prosecuted in the Rivonia trial. In June 1964, Mandela and 7 others were sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island off Cape Town.
6) Serving 27 years, Mandela was freed in 1990 after an international campaign in his support. He was seen as a moral champion and an international figure, becoming President of South Africa 1994-99.
