DECOLONIZATION OF AFRICA AND INDIA

1. DECOLONIZATIONOF AFRICA AND INDIA

2. Essential Question: What was decolonization and how did decolonization impact India and Africa?

3. The Post-World War II World What will happen in world history in the years after World War II (1945 to today)? Examine the next four images and make a prediction about what will happen in the world after World War II (with exception to the Cold War)

4. Nations in India, Southeast Asia, and Africa gained independence from imperialists (decolonization)

5. After the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, China adopted some capitalist reforms but the government still strictly controlled personal liberties

6. Trade became more global (known as globalism) as technology expands, markets grow, and corporations became dominant business organizations

7. Ethnic conflicts, genocide, and terrorism increased throughout the world

8. At the end of World War II, many nations in Africa and Asia gained independence from European imperialists This trend of Africans and Asians freeing themselves of Europeans who controlled their nations was known as decolonization The first major colony to gain independence was India in 1947

9. During World War I, India sent troops to fight with the British against the Central Powers in Europe The British government promised Indians self-rule as a rewardfor participating in WWI

10. When World War I ended and self-rule was not granted, nationalism and demands for independence from Britain increased in India

11. Mohandas Gandhi emerged as the leader of the Indian independence movement in the 1920s

12. Gandhi urged Indians to use non-violent means to achieve their goals

13. Gandhi’s tactics included deliberately breaking unfair British laws (called civil disobedience)

14. Gandhi encouraged peaceful protests and boycotting British goods in order to hurt the British colonial economy

15. In 1935, Britain granted India limited self-rule but not total independence Title But, self-rule created tensions between the Hindu majority and the Muslim minority, who feared giving power to Hindus

16. When World War II broke out, Britain committed Indian troopsto the war without asking India’s self-governing assembly This led to protests and renewed calls for independence from Britain

17. When World War II ended in 1945, Britain was in deeply in debt and ready to grant India its independence After WWII, India was no longer as profitable as it once was for Britain; also, Britain was in no shape to fight after WWII and could not put down an Indian rebellion

18. Pakistan was dominated by Muslims (East Pakistan later became Bangladesh) Title India was a nation made up largely of Hindus • Text In 1947, Britain agreed to a partition (division) of India and granted independence to two nations: India and Pakistan

19. But, violence between Hindus and Muslims made granting independence difficult

20. But, violence between Hindus and Muslims made granting independence difficult

21. During the partition, ten million people relocated; violence broke out, leaving one million dead, including Gandhi; he was assassinated by a fellow Hindu in 1949

22. The Hindu assassin opposed Gandhi trying to achieve equality for ALL Indians, both Hindus and Muslims

23. In 1947, India became the world’s most populated democratic nation; Jawaharlal Nehru was elected India’s first prime minister Title • Text Nehru emphasized democracy, unity, and modernizing India In the Cold War, India was a leader among non-aligned nations Under Nehru, women and lower caste Hindus gained rights

24. Title • Text In 1966, Nehru’s daughter, Indira Gandhi, was elected prime minister; she was also assassinated

25. Title • Text The violence in India and Pakistan is mainly due to religious and cultural differences between Hindus and Muslims; the after-effects of British rule only made these conflicts worse

26. In the 1950s and 1960s, African colonies experienced decolonization and gained independence The first sub-Saharan African colony to gain its independence was Ghana in 1957

27. As an imperial power, Britain conquered much of Africa, including the Gold Coast After WWII, Britain allowed Africans in Gold Coast to participate in local self-governments

28. Starting in 1947, Kwame Nkrumah used Gandhi’s non-violent strategy of boycotts and strikes to pressure Britain to grant total independence

29. After a decade of struggle, Britain granted Gold Coast independence in 1957 and the nation was renamed Ghana Kwame Nkrumah was elected president-for-life and began an ambitious series of construction projects, education, and health programs

30. Nkrumah supported Pan-Africanism (unity among ALL Africans) and he hoped to create a “United States of Africa” (which would make the entire continent of Africa into one single nation)

31. In 1966, Nkrumah was overthrown because his various projects were too expensive and hurt the economy; also, his people thought he spent too much time promoting Pan-Africanism Ghana struggled between military and civilian rule until free elections were finally held in 2000

32. Unlike Ghana, demands for independence in South Africa were led by descendants of white colonists

33. When South Africa gained independence in 1931, white Afrikaners gained power and create a policy of apartheid

34. Apartheid laws created strict racialsegregation (total separation of races) between blacks and whites in South Africa

35. Black South Africans protested apartheid and violent riots often broke out

36. Black South Africans protested apartheid and violent riots often broke out

37. In the 1980s, many foreign nations refused to trade with South Africa in protest of apartheid

38. The anti-apartheid leader was Nelson Mandela

39. In 1964, Mandela was arrested and given a life sentence for opposing apartheid laws

40. In 1990, new South African President F. W. de Clerk released Mandela from prison

41. South African parliament repealed all apartheid laws and announced the first multiracial election in 1994

42. Nelson Mandela won the election and became South Africa’s first black president South Africans adopted a new constitution with a Bill of Rights that guaranteed equal rights for all citizens

43. Not all African independence movements were like South Africa and ended with democracy or without bloodshed

44. After gaining independence, Nigeria erupted in an ethnic civil war

45. In Congo, a series of civil wars weakened the newly-formed nation

46. Ethnic divisions weakened Kenya’s government and led to violence and rule by dictators

47. Among the worst examples of violence in Africa is the genocide (mass killings) in Rwanda and Sudan Link to video on Rwandan genocide (3.00)

48. In Rwanda, ethnic conflict between rival clans led to the Hutus massacring between 500,000 to 800,000 Tutsi in 1994