Decolonization Flashcards

Flashcards reviewing key vocabulary and concepts related to decolonization, covering topics from Indian independence to African nationalism and conflicts in the Middle East.

Decolonization

The process where empires broke apart and states began to break away and re-form, particularly after World War II, driven by a new sense of nationalism and desire for self-determination.

Indian National Congress

Organization founded in the nineteenth century that initiated the drive for Indian self-rule.

Decolonization

The process where empires broke apart and states began to break away and re-form, particularly after World War II, driven by a new sense of nationalism and desire for self-determination.

Indian National Congress

Organization founded in the nineteenth century that initiated the drive for Indian self-rule.

Mohandas Gandhi

Leader of the Indian National Congress in 1920 who advocated for civil disobedience and passive resistance against unjust power.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah

Led the Muslim League in its campaign for an independent Muslim country, Pakistan, fearing Hindu dominance in an independent India.

Partition of India

In 1947, the British divided colonial India into a mostly Hindu India and a mostly Muslim Pakistan, leading to chaotic violence and mass migrations.

Bangladesh

Formerly East Pakistan, it became an independent country in 1971 after a violent civil war.

Indira Gandhi

India's first female prime minister, elected in 1966; daughter of Nehru.

Benazir Bhutto

Pakistan's first female prime minister, elected in 1988; her father had also served as prime minister.

British Asians

Immigrants from Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh who migrated to London, particularly after World War II, finding employment in various sectors.

Ho Chi Minh

Leader of the Vietnamese Communists who proclaimed the country's independence after World War II, combining nationalism with communism.

Khmer Rouge

A Communist guerilla organization in Cambodia, under the leadership of Pol Pot, that imposed a ruthless form of communism, leading to mass slaughter and famine.

Zionism

A movement that gained momentum in the 1890s, advocating for the creation of a separate Jewish state, particularly in Palestine.

Theodore Herzl

Hungarian Jewish intellectual and journalist who urged the creation of a separate Jewish state at the First Zionist Congress in 1897.

Balfour Declaration

A 1917 British government declaration that favored the establishment in Palestine of a 'national home' for the Jewish people.

Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)

Led by Yasser Arafat, it sought the return of occupied lands and the creation of an independent nation of Palestine.

Gamal Abdel Nasser

Egyptian general and president who overthrew the king in 1952 and established the Republic of Egypt, promoting Pan-Arabism.

Pan-Arabism

A movement promoting the cultural and political unity of Arab nations.

Suez Crisis

A crisis in 1956 when Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, leading to an invasion by Israel, France, and Great Britain, but resolved through UN intervention.

Camp David Accords

A 1979 peace agreement mediated by U.S. President Jimmy Carter between Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel and President Anwar Sadat of Egypt.

Shah Reza Khan

Seized power in Iran in 1921 and declared himself shah, modernizing the country but later being forced to abdicate.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

Shia cleric who became the Supreme Leader of Iran after the 1979 revolution, establishing a theocratic government.

Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk)

Founder of Turkey as a secular republic in 1923, fostering close ties with Europe.

Kwame Nkrumah

First president of Ghana, leading the country to independence in 1957 and promoting Pan-Africanism.

Pan-Africanism

A movement that celebrates the unity of culture and ideas throughout the African continent and opposes intervention of former colonial powers.

Algerian War for Independence

Began in 1954, with the FLN using guerrilla techniques against French forces. Resulted in sharp divisions in France and ultimately Algerian independence.

Jomo Kenyatta

First president of Kenya (1964-1978), advocating for independence and serving a prison term for supporting the Mau Mau.

Mau Mau

A group in Kenya that carried out terror campaigns in 1952 in protest against economic conditions and British colonialism.

Nigeria

Gained independence from Britain in 1960. The Biafran Civil War began in 1967 when the Igbos attempted to secede from the northern-dominated government.

Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)

A strong political party that dominated Mexican politics for most of the twentieth century, known for its corporatist system.

NAFTA

The 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, which impacted the Mexican economy and labor conditions.

Drug Cartels

Large criminal organizations engaged in drug trafficking in Mexico, promoting violence against government officials and private citizens.

Liberation Theology

An ideology that combined socialism with Catholicism, spreading through Latin America in the 1950s and 1960s, advocating for freeing people from abuses.

Modernization Theory

Post-World War II theory that saw problems of poor, newly emerging countries as natural by-products of transition from agrarian to developed society, suggesting developed countries could provide assistance.

Dependency Theory

Theory rejecting modernization theory, arguing that former colonies are victims of the international marketplace and that the way out of poverty is to become more self-reliant.

Globalization

The increasing interconnectedness of economies around the world, seen by some as an opportunity for countries to prosper.