Via Afrika History Grade 12 – Key Vocabulary

A set of 150 key vocabulary flashcards covering Cold War, African decolonisation, civil rights, South African history and post-Cold War global themes, aligned with the Via Afrika History Grade 12 curriculum.

Cold War

1945–1991 period of ideological, political and military tension between the USA-led Western bloc and the USSR-led Eastern bloc.

Iron Curtain

Winston Churchill’s term for the political and ideological barrier separating Communist Eastern Europe from the capitalist West after 1945.

Containment

US strategy to stop the spread of Communism by political, economic and military means.

Truman Doctrine

1947 pledge of US support for countries resisting Communist pressure, launching the policy of containment.

Marshall Plan

US programme (1948) that gave economic aid to rebuild Western Europe and discourage Communist influence.

Berlin Blockade

1948–1949 Soviet closure of land routes to West Berlin, countered by the Western airlift.

Berlin Airlift

Massive Allied operation that flew supplies into West Berlin during the Soviet blockade (1948-49).

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (1949), a Western military alliance for collective defence against the USSR.

Warsaw Pact

1955 Soviet-led military alliance of Communist states in Eastern Europe, countering NATO.

Brinkmanship

Cold War tactic of pushing a crisis to the verge of war to force concessions from an opponent.

Cuban Missile Crisis

October 1962 standoff after the USSR placed nuclear missiles in Cuba; brought world close to nuclear war.

Domino Theory

US belief that if one country fell to Communism, neighbouring states would follow.

Vietnam War

1955–1975 conflict in which the US backed South Vietnam against Communist North Vietnam and the Viet Cong.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

1964 US congressional authorization for President Johnson to use military force in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war.

Tet Offensive

Large-scale 1968 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese attacks; military setback for Communists but turning point against US involvement.

Viet Cong

Communist guerrilla movement fighting South Vietnamese and US forces during the Vietnam War.

Ho Chi Minh Trail

Network of jungle supply routes from North Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia to South Vietnam.

Sino-Soviet Split

1960s ideological and political rift between Communist China and the Soviet Union.

Great Leap Forward

1958-1961 Mao’s campaign to rapidly industrialise China through rural communes; caused catastrophic famine.

Cultural Revolution

1966-1976 movement launched by Mao to purge ‘bourgeois’ elements and re-assert his control.

Red Guards

Militant student groups who enforced Mao’s Cultural Revolution slogans and persecuted perceived enemies.

Mao Zedong

Leader of the Chinese Communist Party; founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

Deng Xiaoping

Chinese leader after 1978 who introduced economic reforms and market socialism.

African Socialism

Post-colonial ideology blending traditional communalism with socialist principles, stressing collective ownership.

Ujamaa

Tanzanian concept of ‘familyhood’; Nyerere’s policy of cooperative villages and African Socialism.

Julius Nyerere

First president of Tanzania (1964-85); champion of Ujamaa and African Socialism.

Patrice Lumumba

First prime minister of independent Congo; nationalist leader assassinated in 1961.

Mobutu Sese Seko

Military ruler of Congo/Zaire (1965–1997); established authoritarian one-party state and cult of personality.

Zairianization

1973 policy under Mobutu transferring foreign-owned enterprises to Zairian ownership, leading to corruption.

Arusha Declaration

1967 Tanzanian statement outlining Nyerere’s socialist and self-reliance policies.

Organisation of African Unity (OAU)

1963–2002 body promoting African unity, decolonisation and opposition to apartheid.

Non-Aligned Movement

Group of states formed in 1961 that refused to side with either superpower during the Cold War.

MPLA

Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola; Marxist party that formed Angola’s government from 1975.

UNITA

National Union for the Total Independence of Angola; anti-Marxist rebel movement led by Jonas Savimbi.

FNLA

National Front for the Liberation of Angola; US-backed anti-Communist Angolan movement.

FRELIMO

Mozambican Liberation Front; led Mozambique to independence and formed its first government in 1975.

RENAMO

Mozambican rebel group opposing FRELIMO; supported by apartheid South Africa and the USA.

SWAPO

South West Africa People’s Organisation; led Namibia’s liberation struggle and became governing party in 1990.

Cuito Cuanavale

1987-1988 battle in Angola between Cuban-MPLA forces and SADF-UNITA; turning point in regional conflict.

New York Accords

1988 agreement leading to Namibian independence and withdrawal of Cuban and South African troops from Angola.

Bicesse Accords

1991 peace agreement between MPLA and UNITA providing for elections in Angola.

Lusaka Protocol

1994 ceasefire and power-sharing deal aimed at ending the Angolan civil war.

ANC

African National Congress; South African liberation movement founded in 1912, governing party since 1994.

Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK)

Armed wing of the ANC formed in 1961 to wage sabotage against apartheid.

Rivonia Trial

1963-1964 trial that sentenced Mandela and other ANC leaders to life imprisonment for sabotage.

Black Consciousness

1960s-70s South African movement promoting black pride and psychological liberation.

Steve Biko

Leader of the Black Consciousness Movement; died in police custody in 1977.

Soweto Uprising

June 1976 student protest against Afrikaans medium; met with brutal police violence.

Congress of the People

1955 gathering near Kliptown where anti-apartheid groups adopted the Freedom Charter.

Freedom Charter

1955 document outlining the vision of a non-racial, democratic South Africa.

United Democratic Front (UDF)

1983 coalition of anti-apartheid organisations that mobilised mass resistance.

Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU)

1985 federation of trade unions aligned with the ANC and SACP.

Mass Democratic Movement (MDM)

Late-1980s alliance of UDF and COSATU structures coordinating anti-apartheid actions.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)

1996-1998 body investigating apartheid human-rights abuses, chaired by Desmond Tutu.

Restorative Justice

Approach focusing on truth-telling, healing and reconciliation rather than punishment.

Reparations

Compensation recommended by the TRC for victims of apartheid abuses.

Amnesty Committee

TRC body empowered to grant amnesty to perpetrators who made full disclosure.

Government of National Unity (GNU)

Power-sharing cabinet (1994-1999) including ANC, NP and IFP after South Africa’s first democratic election.

Interim Constitution (1993)

South Africa’s temporary basic law providing for elections and a constitutional assembly.

Bill of Rights (South Africa)

Chapter 2 of the 1996 Constitution guaranteeing fundamental human rights.

FW de Klerk

Last apartheid president who unbanned liberation movements and released Mandela (1990).

Nelson Mandela

ANC leader imprisoned 27 years; first democratically elected president of South Africa (1994-1999).

Chris Hani

SACP leader and MK chief of staff assassinated in 1993; his death accelerated SA negotiations.

Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)

Zulu-based party led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi; opposed some aspects of ANC negotiations.

Shell House Massacre

1994 shooting of IFP marchers outside ANC headquarters in Johannesburg.

CODESA

Convention for a Democratic South Africa; multiparty talks (1991-92) to end apartheid.

Groote Schuur Minute

May 1990 agreement between ANC and government to create conditions for negotiations.

Pretoria Minute

August 1990 accord in which ANC suspended armed struggle and government lifted emergency.

Sunset Clause

Compromise guaranteeing civil servants’ jobs and power-sharing for 5 years after 1994.

Tri-cameral Parliament

1984 apartheid legislature with separate chambers for whites, coloureds and Indians, excluding Africans.

Black Local Authorities Act

1982 law creating elected township councils; widely rejected as apartheid collaborators.

Pass Laws

Apartheid regulations requiring black South Africans to carry permits to enter white areas.

Bantu Education

Segregated schooling system designed to prepare blacks for menial labour under apartheid.

Bantustans

Homelands designated for specific black ethnic groups under apartheid’s grand plan.

Homelands

Another term for bantustans; territories declared ‘independent’ to strip blacks of SA citizenship.

Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC)

1959 breakaway from ANC advocating Africanist policies; launched Poqo armed wing.

Sharpeville Massacre

21 March 1960 police killing of 69 anti-pass protesters; led to banning of ANC and PAC.

St James Church Massacre

1993 APLA attack on Cape Town congregation that killed 11 worshippers.

Heidelberg Tavern Massacre

1993 APLA shooting in Cape Town student bar; four people killed.

Vaal Uprising

1984 township revolts against rent increases; marked start of widespread 1980s unrest.

Operation Rolling Thunder

1965-1968 US aerial bombardment campaign against North Vietnam.

Agent Orange

Defoliant sprayed by US forces in Vietnam; caused environmental and health damage.

Agent Blue

Herbicide used by US in Vietnam to destroy rice crops and starve Viet Cong.

Red Army

Name for the Soviet Union’s army (1918-1946); later Soviet Army.

McCarthyism

Early-1950s US anti-communist witch-hunt led by Senator Joseph McCarthy.

De-Stalinization

Khrushchev’s 1956 policy denouncing Stalin’s abuses and easing repression.

Perestroika

Gorbachev’s restructuring policy aimed at reforming the Soviet economy (from 1985).

Glasnost

Gorbachev’s policy of openness and transparency, encouraging free discussion in the USSR.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Last leader of the USSR (1985-1991); introduced perestroika and glasnost, ended Cold War.

Boris Yeltsin

First president of the Russian Federation (1991-1999) after breakup of USSR.

Berlin Wall

Concrete barrier (1961-1989) separating East and West Berlin; Cold War symbol.

Reunification of Germany

1990 process that merged East and West Germany into one democratic state.

Bretton Woods Institutions

Collective term for World Bank and IMF, created in 1944 to regulate global finance.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Global organisation providing loans and overseeing exchange-rate stability.

World Bank

International lender funding development projects and reconstruction.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

Body (1995) regulating international trade rules and dispute settlement.

Globalization

Process of growing worldwide interconnectedness in economics, politics, culture and technology.

Neo-liberalism

Economic approach favouring deregulation, privatisation and free markets.

BRICS

Grouping of emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Emerging Markets

Developing countries with rapid economic growth and industrialisation potential.