Decolonization Notes

Decolonization

Agenda

  • Dates: May 6/7, 5/8, 5/9, 5/12, 5/13, 5/14, 5/15, 5/16, 5/19, 5/20, 5/21, 5/22, and 5/23
  • Topics:
    • Introduction to Decolonization
    • Decolonization of India (overview, Gandhi clips)
    • South Asia after WWII (map)
    • Sri Lanka and Modern India (reading notes, pp. 999-1003)
    • African Independence (video clip, case studies)
    • Apartheid (notes and video clip, economic sanctions and legacy)
    • Partition of Palestine and 1948 War, Nasser
    • Nasser, Suez, and the 1967 War
    • Arab-Israeli Conflict Today
    • Essential Knowledge Review and Map Quiz Review

Reminders

  • HST 5 due May 16 (150 points, limited remediation)
  • Unit 6 Test and Hitler essay remediation due (specific Thursday)
  • Unit 8 Test May 27 and May 28 (no remediation)
  • Map Quiz (formative 20 points, no remediation) follows Unit 8 Test
  • Remediation deadline for Cold War Test and Essay: May 29

Remediation and Extra Help

  • After-school sessions are available on Mondays and Thursdays at different locations with different instructors.

Map Quiz

  • Covers all maps in the unit packet.
  • Format: Fill in the blank (no key provided).

Maps

  • Arab-Israeli Conflict
  • Independence in Africa
  • South Asia After World War II

HST 5 - History Skills Task 5

  • Graphic organizer to integrate earlier parts of the assignment.
  • Task: Identify and evaluate primary & scholarly sources to answer a research question.
  • Use sources/questions from earlier stages, incorporating feedback.
  • Requirements:
    • Sources must represent two different perspectives.
    • At least one scholarly source; the second can be scholarly or primary.
    • Each section requires a well-developed paragraph (100-200 words).

Key Concepts & People

  • Origins, Methods, Challenges Related To:
    • Mandate for Palestine (1919-1948)
    • Gamal Nasser (1952-1970)
    • Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948)
    • African National Congress (founded 1913)
    • Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)
    • Civil Disobedience
    • Convention People’s Party of Ghana (founded 1949)
    • Algerian National Liberation Front (founded 1954)
    • United Nations Organization (founded 1945)
    • Economic Sanctions
    • Women’s Activism
    • Apartheid (1948-1994)
    • Partition of Palestine (1948)
    • Partition of India (1947)
    • Suez Crisis (1954)
    • 1967 Arab-Israeli War (Six-Day War) (1967)

Colonial Powers (1945)

  • United Kingdom
  • British Dominions
  • France
  • Portugal
  • Spain
  • Netherlands
  • Belgium
  • United States

Timeline of Independence

  • List of countries gaining independence with dates (1946-1968+).

Impact of WWII on Decolonization

  • European imperial powers (Great Britain, France) weakened.
  • Result: Empires break apart between the late 1940s and early 1970s, leading to many newly independent countries.

Methods of Achieving Independence

  • Civil Disobedience and peaceful protests
  • Civil War
  • Mixed Resistance
  • International or economic pressure

Decolonization of Africa

  • Impact of World War II on independence movements.
  • Influence of the UN Charter.
  • Economic factors.

Case Studies: African Independence

  • Ghanaian Independence (1957)
    • First African colony south of the Sahara to achieve independence.
    • Britain prepared for independence by allowing more Africans in the Legislative Council.
    • Led by Kwame Nkrumah, largely non-violent, featuring strikes and boycotts.
  • Kenyan Independence (1963)
    • Factors include Jomo Kenyatta and the MauMau.
    • Kenyatta: Nationalist leader, initially supported non-violence, imprisoned for refusing to condemn the MauMau.
    • MauMau: Secret society of native Kenyan farmers using guerilla warfare tactics to push out white farmers from highlands.
  • Algerian Independence (1962)
    • French colonists refused to share power with native Algerians after WWII.
    • FLN (French Liberation Front) fought a war of independence from 1954-1962.
    • Post-independence: Ahmed Ben Bella, first president, followed by military coup and civil war.
  • South Africa
    • Independent since 1930, but ruled by white minority.
    • Colonized by Netherlands in 1600s, British after Boer Wars.
    • White South Africans (17% of population) had almost total control, denying rights to black majority.

Apartheid in South Africa

  • System of legal discrimination instituted in 1948.
  • Black South Africans required to carry passbooks, use separate services, and were restricted from white neighborhoods, often forced into townships.
  • Black South Africans were denied the right to vote.
  • Literally means “apart-ness” or “separate-ness.”

Nelson Mandela and the ANC

  • Activist organization founded in 1912 to expand rights for Black and mixed-race South Africans.
  • Nelson Mandela joined in 1943, founded ANC Youth League in 1944.
  • Sharpeville Massacre (1960): Police killed 69 nonviolent protestors; ANC banned.
  • Mandela and others arrested in 1962.

Steps Toward Change in South Africa

  • 1990: President F.W. de Klerk released Mandela, re-legalized ANC.
  • 1994: Nelson Mandela elected president (first election with legal voting for all).
  • 1996 Constitution guaranteed equal rights.

Indian Independence

  • Setting the Stage:
    • Mughal Empire dominated northern India (1526-1721).
    • British East India Company gained control.
    • 1857: British assumed direct control after the Sepoy Rebellion.
    • India considered most valuable colony, the “jewel in the crown”.

Movement Toward Independence

  • Exploitation of Indian resources, manpower, and agriculture by the British.
  • Restrictions on Indian manufacturing and trade.
  • Indian National Congress formed in 1885, advocating for independence.

Muslim League and Muhammad Ali Jinnah

  • Muslim League founded in 1906 to protect Muslim interests.
  • Jinnah insisted Muslims resign from Congress Party; feared Hindu-dominated rule if India became independent.

Mohandas Gandhi

  • Middle-class lawyer who became a leader for Indian independence.
  • Elected head of Indian National Congress in 1920.
  • Became a spiritual and political leader (mahatma = “great soul”).

Gandhi's Methods

  • Employing methods to secure independence for India (Civil Disobedience).

Partition of India

  • Turmoil between Hindus and Muslims.
  • India Divided into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan.
  • Mass migrations led to widespread violence.
  • 22 million deaths, 1414 million displaced.
  • Gandhi's hunger strike in Calcutta prevented violence there but was assassinated in 1948.
  • Continuing tensions over Kashmir.

Civil War in East and West Pakistan

  • East and West Pakistan geographically separated.
  • East Pakistan declared independence becoming Bangladesh in 1972 after civil war.

Sri Lanka (former Ceylon)

  • Reference to text p. 1003 and Human Rights Watch Sri Lanka.

Modern India

  • Nehru Biography
  • Jawaharlal Nehru: Background, pushing India forward, challenges faced.
  • Indira Gandhi: Background and challenges.

Arab-Israeli Conflict: Context and Background

  • Religious Context:
    • Jerusalem: important to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
  • Historical Context:
    • Jewish people ruled on and off for thirteen centuries between 1200 BCE and the second century CE.
    • The Diaspora.
    • Islamic control and the Crusades.
    • Ottoman Empire collapse & Mandate System.

Jewish Diaspora

  • Movement of Jews out of their traditional lands to locations throughout the world.