8.5

Question 1

What were the two methods of gaining independence from 1900-present?

Answer 1

• armed resistance
• negotiation

Question 2

Explain the process of the decolonization of India.

Answer 2

India gained independence through negotiation.

• 1920: Mohandas Gandhi led the Indian National Congress, espousing nonviolent civil disobedience
• Great Britain didn’t have the resources or the power to continue ruling colonial India after WWII, so they negotiated with India and India gained independence in 1947
• Muslims established the Muslim League in 1906, when anti-colonial sentiments were becoming more prominent, and advocated for an independent Muslim state
  *ended up being Pakistan, established as an independent state in 1947 as well

Question 3

Explain the process of decolonization in French West Africa.

Answer 3

This occurred mostly through negotiation. French West Africa included the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Niger, and more.
- France ruled with minimal occupational force (indirect ruling style) since the 1800s, mostly relying on the cooperation of local chiefs and governments to maintain power
- relationship began to erode due to the eroding notion of European superiority and the growth of nationalism and call for self-determination
- France decided to negotiate independence, and most of their colonial states became independent by 1959

Question 4

Explain the process of decolonization in the Gold Coast

Answer 4

Mostly done by negotiation.
- it was a British colony with an independence process similar to India’s
- gained independence in 1957, the first president being Kwame Nkrumah

Kwame Nkrumah was nationalistic and created a victorious narrative of Ghana’s history, including an official flag, a national anthem, and monuments that glorified Ghana.

Question 5

The Gold Coast is synonymous for what?

Answer 5

Ghana

Question 6

Explain the process of decolonization in Algeria.

Answer 6

This was mostly a violent process brought along by armed resistance.
- mid 20th century: Algerians resisted the French colonial government
*France didn’t want to give up this colony, because they’d just lost their Indochinese colony
- French colonial government responded with harsh laws and violence
- 1954: Algerian war for independence began. Algerians organized themselves into the National Liberation Front, which used guerrilla tactics and brutalization against the French
- violence spread to France, where the population was split between supporting Algeria’s independence vs. supporting French colonial rule in Algeria
*the communist party of France was the most fervently and outspoken supporter of Algeria’s independence
- 1958: the French president Charles de Gaulle officially plans steps for Algerian independence
- Algeria gains independence in 1962

Question 7

Explain the process of decolonization in Vietnam.

Answer 7

• Vietnam was a French colony
• during WWII, France was expelled from Indochina, but promptly returned after WWII to occupy South Vietnam
  *North had communist government under Ho Chi Minh, with the goal of getting rid of the French and unite Indochina under communism
• Ho Chi Minh started Vietnam’s war for independence, resulted in the creation of two countries: North Vietnam and South Vietnam
• in 1975, the North and South were united as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Became a proxy war, with North Vietnam being communist and supported by the USSR while South Vietnam was democratic and supported by the USA.

Question 8

What is Vietnam synonymous for?

Answer 8

Indochina

Question 9

Explain the process of decolonization in Egypt.

Answer 9

This process was primarily violent. Egypt was technically independent since 1922, but the British occupied lands close to the Suez Canal to protect their economic interests.
- after WWII, General Gamal Abdel Nasser (outspoken socialist) led the overthrow of the king, established the Republic of Egypt, and became Egypt’s second president
- he nationalized the Suez Canal in attempts to get rid of colonial influence, but previously Egypt had signed a contract that leased the Suez Canal to France for 99 years, and the British didn’t want to leave, either
- led to the Suez Crisis
*France got Israel (their ally) to invade Egypt
*Britain and France’s troops occupied land surrounding the canal
*US and USSR disapproved of the British and French’s actions, intervened with the United Nations, and negotiated to make the Suez Canal international, under Egypt’s sovereignty

Question 9

Explain the process of decolonization in Nigeria.

Answer 9

This process had a mix of negotiation and armed resistance.
- 1960: negotiated independence from Britain
- 1967: civil war broke out over fight for political power in the newly independent Nigeria
*Igbo people: westernized, Christian, lived in the south, tried making their own nation named Biafra… but their land had lots of oil
- Northern government resisted violently, and won in 1970, establishing a united Nigeria

Question 10

Explain the Quebecois Movement.

Answer 10

• Quebec was a French colony in Canada, with French culture
• 1700s = British gained control over most of Canada, led to a divide between Quebec’s French Catholics and the British Protestants everywhere else around them
• many attempts (all failures) t make a new state in Quebec
• 1960s: in Quebec, nationalism was growing and the liberal party was growing in popularity
• 1963: violence broke out, culminating in terror bombings, but the Quebecois Movement failed and Quebec remained a part of Canada