BRITISH DECOLONISATION 1945-1967 Flashcards
except india (67 cards)
1
Q
describe the decolonisation of nigeria
A
1944 = NCNC is formed by azikewe
1951 = macpherson constitution introduced - more liberal and aimed to provide power to nigerian peoples in government
1953-1954 = the london and lagos conferences are held for independence
1954 = a government of 3 british peoples and political representatives is created
1958 = a conference is held to promote the protection of minority interests and self governing status is granted to south, west and east areas in 1957, and the north in 1959
1958 = british gov agrees to full independence in 1960 (idea of being in control, was not sudden)
2
Q
reasons for british decolonisation of singapore and malaya
A
singapore:
- nationalism - significant party factionalism by the 1960s
malaya:
- cold war - tensions are between USA and USSR, britain is caught in the middle and can no longer pursue its imperial wants
- malaya was so factionalised that any government would be ineffective
3
Q
2 political factions in cyprus + beliefs
A
EOKA: more moderate, but pro-independence
AKEL: more communist in leaning
4
Q
describe british decolonisation of ghana
A
- a legislative assembly is formed in 1946 from the burns constitution with 12 europeans and 18 africans
1948= accra riots because of only 18 africans being in the leg assembly
1949 = the convention people’s party is created
and still wins an election in jail
1950 = general strike of 2000 people led by nkrumah, and nkrumah is gaoled
1951 = CPP win 2/3rds of seats
1952 = nkrumah becomes PM because there is a recognition of CPP power and is released from jail - magnetism - arden clarke realises the need to co-operate
1954 = the CPP win all cabinet seats - political dominance and power
1956 = nkrumah writes a white paper advocating for independence, and a plebicite to become unified with togoland
5
Q
work of the CPP in the gold coast
A
- force the legislative council under the burns constitution to be enlarged and increase the electorate and political representation of africans
6
Q
describe the decolonisation of kenya
A
1947 = kenyatta becomes president of the kenyan african union
- kenyatta then launches an independence tour
- 1952-1960(ish) - mau mau, hola camp - minimal political parties in action
- 1960, 1962 + 1963 = lancaster house conferences - british are trying to ‘properly’ decolonise and co-operate w nationalists
- 1961 = kenyan african union win elections
- 1962 - KANU + KADU = unite to win the election
- 1963 lancaster house conference declares self-government and independence for kenya
7
Q
describe the formation of the federation of malaya
A
formed in 1948
- it formed an executive council led by the high commissioner
- formed a legislative council with 62 people
(by 1955, 28 of these people were malay, only 14 were european - anti-europe sentiment)
8
Q
impact of the accra riots
A
- nkrumah is arrested after also leading a strike in 1950 of over 2000 people
- creates the WATSON COMMISSION to advocate for wider political representation
9
Q
reasons for british decolonisation of cyprus
A
- tensions between AKEL + EOKA
- cold war - even the british gov (turton v robinson) are fighting over how to deal with difficulties and align with the US
- lord hitchingbooke claims there is a fear of communism
10
Q
describe the 1947 + 1966 stirling crisis
A
- keynes negotiated a 900 million pound loan, which would allow for sterling to be freely convertible to dollars
- the intention was to allow Britain to build up its reserves in dollars
- however, Britain ran out of dollar reserves within 6 weeks and they could not maintain feee convertibility
- a similar thing occured in 1966
*britain is consistently weak across the period - cannot gain that stability
11
Q
how did the interim government in india fail
A
- Wavell formed an interim government which had 6 congressional members, 5 muslim league members and 3 members chosen by Wavell
- the Muslim league refused to nominate representatives, so this power of nomination was given to Congress (which was not representative of muslim interests)
- the muslim league then withdrew accepting the May statement + resigned
- places the british in a difficult position, because they SHOULD have consent of both parties
12
Q
describe occurrences in nyasaland during this period
A
- dr hastings banda = key nationalist
- 1958 = banda becomes president of the nyasaland african congress
- in 1959, a state of emergency was declared, with 1200 detained under armitage until 1960
- the british government claimed there was a conspiracy for africans to kill europeans
- the national african congress in nyasaland was banned and 51 were killed
*make links here to mau mau and hola camp
13
Q
describe the asking of self government in cyprus
A
1947 - cypriot orthodox church request self government / ENOSIS
- the british refuse self government
1950 - cypriot church hold a referendum on self gov
- 95% support
1954 - the british block green self gov motion in the UN
14
Q
in what way was Palestine an economic burden to British interests
A
- palestine cost 100 million pounds between Jan 1945 and Nov 1947
- it was of the British view that Palestine was draining resources
15
Q
describe US relations to Jewish settlement in Palestine
A
- truman wanted 100,000 refugees to settle into Palestine (sympathy from the holocaust)
- strong pro-zionist approach to enhance individual political credibility
- but the british disagreed and wanted strong relations with the arabs to prevent their alignment with the soviet union
16
Q
what is the KEY motivation for the british in malaya
A
- RUBBER**
- the british want to be able to produce goods which cannot be produced by the americans themselves to fully establish trade relations
- want to produce rubber in dollars due to british debt
- could be argued to a larger extent to prevent the spread of communism??
17
Q
describe british decolonisation in ceylon
A
- 1948
- in 1944, Ceylon became a naval base for the South East Asian Command (5000 people) and was politically advanced in its constitution
- it was a critical colony for providing strategic support to the British during WWII
- were loyal = led the british government to agree to self-government
- in 1942, the Ceylon National Congress demanded dominion status
- in 1945, the British promised full dominion status and elections took place in September 1947
- Ceylon was given independence in Feb 1948 and accepted membership of the commonwealth
18
Q
short term political consequences in kenya for mau mau
A
- kenyatta arrested - british try to limit any potential nationalist affiliation
- the kenyan african union is banned
19
Q
give the 3 options to deal with palestine:
1. unitary state
2. federalised system
3. partition
A
- unitary state
- a unified state of both jews and arabs which would produce an arab majority and suppress jews, further inciting more violence and increasing terrorist acts
- jews and arabs would live in the same united state, under the same central gov - federalised system
- various different areas all with their own individual governments
- idea that this would lead to partition
- arabs and jews refused to live together in the same culture
- would break up arab influence and further entrench divisions - partition
- arabs and jews would be completely separated and 2 different states would be formed
- it would ensure that each group is adequately represented
- this would contradict the balfour declaration
20
Q
what does the british decolonisation of kenya display about motives for decol
A
- quick succession of political conferences from 1960 - british are quick to decolonise and leave
- also, UN in 1960 apply pressure for the british to decolonise (quickly impose measures to leave)
- nationalism - mau mau controversy amplified british incompetency and lack of control - empowered nationalists
- mau mau displayed the default reliance on repression, contradicting a civilising mission
21
Q
describe British decolonisation of malaya from 1944-1957
A
1944 - a union in malay (by Gent) is attempted to ensure equal citizenship
1945 - British had lost control of the Malay peninsula and now attempt to get it back
1947 - the federation of Malaya is created (indonesia + malaysia)
1948 - strikes by Chinese Labour Unions continue
June 1948 - the British declare a state of emergency against communists and are willing to fight for Malaysia (lasts until 1952 and starts a guerilla war) (united malay organisation v communist party)
1951 = henry gurney is assassinated
1955 - federal elections
1955 - the reid commission is established
1957 - Malaya is given independence
22
Q
give the key examples of British economic weaknesses after WWII (4)
A
- the USA’s Lend Lease scheme = $31 billion loan to Britain which would eventually need to be paid back
- British reliance on loans from Canada / colonies
- Britain was loaned $1.2 billion to help Britain after the war from Canada
- Canada gave Britain gifts worth $3.5 billion during the war - the Stirling Crisis of 1947
- 1/3 of British overseas assets were sold to pay for the war
23
Q
jewish terrorist attacks in palestine
A
- attack at the king david hotel in 1946
- killed 91 people
24
Q
give arguements that the British were pushed out of India and chose to leave India
A
pushed out:
- loss of control
— direct action day
— inability to negotiate at Simla and
May conferences
- loss of justification
— 1944 Bengal famine - overarching threat of violence
— Mutiny in bombay naval yard
— indian national association - an unsustainable presence after WWII
– direct action day
– quit india campaign of 1942
25
how did british retreat from palestine mirror india
- both are key examples of the british being unable to reach a compromise with the two parties involved, and therefore leaving (ie Simla Conference, May statement, Plan Menon and Plan Balkan)
- british retreat after realising they lack the authority to make decisive political actions
- British investment was no longer worth it
- the British aimed to act as a neutral arbiter in both circumstances, yet relations after their retreat are damaged in both cases
- realisation that the British cannot police this land forever
26
describe the composition of nigeria / the political dynamics
nigeria was extremely divided, and took more of a federalist approach to governance
- legislative council was divided between the NCNC, NPC (northern peoples congress) etc
east = igbo people - yoruba (ie NCNC)
north = islamic, muslim emirs who were anti-british = NPC party
south = christian, pro-british
27
1955 elections in malaya
- malays win 81% of votes by uniting with the chinese against the british (british recognise their lack of power and leave bc of political coalition)
- displays how rival political factions purely want the british OUT
28
independence in nigeria
1960
29
3 different constitutions in nigeria from 1946-1954
1. richards constitution - would allow for african representation, but power was still ultimately centralised with the executive + british
2. macpherson constitution 1951 - more liberal in terms of representation, created a national council of ministers etc
30
political parties in aden
NLF = national liberation front
FLOSY = also a nationalist group, both groups use violence in rafdan and in aden itself
31
describe the British retreat / withdrawal from Singapore and describe what this shows
1948 - singapore is given its own government with a legislative and executive council
jan 1948 - the federation of malaya is established
1955 - communist insurgency and left wing influence rises in singapore due to the influence of the labour front party
1956 - Lim Yew Hock takes over from David Marshall
1957 - Hock persuades britain to grant singapore self government, leading to the 1958 State of Singapore Act
1959 - lee kwan yew takes over (british have no control of who takes over)
1963 - malaya and singapore unite to form malaysia
1965 - singapore becomes independent after it was expelled from malaysia bc relations break down
32
what does british decolonisation of singapore show
- britain attempt to pro-long their presence in singapore -- desire and need for a constant military presence - feel the need to be powerful
- british are willing to make key changes to policy and the composition of government to appease the population
- britain chose to leave - recognition of the alignment of more left leaning politics which they could not control
- when violence begins, the British are more willing to retreat -- more concessionary
- britain is trying to maintain control for as long as possible, but fails - give away when they realise they do not need to defend other colonial interests now - unnecessary
33
what does british decolonisation in burma display
1. britain quickly abandon their interests in Burma after the war - economic burdens
2. britain no longer had india and wouldn't need burma - loss of its strategic value
4. overarching realism and acknowledgement that san was the only plausible ruler
- recognition that staying would be administratively and economically difficult bc of civil war
34
nkata bay emergency
-1959 = British colonial forces killed 33 unarmed protesters, which marked a turning point in the fight against British rule.
35
what year did britain leave the following ASIAN colonies
- india
- ceylon
- burma
- palestine (not asia)
- malaya
- singapore
- cyprus (not asia)
india = 1947
ceylon = 1948
burma = 1948
palestine = 1948
malaya = 1957
cyprus = 1960
singapore = 1965
36
describe the British withdrawal from Palestine in Sept 1948
- extensive immigration of jews into palestine caused ethnic tensions with arabs + violence
- this caused acts of jewish terrorism
- the British send in 80,000 troops to suppress violence, in turn causing anti-semitic riots in London, Glasgow etc
- the British attempt to promote 3 solutions, in which neither are accepted
--- leads to the British relying on the backing of the UN in feb 1947 for partition plans
- the UN establish a commission on Palestine which includes Australia, India etc
- the UN produces a report in favour of partition
- the UN hoped the British would stay for 2 years, which the British refused to enforce
- Britain proceeds to withdraw on the 20th September 1947 because of the inability to reach a settled agreement
37
describe british decolonisation of aden
1967
- attacks by FLOSY and the NLF who eventually unite with one another
- nationalists groups were inspired by nasser
- the NLF launches attacks in rafdan on from 1964, until june 20th 1967 and in aden, using tactics of guerilla warfare
- the federal army also ends up launching attacks and mutinies - british decide that aden does not provide the strategic value it needed to anymore
- the british end up leaving in a glorified ceremony in 1967 - pretty quickly - sudden CHOICE to decolonise so they do not need to fight nationalist violence
38
describe the 1954 and 1956 federal elections in ghana
1954 = CPP = 54% vote
1956 = CPP = 57% vote
39
what was the 1958 state of singapore act
- singapore was turned from a colony into a self-governing state under the commonwealth
- established self-gov in aug 1958 (still a part of the federation of malaya)
40
describe British decolonisation of burma from 1941-1948
1941 - Aung San goes to China to receive help to obtain Burmese independence
1945 - San becomes the commander of the Burmese National Army and People's Freedom League, allowing him to engage in negotiations with the British / Slim (army commander) on independence
Jan 1947 - San meets Atlee in London to discuss independence with the AFPFL
- atlee is keen for gradual independence, but nationalism forced its acceleration
July 1947 - San is assassinated - not the leader that atlee wants
Jan 1948 - burma becomes independent, leading to civil war
April 1948 - constituent assembly elections are held which support Burmese nationalists under San / Burma given independence
41
describe the hola camp scandal
1959
- 11 africans are killed by the british
- the british also ban political parties
42
why was ceylon decolonised
- regarded as trustworthy by british - knew that ties could be maintained despite not being formally in empire through the commonwealth
- active recognition that many ties could be maintained
43
what were the main concerns of the British in Palestine, with key examples
economic concerns:
- 1947, 60% of all British oil came from Palestine
- British had extensive oil interests in the region
- but nationalism was causing too many economic concerns
diplomatic concerns:
- wanted to maintain strong relations with America and limit the spread of communism (fear that the arabs would align with the russians) - NOT AS MUCH
44
why did the british decolonise nigeria
- too much national division and ultimately nationalism
- it was too much of a federalist structure and ethnically divided, meaning that the prospect of co-operation between the national government and federal, state governments was limited
- when there was too much power with state governments, it forced british concesions, in which they ultimately had to recognise their own weaknesses
45
describe the 1959 federal elections in nigeria
NPC = 150 seats
NCNC = 89 seats
*northern areas had 170/320 seats available - discontent at northern dominance
46
what did the macpherson constitution of 1951 create
- created a legislative council
- each region would then be given mini assemblies
- there was an 185 seat federal house of representatives
- regional governments instead became autonomous
- each region got its own government and elected assembly, limiting federal cohesion, and ultimately unity
- this meant that there were more divisions between nationalist parties, meaning that the british felt forced to consistently provide concessions
47
describe the Singaporean executive council from 1947, and what modifications were made to the council
1947-1948 = executive council has 6/25 elected members, by a british elite of 23,000
modifications:
- the number of seats increase to 32
- the electorate is expanded
- the singaporean progressive party only have 3 seats, the labour from have 10 (power of communists)
48
what do atlee and san agree on at their talk in London in Jan 1947
- establishment of a constituent assembly in April 1948
49
operation lobster plot
1955
- a vast anti-communist plot by the british
- 128 communists are detained overnight
- attempt by british to stop violence
50
arguments that britain chose to leave india
- they had long promised that they would leave
- labour government is in power under atlee - more of an emphasis on domestic problems
- nationalism has existed since 1905 (the British realise that they are always going to have to deal with nationalism)
- the British find it difficult to make a plan for both states
51
describe the reason for the decolonisation of burma
economics
- britain has massive economic burdens post WWII - needs to get rid of colonies which are fundamentally not profitable (the cost of burma was more than its worth)
52
independence of ghana
independence in 1957
- becomes a republic in 1960
- from 1957-1960, it was a constitutional monarchy and aligned with the crown
53
describe UN involvement in Palestine and why was it so bad
- britain goes to the UN asking for help to find a state solution, given no compromise could be reached
- an international commission is established with the help of Czechoslovakia, Australia etc - displays the lack of independent, authoritative power of the British
- the UN create the UNSCOP body, in which they come to the conclusion supporting partition, but with economic ties
- the commission hoped that the British would remain for two years, but the British did not / could not do this
- British leave on 20th september 1947, giving the mandate to the UN, in which both the USSR and US are on the security council
54
describe british decolonisation of cyprus
1947 - cypriot orthodox church request self government
1950 - cypriot church referendum on self gov
1954 - the british block green self gov motion in the UN
1955 - 10,000 sticks of dynamite are transported into cyprus
1955 = AKEL leader the bishop of kyrenia is detained
1955 = state of emergency is declared due to tensions between EOKA + AKEL
1955 = operation lobster plot (anti-communist)
1958 = EOKA launch attacks on AKEL after AKEL attempts a communist insurgency
1960 = cypriot independence
55
why do the british leave aden
- leave in 1967
- idea of glory and choosing to leave
- it was no longer advantageous for the british to be in the area given they had already decolonised surrounding area
- idea of being a 'throw away, small colony' which wasn't absolutely critical for the british
56
describe the changes to the political system in Singapore
initially = a legislative and executive council, with only 6/25 members of the legislature being elected, and therefore only allowing the British to vote (creates this atmosphere of elitism)
1953 - the legislative council is enlarged to 32 seats, 25 of which are elected
57
south rhodesia independence date
1957
= ian smith forcibly declares independence under a UDI
- no british say = NO CONTROL
58
what does the federation of malaya establish
1. an executive council with 7 official members and 7 unofficial members
2. this was led by Gurney
3. it would have a legislative council with 62 elected members in 1955 (only 14 europeans were elected, 28 malay were elected)
4. individual malay states would have financial power
59
describe the mau mau controversy
1952-1959? (ish)
- baring declares a state of emergency which ends in 1960
- local native nationalists join the mau mau tribe, and take an oath of allegiance to the movement, of which there were 7 layers of oath (you were killed for breaking the oath)
- 81,000 africans detained
- 20,000 africans are killed, only 32 europeans killed
- kenyatta was arrested for his 'involvement' and released in 1960
- the british refuse to admit and release documents for the scandal (embarrassed about what they were willing todo to maintain control)
60
swynnerton plan + 3 reasons why it is important
1954
- colonial policy which aimed to intensify agricultural production within kenya
- it improved markets, distribution of land etc
1. mau mau - it had started, but the british entrenching their power through agricultural policy display how they initially deemed mau mau not to be a significant threat
2. was during a state of emergency - british didn't regard it as serious
3. was after the failure of the CD + W acts - british are so desperate that they start individual plans - not learning from mistakes
61
what does british decolonisation of malaya display
- malaya is absolutely critical to the economic state of the empire - gain economic leverage over the US with rubber (how dependent britain is)
- the british choose to leave, as they recognise the union between the chinese and malay people, thereby peacefully setting terms and remove themselves
- the british recognise that they lack political power and authority
- the british fear a military uprising and therefore accept defeat (unwilling to use violence)
- desperate for economic influence, but once the CD+W acts are implemented they leave (more economic growth)
- attitude of paternalism, but they know they lack decisive power
62
what was the reid commission, and why did it start
- a commission formed in malaya in 1955
- it formed a constitution and independence for malaya in 1957
- however, it forced malaya to continue to co-operate with the british (COLD WAR POINT - don't want malay people drifting to communists due to chinese influence)
63
independence in libya, uganda, gambia and sierra leone
libya = 1951 - british decolonise BECAUSE of the cold war and don't want to become involved in divisions in the area
gambia = 1961
sierra leone = 1961
uganda = 1952
64
in what ways did Britain choose to leave palestine and was kicked out of Palestine
choose:
- Britain would constantly need to police a Palestinian state - there is no justification for the British to constantly be investing weapons and troops
- being in Palestine is a significant commitment as Britain has to try hard to suppress any violence (no point in having a mandate which you constantly need to police)
- the British recognise that they cannot form a suitable agreement without being hostile to either side, and without compromising their critical support, which would only worsen their position (the british had the option to remain for two years, but deemed it too much of a burden)
kicked out:
- too much violence to manage (ie the king david hotel in july 1946 bombing forces the British to bring in 80,000 troops)
65
describe (ie give examples) and analyse the rationing programmes introduced by Britain
description / examples:
- jan 1947 = introduction of potato rationing due to frost
- summer 1946 = start of bread rationing
- only in sept 1953 was sugar rationing ended
analysis:
- britain is so financially weak that they impose rations = keeping their colonies which provide them with no tangible economic benefit is not their priority given that they cannot even afford the domestic situation
- if the cost of the colony is greater than its worth it was decolonised (ie burma, ceylon - empire is not a source of focus
66
describe the central african federation
- formed in 1953, ended in 1963
- was a federation of nyasaland, south rhodesia + north rhodesia to create a white dominion
- it was claimed that it was to better protect the rights of africans who felt threatened by white minority rule in rhodesia imposing discriminatory laws
- nationalist movements are triggered due to the actions of the british - british imprison leaders to assert power
- south rhodesia then attempts to reinforce their own white minority leadership in north rhodesdia which makes nyasaland feel conflicted
- britain make a federation out of the area to make administration easier, but ultimately end up accelerating nationalist demand
67
AKEL publication which was suppressed by the british
neos democratis
- british constantly rely on repressive measures when dealing with AKEL
