4.1.3

Decolonisation in Central & South Africa

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Decolonisation in Central and South Africa

Decolonisation in southern Africa was affected by the apartheid policies of South Africa. In Central Africa, decolonisation sparked intense conflict.

South Africa

South Africa

  • In 1948, the Afrikaner National Party was elected, using the campaign slogan 'Apartheid' (this means apartness in Afrikaans).
  • They wanted to split South Africa's black population into tribes and to segregate the tribes from the white population.
  • In 1950, the party banned marriage and sex between black and white people.
  • Land acts took 80% of South Africa and gave the land to the white minority.
  • The African National Congress opposed apartheid but were met by violent suppression (e.g. the Sharpeville massacre in 1960 when 69 protestors were killed).
  • Britain's surrounding territories, Basutoland (now Lesotho) and Bechuanaland (now Botswana) became independent in 1966.
The Central African Federation

The Central African Federation

  • The Central African Federation (CAF) was created in 1953 but it only existed for 10 years.
  • The Central African Federation united Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and Nyasaland (Malawi).
  • Local nationalists clashed with the white governors of the CAF, demanding independence and self-determination.
Rhodesia

Rhodesia

  • In 1964, Rhodesia splintered.
    • Northern Rhodesia became Zambia.
    • Nyasaland became an independent country, Malawi.
  • In Southern Rhodesia, the Rhodesian Front was a political party founded in 1962 to campaign against black majority rule. It was led by Winston Field, and then Ian Smith. They believed in white minority rule in Rhodesia.
  • Smith illegally declared independence in 1965.
  • The civil war in Rhodesia over this issue lasted from 1964 to 1979 when Robert Mugabe came to power of the newly-named Zimbabwe.
Jump to other topics
1

High Water Mark of the British Empire, 1857-1914

2

Imperial Consolidation & Liberal Rule, 1890-1914

3

Imperialism Challenged, 1914-1967

4

The Wind of Change, 1947-1967

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