4.4.2

Local Leaders in the Independence Movement

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Local Leaders in the Malay Peninsula, Gold Coast, and Nigeria

The following figures all played instrumental roles in achieving independence for their respective nations.

Illustrative background for Onn bin Ja’afar - Malay PeninsulaIllustrative background for Onn bin Ja’afar - Malay Peninsula ?? "content

Onn bin Ja’afar - Malay Peninsula

  • Onn bin Ja'afar founded the United Malays National Organisation.
  • Britain tried to create a ‘Malayan Union’, but the area was very divided ethnically and was divided into 11 provinces.
  • Ja'afar organised peaceful protests against the proposals.
  • Their campaign of civil disobedience made the British reconsider. After consulting different ethnic and racial groups in Malaya the British created the Federation of Malaya in February 1948.
  • Ja'afar also influenced Tunku Abdul Rahman, who became Malaya’s first Prime Minister after independence in 1957.
  • Over time, the Malaysian independence movement splintered with different focuses between the UMNO, communist interests, and Chinese interests.
Illustrative background for Kwame Nkrumah - Gold CoastIllustrative background for Kwame Nkrumah - Gold Coast ?? "content

Kwame Nkrumah - Gold Coast

  • Nkrumah came from a poor family but managed to put himself through studies at the University of Pennsylvania in the USA and the London School of Economics in England.
  • Noting the democratic ideals of England and the USA, Nkrumah wanted them to be applied appropriately in the Gold Coast.
  • In 1949, Kwame Nkrumah founded the Convention People’s Party. He was imprisoned for his campaigning and local British official, Arden Clarke referred to Nkrumah as 'our local Hitler'. However, in 1951, Arden Clarke did release Nkrumah from prison. He was Prime Minister between 1952 and 1957 and after independence.
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The overthrow of Nkrumah in Ghana

  • In 1966, Nkrumah was overthrown by a military coup that reportedly had close ties to the American C.I.A., which was also complicit in the overthrow of Mossadegh in Iran. At the time, Nkrumah seemed to be aligning himself and Ghana more closely with communism and Marxist ideas which were perceived as anti-American threats.
Illustrative background for Nnamdi Azikiwe - NigeriaIllustrative background for Nnamdi Azikiwe - Nigeria ?? "content

Nnamdi Azikiwe - Nigeria

  • Azikiwe the President of Nigeria from 1963 to 1966. He studied in America and afterwards became a journalist.
    • He created the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons in 1944.
  • Azikiwe worked to create a united, independent Nigeria.
  • In 1966, Azikiwe was overthrown in a military coup. The Prime Minister of Nigeria, Balewa was murdered and Major General Ironsi took control of the country.
  • The New York Times said Azikiwe "towered over the affairs of Africa's most populous nation, attaining the rare status of a truly national hero who came to be admired across the regional and ethnic lines dividing his country".

Independence Leaders in the Kenya & Uganda

The following figures all played instrumental roles in achieving independence for their respective nations.

Illustrative background for Jomo Kenyatta - KenyaIllustrative background for Jomo Kenyatta - Kenya ?? "content

Jomo Kenyatta - Kenya

  • Kenyatta was a member of the Kikuyu and followed in the footsteps of Harry Thuku of the Kikuyu.
  • Kenyatta spent the 1930s working and studying in Britain and Europe.
  • When he returned to Kenya in 1946, he worked for the Governor of Kenya at the time, Philip Mitchell.
    • He became the president of the Kenya Africa Union in 1947. This was the only active political organisation focused on Kenyan independence and self-government.
  • Kenyatta opposed illegal protests. However, the alignment between his political goals meant that when the Governor clamped down on the Mau Mau rebellion, Kenyatta was also imprisoned.
  • Kenyatta spent 7 years in prison.
  • In 1963, Kenyatta became the President of Kenya now that it was independent.
Illustrative background for Apolo Milton Obote - UgandaIllustrative background for Apolo Milton Obote - Uganda ?? "content

Apolo Milton Obote - Uganda

  • Obote was the son of a tribal chief in Uganda.
  • He became Uganda's first Prime Minister in 1962 and his politics leaned closer to socialism.
  • Obote's rule was tainted by allegations of corruption and food shortages.
  • Obote's secret police, the General Service Unit, was accused of many brutalities and his regime was accused of discrimination against people of Indian descent.
  • In 1971, a military coup led by Idi Amin came to power. Over 300,000 Ugandans are thought to have been killed under Amin's dictatorship, and Ugandans of Indian origin were exiled.

Independence Leaders in South Africa

The following figures all played instrumental roles in achieving independence for their respective nations.

Illustrative background for Nelson Mandela - South AfricaIllustrative background for Nelson Mandela - South Africa ?? "content

Nelson Mandela - South Africa

  • Mandela was descended from the King of the Thembu people in South Africa.
  • Mandela studied law at university and then became a lawyer in Johannesburg.
  • In 1944, at the age of 26, Mandela created the 'youth league' branch of the African National Congress.
  • In 1948, the National Party began implementing apartheid - segregating South Africa into a rich, minority, white rule and an underclass with few legal rights.
  • In 1952, Mandela led the defiance campaign against apartheid, entering 'white only' areas. This campaign of civil disobedience led the South African Justice Minister to order police to shoot the protestors on sight.
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Mandela's militance and imprisonment

  • In December 1956, Mandela was arrested with many other senior members of the ANC, accused of treason, for demanding basic rights for black people as well as white people.
  • Mandela joined the South African Communist Party and founded the Spear of the Nation militant group in 1961.
    • Spear of the Nation aimed to attack strategic infrastructure in a campaign against white rule. On the 16th of December 1961, they detonated 57 bombs across South Africa.
  • Mandela was arrested frequently and was put on trial in 1963 and again in 1964 when the 1963 case didn't return the desired result for white South African leaders.
  • Prosecutors asked for the death penalty, but the judge sentenced Mandela to life imprisonment in Robben Island prison.
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Mandela's Rivonia trial speech

  • "I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to see realised. But if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." (Mandela, 1963).
  • The ANC was branded a terrorist organisation by South Africa, the UK, and the USA at the time, despite these words.
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Mandela's rise to power

  • The UK and USA continued to call Mandela's ANC political party a terrorist organisation, helping keep Mandela in prison for 27 years.
  • In 1989, President de Klerk took over as the leader of South Africa.
  • After watching the Berlin Wall fall, in 1990, de Klerk released Mandela from prison and legalised the ANC (which had previously been branded as a terrorist organisation).
  • In 1994, the ANC won 63% of the vote in South Africa's elections and Mandela became President of South Africa.
  • Mandela spent 27 years in prison, continuing his campaign to dismantle white supremacist rule in South Africa.

Jump to other topics

1High Water Mark of the British Empire, 1857-1914

2Imperial Consolidation & Liberal Rule, 1890-1914

3Imperialism Challenged, 1914-1967

4The Wind of Change, 1947-1967

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