4.6.3

Nigeria & Rhodesia

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Relations Between Britain and Nigeria, 1947-1967

The process of gaining independence in Nigeria was fraught. This was mostly because of regional tensions.

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Splitting up Nigeria

  • As an area, Nigeria was highly divided in ambition and a vision for what independence would look like:
    • The North was Islamic and anti-Western.
    • The West was economically advanced and ambitious.
    • The South was influenced by Western ideas and Christianity.
  • Each region had its own political parties, and different political parties, primarily supported by 1 ethnic group.
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Significance of disunity

  • The ethnic divisions between the Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa made Britain hesitant to unite the country. However, nationalist momentum continued after the voting franchise grew after 1951.
  • Between 1945 and 1954, three constitutions were agreed with the British, but at least 1 province vetoed every one of them.
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Independence

  • Self-governing status was granted to the South, West, and East in 1957 and to the North in 1959.
  • In 1958, the British government agreed to full Nigerian independence from 1960.
    • However, tensions within Nigeria remained even after Britain left.

Relations Between Britain and Rhodesia, 1947-1967

Rhodesia's path to independence was long and plagued by controversy.

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Tensions in Rhodesia

  • There was considerable tension between the different territories making up Rhodesia (Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia and Nyasaland).
  • The creation of the Central African Federation (CAF) in 1953 was an attempt to neutralise tensions, but the CAF 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.
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Responses to the CAF

  • Black nationalist leaders in Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland challenged the discriminatory laws in Southern Rhodesia under Field and Smith, which looked a lot closer to the racist apartheid in South Africa.
  • White rulers in Southern Rhodesia tried to use the Federation to enhance their political power and enforce their white supremacist views on the other parts of the CAF.
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Disbanding the CAF

  • After declaring a state of emergency in Nyasaland, the Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan began to disband the CAF.
  • In 1964, Northern Rhodesia became independent Zambia and Nyasaland became independent Malawi.
  • The Rhodesian Front wanted white rule and the Prime Minister, Ian Smith, illegally declared Rhodesia to be independent in 1965.
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Ian Smith and the Rhodesian Front

  • In 1965, Ian Smith declared a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) for Rhodesia. This was illegal.
  • Britain tried to sanction Rhodesia, but South Africa's National Party, which was politically aligned with Smith, refused to put Rhodesia under sanctions.
  • Britain did very little to support a black majority rule in Rhodesia. It took a 15-year civil war for Robert Mugabe to create a black majority rule in 1980.

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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