Decolonisation in East & West Africa
History: AQA A Level The British Empire, topic 4.1.2
Decolonisation in West Africa
Decolonisation in West and East Africa happened after the British Empire gradually conceded power and independence groups seized upon the opportunity.
The Gold Coast (now Ghana)
- The Burns Constitution of 1946 created a law-making Council that included the Governor of the Gold Coast, 6 British officials, 6 nominated members, and 18 elected representatives of the people. Then, in June 1946, the Gold Coast held elections.
- In 1949, Kwame Nkrumah founded the Convention People’s Party. Local British officials were still derogatory to local nationalist movements, reportedly referring to Nkrumah's efforts for independence as 'our local Hitler'.
Ghanaian independence
- There was violence and animosity between the Ashanti-based National Liberation Movement and Nkrumah's CPP. Nkrumah received a 3-year prison sentence for organising mass protests but still managed to orchestrate election victories from prison.
- By 1957, the Gold Coast and Togoland were granted independence as a united Ghana.
- "The chiefs with whom the British had traditionally dealt felt bitter and betrayed" by the Nkrumah-led transition of power (Kitchen, 1996).
Nigeria
- The Richards Constitution of 1946 created similar representation and law-making powers as the Burns Constitution.
- After World War Two, trade union leaders like Michael Imoudu and ex-soldiers began to campaign more strongly for independence.
- 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.
- In 1954, the area became the 'autonomous Federation of Nigeria'.
- In 1958, the British government agreed to full Nigerian independence from 1960.
Decolonisation in East Africa
Decolonisation in West and East Africa happened after the British Empire gradually conceded power and independence groups seized upon the opportunity.
Tanganyika (Tanzania)
- The British Colonial Development Corporation was tasked with investing £100 million in development projects across the Empire after World War Two.
- The project aimed to farm food on 150,000 acres in Tanganyika, employing local people and creating cooking oil that could be exported to Britain.
- The project employed 100,000 ex-soldiers in the 'ground-nut army'.
- The project cost £49 million and ruined the land on which the nuts were grown.
- Tanganyika became independent in 1961 with Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state. On the 29th of October 1964, after joining with the island of Zanzibar, the country was renamed Tanzania
Kenya
- The cities of Mombasa and Nairobi were transformed by World War II.
- This was because they saw rapid urbanisation and nationalism.
- Initially, in 1944, the Kenyan Kikuyu Central Association was prohibited from any operations because of its threat to the colonial government.
- Living conditions in the newly urbanised cities were very crowded. Combined with the powerful nationalist sentiment, this created a recipe for revolution.
Mau Mau & Kenyatta in Kenya
- An extremist branch within the Kikuyu (Mau Mau) began a series of high-profile and violent attacks on white settlers.
- In 1952, Sir Evelyn Baring declared a state of emergency in Kenya and arrested Kenyatta, the nationalist leader. Despite little evidence, Kenyatta was convicted and sent to prison for 7 years. 17,000 Mau Mau suspects were arrested. 1,000 Kikuyu were hanged in response to the deaths of 70 Europeans.
- Though Britain crushed this rebellion, their moral and political authority vanished and Kenya was granted independence in 1963. Kenyatta led Kenya with a message of forgiveness and appointed the judge who rejected his appeal as Chief Justice for the country.
Test yourself on Decolonisation in East & West Africa
What did local British officials refer to Nkrumah's efforts for independence as?
How did the British respond to the Mau Mau attacks in Kenya?