1. Aim: How did Decolonization Happen in South Asia and Africa?
Period 6: 1900 – the Present
Nelson Mandela’s birth name was Rolihlahla Mandela. He was given the English name “Nelson” in school.

2. Atlantic Charter Aug 14, 1941
The US and Britain agreed to support the restoration of self-government to those nations who had lost it during the war, and declared the right of people to sovereignty.

3. Independence in South Asia
A) During WWII Gandhi demanded the British leave India in exchange for Indian sepoy participation in the war imprisonment of the entire Congress leadership. B) 1947 Britain granted India independence. The Indian National Congress reluctantly accepted the creation of Pakistan to appease the Muslim League. The region of Kashmir was a principality still ruled by a prince.

4. Gandhi Assassinated January 30, 1948, New Delhi, India by a Hindu fanatic who was upset Gandhi was negotiating with the Muslim League.

5. Kashmir Lake (Left), Henna pre-Wedding (Top Right), Rice Harvest (Bottom Right)

6. Independence in South Asia Continued…
C) The debate over which nation would gain Kashmir  India-Pakistan War 1947–48. Kashmir joined India, but Pakistan has not given up its claim. D) 1971 Pakistan declared Urdu the national language  Bangla speaking Bengalis pushed for self-government  riots. Pakistan used napalm and raped. Bangladeshis call this attempted genocide. After 11 days of violence, Bangladesh became a new nation.

7. Pakistani and Indian Border Guards Dance in a Nightly Celebration Celebrating the Closing of the Border Each Evening.

8. Bangladesh Today A rally in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh 2013
Bangladeshi Village Women, 2008

9. The Road to African Independence
A) The Pan African Movement of the early 20th century wanted to unify blacks around the world, gain equal rights, education, and independence. B) The Negritude Movement was born out of the Pan African Movement. “Négritude is a cultural movement launched in 1930s Paris by French-speaking black students from France's colonies in Africa and the Caribbean. These black intellectuals converged around issues of race identity to combat French imperialism…”

10. Celebration of Ghana’s 57th Year of Independence, 2014!
Independence of Ghana
Kwame Nkrumah gained independence for Ghana in 1957, leading the way for other African nations to follow. - Bertrade Ngo-Ngijol Banoum –Lehman College
“A State in the grip of neo-colonialism is not master of its own destiny. It is this factor which makes neo-colonialism such a serious threat to world peace.”
Celebration of Ghana’s 57th Year of Independence, 2014!

11. Independence of South Africa
In 1948, the National Party (NP) won the all-white elections and passed apartheid laws that legalized racism and segregation in South Africa. In the early 1960s Nelson Mandela (1918 – 2013) and other anti-apartheid leaders were imprisoned on charges of treason. In May 1961, South Africa declared independence from Britain vNelson Mandela was released from prison the last apartheid era laws were abolished. The country's first nonracial elections were held April 1994  Nelson Mandela becoming the first black President of South Africa on May 10, 1994 (through 1999).
Nelson Mandela

12. South Africans line up at the counter at a government office to get their new passbooks in Johannesburg, South Africa, April 7, 1960.

13. Ntandoyenkosi Kunene crowned Miss South Africa 2016.
South Africa vs. Bangladesh 2016, World Cup
Johannesburg, South Africa

14. Independence of Algeria 1954 - 1962
Algeria had been a colony of France since 1830, and French colonizers owned the best farmland. On the same day that the French celebrated their liberation from Germany, May 8, 1945, Algerian nationalists held a rally for independence in Setif. French colonial troops fired on the crowd and killed 100s of civilians. Ahmed Ben Bella and other Algerian nationalists formed the National Liberation Front or FLN (an acronym of its initials in French). The FLN used violent tactics, such as bombings and terrorist acts. The French army used torture for information against the rebels. Neither the US nor the Soviet Union supported the FLN or the French government. After 8 years of war, France granted Algeria its independence in Most of former French colonizers moved to France. After the Soviets offered economic assistance to the new Algerian government, Algeria became a client state of the USSR.
“In two years, there were 22 military coups d'etat, essentially in Africa and the third world. The coup d'etat of Algiers, in 1965, is what opened the path.” - Ahmed Ben Bella 1st President of Independent Algeria

15. Independence of the Congo 1960 - 1962
In the 1950s, Belgium was under pressure from the UN, US and USSR to grant the Congo its independence. Belgium requested the UN play a lead role in the Congo’s transition to independence. In June 1960, the Congo officially gained independence with the Patrice Lumumba as its 1st president. The USSR was supportive of Lumumba’s government, publically drawing parallels between Congolese independence and the Soviet Union’s own struggle against Western imperialism. Furthermore, the USSR believed the UN was not acting as an impartial peacekeeping force in the Congo, but as working for Western influence. November 1960, the US backed a coup d’état by General Joseph Mobutu against Lumumba. The President was placed under house arrest and then executed. General Mobutu proved to a loyal client of the US, ensuring the West gained access to the Congo’s immense mineral wealth. Despite Mobutu’s repressive dictatorship, JFK said, “Nobody in the world has done more than the General to maintain freedom against the Communists.”
“These divisions, which the colonial powers have always exploited the better to dominate us, have played an important role — and are still playing that role — in the suicide of Africa”.
“Political independence has no meaning if it is not accompanied by rapid economic and social development”.
Patrice Lumumba, 1st President of Zaire

16. Independence of the Congo Continued…
35-year-old Lt. Gen. Joseph-Désiré Mobutu (who later changed his name to "Mobutu Sese Seko") staged his coup d’état on Nov. 25, 1965, with the support of the U.S. CIA He renamed the Congo Zaire.
“Zaire is the country that has been the most heavily exploited in the world. That is why farms, ranches, plantations, concessions, commerce, and real estate agencies will be turned over to sons of the country.” 1973 Mobutu Sese Seko
“Clearly, I would be lying if I said I do not have a bank account in Europe; I do. I would be lying if I said I do not have considerable money in my account; I do. Yes, I do have a fair amount of money. However, I would estimate it to total less than 50 million dollars. What is that for twenty-two years as head of state in such a big country?” 1988 Mobutu Sese Seko

17. Che Guevara in the Congo 1965
Che Guevara in Africa
In response to these Western interventions, a group of radical African states, led by Algeria and Egypt, announced that they would supply the Congolese rebels with arms and troops. They called on others for help, and Cuba responded.
In December, Guevara, a member of the Cuban leadership, gave an impassioned speech at the UN General Assembly. He referred to the “tragic case of the Congo” and denounced the Western powers’ “unacceptable intervention,” referring to “Belgian paratroopers, carried by US planes, who took off from British bases.”
Guevara then embarked on a tour of African states, visiting Algeria, then Mali, Congo-Brazzaville, Senegal, Ghana, Dahomey, Egypt, and finally Tanzania.
Che Guevara in the Congo 1965

18. Key Vocabulary
Patrice Lumumba Apartheid Atlantic Charter Bangladesh Che Guevara General Mobutu Ghana India – Pakistan War Kashmir Korematsu Kwame Nkrumah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Negritude Movement Nelson Mandela Pakistan Pan African Movement South Africa Zaire