Decolonization and Independence Movements Flashcards
Grade 9 · Social Studies · Flashcards
Key terms, leaders, events, and concepts related to the global wave of decolonization following World War II.
Flashcards
- Decolonization
- The process through which former European colonies gained political independence, occurring mainly from 1945–1975 across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean.
- Self-Determination
- The right of a people to decide their own form of government and political status; enshrined in the UN Charter and used to justify independence movements worldwide.
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Leader of India's independence movement who used nonviolent civil disobedience (Satyagraha) — including the Salt March and boycotts — to challenge British colonial rule.
- Jawaharlal Nehru
- India's first Prime Minister (1947–1964) after independence; a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement and architect of India's democratic and economic development.
- Ho Chi Minh
- Vietnamese communist nationalist leader who led the Viet Minh independence movement against France and then the North Vietnamese struggle against U.S. involvement.
- Kwame Nkrumah
- First Prime Minister and President of Ghana (independent 1957); a leading Pan-Africanist who promoted African unity and became a symbol of African liberation.
- Pan-Africanism
- Political and cultural movement advocating for the unity of African peoples globally, solidarity among African nations, and liberation from colonialism and racism.
- Bandung Conference (1955)
- Meeting of 29 Asian and African nations in Indonesia that promoted Afro-Asian solidarity, opposed colonialism, and laid groundwork for the Non-Aligned Movement.
- Non-Aligned Movement
- A group of nations — primarily newly independent — that chose not to formally align with either the United States or Soviet Union during the Cold War.
- Partition of India (1947)
- Division of British India into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan, causing massive displacement (10–20 million people) and communal violence killing hundreds of thousands.
- Algerian War of Independence
- Armed conflict (1954–1962) in which the FLN fought against French colonial rule; ended with Algerian independence after enormous human cost on both sides.
- Artificial Colonial Borders
- Boundaries drawn by European powers at the 1884 Berlin Conference that divided Africa with no regard for ethnic, linguistic, or cultural groups, creating long-term instability.
- Cold War Interference
- Both the U.S. and Soviet Union intervened in newly independent nations, often supporting dictators, funding rebel groups, or staging coups to gain strategic and ideological advantages.
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