Name:__________________________
Date:______________________
Note Outline on “New Nations Gain Independence in Africa and Asia”
1) What inspired peoples of Southeast Asia to demand independence? Describe the problems that
Africans faced in their attempts to establish stable, independent governments.
2) Why is the Gold Coast (Ghana) significant in the history of African independence movements? Who
was Kwame Nkrumah? Why did he end up losing power in Ghana and what followed?
3) Why were the British settlers in Kenya resented by the Kenyans? What organization did they form to
try to force these settlers to leave? What was the result? Who emerged to guide Kenya to independence in
1963? Describe the challenges Kenya has faced since independence.
4) What was the situation of the Congo at the time of its independence? Who was Patrice Lumumba and
what happened to him? How did the Congo change under Mobutu Sese Seko? What conditions have
existed in the Congo since then?
5) Why was Algeria’s post-independence struggle so bloody? What organization did the Muslims form to
fight against French occupation? What tactics did they employ? How did the country finally become
independent? What has happened after independence?
6) Why did the British establish a federal system of government prior to Nigeria gaining its
independence? Why didn’t it succeed as envisioned? What changes in governments has Nigeria seen since
independence? How do we know the country is becoming more democratic?
7) What is “apartheid”? When and by whom was this policy instituted in South Africa? How did it affect
South African blacks? What actions did the government take against the ANC, Nelson Mandela, and
human rights protestors like Steve Biko?
8) Describe the reasons for and the changes that occurred in the 1980s and 1990s in South Africa. What
was the result of these changes?
9) Which Southeast Asian colony was the first to gain its independence after World War II? When did this
happen? What challenges did the Philippines face in the post-independence period?
10) When did Burma gain its independence from Britain? How did the country change after
independence?
12) Which groups resisted British attempts to create a unified, independent state of Malaya after World
War II? Why? Which states were ultimately created in 1957?…in 1965? Why have the economies of
these states become so successful?
13) Describe how Indonesia gained its independence and who led the country in this struggle. What
challenges to democracy did Indonesia have in its post-independence history?