Deck 23: Decolonization and the Breakup of the European Empires

Question 1

The sudden end of the European overseas empires after 1945 was the consequence of all of the following except:

A) agitation inside the colonies for independence and freedom.
B) the prohibitive military cost of maintaining imperial rule.
C) the wartime ideology of the Allies, which had emphasized self-determination and democracy.
D) the postwar economic boom in Europe, which made the colonies irrelevant.

Answer 1

the postwar economic boom in Europe, which made the colonies irrelevant.

Question 2

In India, Gandhi and other leaders of the Congress party demanded independence but also wished to:

A) retain British advisers to help them govern.
B) avoid a social revolution.
C) create a national state rooted in Hinduism.
D) divide the subcontinent along religious lines.

Answer 2

avoid a social revolution.

Question 3

The partition of India:

A) was carried out peacefully.
B) led to an impasse between the Congress Party and the Muslim League.
C) led to violence, which included mass expulsions, riots, and massacres.
D) was the British response to the assassination of Gandhi.

Answer 3

led to violence, which included mass expulsions, riots, and massacres.

Question 4

Which of the following is true about Nehru's policies as the leader of the new Indian government from 1947 to 1964?

A) Nehru's program was more paternalistic than democratic.
B) Nehru encouraged private enterprise over nationalization.
C) Nehru shunned socialist principles in favor of capitalism.
D) Nehru set the country on the path of British-style constitutional monarchy.

Question 5

In 1971, Bangladesh owed its successful secession from Pakistan mostly to:

A) its geographic isolation from West Pakistan.
B) a powerful guerrilla movement.
C) an overwhelming advantage in terms of population.
D) India's intervention with military forces.

Question 6

After Burma became an independent republic, _____.

A) the Chinese assumed a dominant role in its economy
B) a full-fledged democracy was established
C) almost all connections with European commerce were severed
D) it maintained strong connections with British culture

Question 7

The Indonesian Nationalist leader Sukarno, after independence, _____.

A) governed in the following years under a populist dictatorship
B) strengthened the country's earlier economic ties with Europe
C) repressed the growing Communist movements within the country
D) ousted Suharto from power through a violent military coup

Question 8

How did Singapore differ from other Southeast Asian countries in the postcolonial era?

A) Singapore made very slow economic advances.
B) Singapore was beset with ethnic insurgencies.
C) Singapore embraced international economic institutions.
D) Singapore established a full-fledged democracy.

Question 9

The United States gave financial aid to France when it tried to retain control of its colony in Indochina because the United States was:

A) not opposed to French colonialism.
B) ready to champion anti-Communist causes.
C) convinced that the French were carrying out a civilized mission.
D) All of these are correct.

Question 10

Independence movements in Africa were complicated in part because:

A) geographical boundaries had been drawn by the colonial powers.
B) the colonial powers had drawn boundaries without regard for ethnic and linguistic differences.
C) the legacy of colonial administration included ethnic conflicts.
D) All of these are correct.

Question 11

Of the following colonies, France found it most difficult to give up _____.

A) Morocco
B) Tunisia
C) Algeria
D) Zaire

Question 12

The early postcolonial history of Ghana saw Nkrumah:

A) give the Cold War nonalignment movement a wide berth.
B) govern autocratically and ban opposition parties.
C) adopt a pro-Western stance and forge ties with market economies.
D) encourage a democratic system of multiparty elections.

Question 13

Which of the following is true of Nigeria after the Second World War?

A) Nigeria witnessed a mass immigration of South Asians.
B) Nigeria decided to remove itself from the British Commonwealth of Nations.
C) Nigeria failed to move toward a stable democratic system because of its failing economy.
D) Nigeria became a republic with a constitution, political parties, and guarantees of civil rights.

Question 14

Which of the following was the largest British-governed colonial territory and population in Africa after the Second World War?

A) Nigeria
B) Kenya
C) Ghana
D) Morocco

Question 15

Uganda, once described as the "pearl of Africa," has faced all of the following problems during the brutal dictatorship of Idi Amin except:

A) the death of over 300,000 people.
B) the expulsion of around 60,000 Asians.
C) the fleeing of professionals and intellectuals.
D) ten years of drought and increasing desertification.

Question 16

France granted independence to its fifteen sub-Saharan colonies in 1960, and subsequently, all of the following occurred except:

A) France developed the strongest presence of all the European countries on the African continent.
B) France trained the armies of the new states.
C) France continued to see itself as a key international power in African affairs.
D) France was largely successful in preventing the spread of civilian or military dictatorships to its former colonies.

Question 17

All of the following occurred in Zaire after it became independent except:

A) the country came under a dictatorship that lasted 32 years.
B) the Western governments opposed Mobutu because of his communism.
C) the assassination of Patrice Lumumba aggravated the volatile Cold War antagonism.
D) the geographical and personal names were Africanized.

Question 18

The Portuguese dictatorship stubbornly suppressed anticolonial revolts that broke out in 1961 because they wanted to retain:

A) Angola and Mozambique.
B) Morocco and Sudan.
C) Uganda and Somalia.
D) Nigeria and Ghana.

Question 19

The first Arab-Israeli war in 1948 began with the Arab rejection of the partition of Palestine by:

A) Great Britain.
B) the United Nations.
C) the Balfour Declaration.
D) the French and the British.

Question 20

In the Six-Day War of 1967, _____.

A) Egypt and Syria attacked Israel to regain their lost lands
B) Syria won wider boundaries than those first proposed
C) Israel removed its military forces and all Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip
D) Israel took control of the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt

Question 21

The Iranian Revolution of 1979 was a revolt against:

A) the secularization and modernization of Iranian society.
B) the shah's repressive and authoritarian regime.
C) the shah's favoritism toward Sunni, rather than Shiite Islam.
D) the secularization and modernization of Iranian society and the shah's repressive and authoritarian regime.

Question 22

Which of the following was a feature of Ayatollah Khomeini's Islamic republic?

A) Restoration of traditional Islamic ways of life
B) Adoption of progressive Western lifestyles
C) Precedence of secular law over Islamic law
D) Moral, political, and religious freedom

Question 23

Describe the independence movements that emerged in many South and Southeast Asian countries after the Second World War. Why did America involve itself in the Indochina war?

Question 24

Ending colonialism was easier for some colonial powers than others. Analyze the policies of European states such as Britain, France, Belgium, and Portugal as they withdrew from political control in Africa and Asia. What were the consequences of these different approaches for the new nations?

Question 25

Where has the United Nations intervened in recent decades? How successful have those interventions been in restoring peace?

Question 26

Trace the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict and then the peace process. Why has peace in the region proved elusive?

Question 27

Do you believe Islam and a modern democratic society are compatible? Why or why not? Discuss specific historical examples in your response.

Question 28

How did ethnic and religious differences influence the division of the British Empire in South Asia?

Question 29

Which African regions gained independence first? Which ones gained independence later? What do those patterns reflect about Africa's former colonizers?

Question 30

Consider the geographic location of Israel. Why has the Israeli state provoked suspicion and hostility from the Arab states?

Question 31

Why have the most contested areas in the region been known both as Israel and Palestine? How have conflicts over these areas drawn the surrounding nations into the dispute between the Palestinians and the Israelis?

Question 32

How did Burma endeavor to decisively move away from Britain after independence?

Question 33

What impact did large populations of white settlers have upon the decolonization process in certain countries?

Question 34

Africa exhibited a pattern of its independence leaders turning dictators after independence. Give two examples to support this statement.

Question 35

What distinguishes the Arab world from the Islamic world? Give several examples of the nations belonging to each in your response.