De-colonisation in Asia (China) and Africa (Ghana and Kenya): ISC Class 12

What De-colonisation – in Asia (China) and Africa (Ghana & Kenya) is about

Weightage: CISCE publishes no chapter or unit weightage for ISC History. De-colonisation – in Asia (China) and Africa (Ghana & Kenya) is part of Section B: World History, 8 of the 2027 syllabus and can be asked anywhere in the 80-mark Paper I (Section A 16 one-mark items, Section B 4-mark short answers, Section C 8-mark long answers).Source: CISCE ISC History (851) syllabus, examination year 2027; ISC 2025 specimen question paper

Key concepts

Problems facing the Communists in China in 1949

When Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949, the country faced huge problems.
1. War damage: decades of civil war and the war with Japan (1937-45) had destroyed railways, roads, bridges, canals and dykes.
2. Agriculture: farming was backward and inefficient, with tiny plots, outdated methods and poor irrigation; floods and droughts caused frequent famine. Land was unequally owned: landlords held much of it and peasants paid heavy rents.
3. Industry: China had little modern industry, mostly in a few coastal cities and Manchuria; output had fallen.
4. Inflation: prices were out of control after years of war.
5. Size and population: a vast, overpopulated country of over 500 million people was hard to organise and feed.
6. Political threats: the Guomindang under Chiang Kai-shek still held Taiwan with American support; China was soon drawn into the Korean War (1950-53).

Worked example

[4] What difficulties did Mao's new government inherit when it took power in 1949? Give four. (Understanding)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Devastation from the civil war and the war with Japan: communications and dykes destroyed - 1 mark.
2. Chronic food shortages: backward farming, poor irrigation, floods and droughts - 1 mark.
3. Backward industry and runaway inflation - 1 mark.
4. A vast, overpopulated country with unequal land ownership, hard to organise - 1 mark.

Answer: In 1949 China was devastated by years of civil war and Japanese invasion, with railways, roads and dykes destroyed; agriculture was backward and inefficient, so food shortages were chronic; industry was small and inflation out of control; and the vast, overpopulated country, with most land in the hands of landlords, was very difficult to organise and feed.

Agriculture: from land distribution to collective farms

1. Agrarian Reform Law (1950): land was taken from landlords and redistributed to peasants. Village meetings denounced landlords, many of whom were killed. Peasants became owners of small plots.
2. Mutual aid teams (from the early 1950s): groups of families shared tools, animals and labour while keeping their own land.
3. Agricultural Producers' Co-operatives (APCs): elementary co-operatives pooled land and paid peasants partly according to the land they contributed; advanced co-operatives (from 1955-56) were true collective farms of a few hundred families, where land was owned jointly and members were paid only for their labour.
4. By 1957 almost all peasant households were in collective farms.

Why gradual? The Communists needed peasant support, food production had to be maintained, and small plots were too small for machines or efficient farming, so co-operation was introduced step by step.

Worked example

[4] Outline the stages by which Chinese agriculture moved from land distribution to collective farms. (Understanding)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. 1950 Agrarian Reform Law: landlords' land redistributed to peasants - 1 mark.
2. Mutual aid teams: families shared tools, animals and labour - 1 mark.
3. Elementary co-operatives: land pooled, income partly by land contributed - 1 mark.
4. Advanced co-operatives (collective farms) by 1956-57: land owned jointly, payment by labour - 1 mark.

Answer: The Agrarian Reform Law of 1950 took land from landlords and gave it to peasants. Peasants were then encouraged into mutual aid teams sharing tools and labour, next into elementary co-operatives that pooled land, and finally, by 1956-57, into advanced co-operatives, collective farms in which land was jointly owned and members were paid only for the work they did.

Industry: the First Five Year Plan (1953-57) and Soviet help

Soviet help: the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship (February 1950) brought Soviet loans; thousands of Soviet experts and technicians came to China, and Soviet plans and equipment were used to build factories and plants.

The Plan, on the Soviet model

• Priority to heavy industry: coal, iron and steel, electricity, cement, machinery and chemicals.
• Large state-owned plants; private industry was gradually taken over by the state.
• New railways, roads and bridges (for example over the Yangtze at Wuhan).
• Ambitious targets, most of which were met or exceeded; steel and coal output rose several times over.

Limitations: agriculture grew slowly, so food was short for a growing urban workforce; the Plan relied on the USSR; central planning created bureaucracy. These problems led Mao to seek a different, Chinese path in 1958.

Worked example

[4] State four features of China's First Five Year Plan. (Recall)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Modelled on Soviet planning, with Soviet loans, experts and equipment - 1 mark.
2. Priority to heavy industry: coal, steel, power, machinery - 1 mark.
3. Large state-run factories; private firms taken over - 1 mark.
4. Railways, roads and bridges built; most targets exceeded - 1 mark.

Answer: The First Five Year Plan (1953-57) followed the Soviet model, with Soviet loans, technicians and equipment; it gave priority to heavy industry such as coal, steel, power and machinery; it built large state-owned plants and brought private industry under state control; and it expanded railways, roads and bridges, with most production targets met or exceeded.

The Great Leap Forward (1958-61): communes and features

Why Mao launched it: the Soviet model favoured heavy industry and cities, while China's strength was its huge rural labour force. Mao wanted to 'walk on two legs', developing agriculture and industry together, and to overtake Britain in steel production quickly, using mass mobilisation and revolutionary enthusiasm rather than Soviet-style experts.

Main features
1. Communes: in 1958 the collective farms were merged into about 26,000 large communes, each with several thousand households. A commune:

• ran collective farms and shared out profits among members;
• acted as the local government (replacing the township), with its own militia;
• ran small factories, schools, clinics, nurseries and communal mess halls;
• organised labour for public works.

2. Less emphasis on large-scale heavy industry: small-scale local factories and 'backyard furnaces' in villages and towns to make iron and steel.
3. Huge public works: dams, reservoirs, irrigation canals, flood-control works and roads built by mass labour.
4. Social change: communal kitchens and nurseries freed women for farm and factory work.
5. Unrealistic targets and campaigns: close planting and deep ploughing, and the campaign against sparrows (which led to plagues of insects).

Worked example

[4] Discuss four features of the Great Leap Forward. (Understanding)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Communes formed by merging collective farms; profits shared among members - 1 mark.
2. Communes acted as local government and ran schools, clinics, nurseries and mess halls - 1 mark.
3. Small-scale industry and backyard furnaces instead of only big plants - 1 mark.
4. Mass labour on public works: dams, reservoirs, irrigation, roads - 1 mark.

Answer: The Great Leap Forward (1) merged collective farms into large communes that shared out profits; (2) made each commune the unit of local government running schools, clinics, nurseries and communal kitchens; (3) shifted emphasis from big plants to small local factories and backyard steel furnaces; and (4) mobilised millions of people to build dams, reservoirs, irrigation works and roads.

Assessment of the Great Leap Forward

Failures (short term)
1. A disastrous famine (1959-61): grain output fell sharply; local officials exaggerated harvests, so the state took too much grain; tens of millions of people died.
2. Backyard steel was mostly useless; peasants were taken away from farming to work the furnaces, and tools and pots were melted down.
3. Unscientific farming methods (close planting, deep ploughing) reduced yields; the anti-sparrow campaign upset ecology.
4. Natural disasters (floods and droughts) in 1959-61 made things worse.
5. The Soviet Union withdrew its experts in 1960 after the Sino-Soviet split, halting many projects.
6. Communal mess halls and the loss of private plots reduced incentives.
7. Political cost: critics such as Peng Dehuai were purged (1959); Mao gave up the post of head of state to Liu Shaoqi, and pragmatic leaders scaled down the communes and restored private plots from 1961.

Successes and long-term impact
1. The communes, reduced in size, survived as effective units of local government and rural organisation, running welfare, health and education.
2. Dams, reservoirs and irrigation works built in this period helped agriculture recover and grow in later years.
3. Small-scale rural industry spread, producing tools, fertiliser and cement for the countryside.
4. Welfare and education reached the villages; women entered paid work in large numbers.
5. It showed the limits of mass mobilisation and influenced later, more pragmatic policies.

Verdict: in the short run the Leap was a catastrophe, but some of its institutions and public works laid foundations for later growth.

Worked example

[4] Assess the long-term impact of the Great Leap Forward. (Evaluate)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Communes, scaled down, remained as units of local government providing welfare, health and education - 1 mark.
2. Irrigation, dams and flood control works aided later agricultural recovery and growth - 1 mark.
3. Rural small-scale industry spread; women joined the workforce - 1 mark.
4. Negative legacy: the famine of 1959-61 and loss of trust; policy shifted to pragmatism - 1 mark.

Answer: In the long run, the communes, reduced in size, remained useful units of rural administration and welfare; the dams and irrigation works built by mass labour helped agriculture recover and expand; small rural industries and women's employment spread. But the Leap left a terrible legacy of famine in 1959-61 and discredited mass campaigns, pushing leaders towards more pragmatic economic policies.

Ghana: background to independence and Nkrumah's role

Background

• The Gold Coast was a prosperous British colony (cocoa, gold, timber) with an educated African middle class.
• After the Second World War, ex-servicemen, the educated and farmers were discontented (low cocoa prices, rising prices, lack of a say in government).
• In 1948 police fired on a march of ex-servicemen in Accra; riots followed. Britain set up a commission and promised constitutional reform.

Nkrumah's role
1. He returned in 1947 to be secretary of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), but found it too moderate.
2. In 1949 he founded the Convention People's Party (CPP) with the slogan 'Self-government now', building a mass party of workers, farmers and youth.
3. In 1950 he launched 'Positive Action': non-violent strikes, boycotts and demonstrations. He was imprisoned.
4. In the 1951 election the CPP won a sweeping victory; Nkrumah was released and became Leader of Government Business (1951) and Prime Minister (1952).
5. He won further elections (1954, 1956) and negotiated independence; the Gold Coast became independent as Ghana on 6 March 1957, the first black African colony south of the Sahara to do so.

After independence (democracy phase)

• Development: schools, hospitals, roads, the Volta River project and Akosombo dam (completed 1965), industrialisation.
• Pan-Africanism: he hosted the All-African Peoples' Conference (1958) and helped found the Organisation of African Unity (1963).
• Challenges he faced: no experience of government, poverty and a low standard of living, lack of industry and infrastructure, shortage of money, dependence on cocoa, and regional opposition (especially in Ashanti).

Worked example

[4] Explain Nkrumah's role in winning independence for Ghana. (Understanding)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Founded the CPP (1949) with the slogan 'Self-government now', a mass party - 1 mark.
2. Launched non-violent Positive Action (1950); imprisoned - 1 mark.
3. CPP won the 1951 election; Nkrumah became Leader of Government Business and Prime Minister (1952) - 1 mark.
4. Won elections in 1954 and 1956 and negotiated independence on 6 March 1957 - 1 mark.

Answer: Nkrumah broke with the moderate UGCC and founded the Convention People's Party (1949), demanding 'Self-government now'; he led the non-violent Positive Action campaign (1950) and was jailed; his party's victory in the 1951 election made him Leader of Government Business and then Prime Minister; and after further electoral victories he negotiated independence, which came on 6 March 1957.

Ghana: from democracy to dictatorship and Nkrumah's overthrow (1966)

Steps towards dictatorship
1. Preventive Detention Act (1958): opponents could be imprisoned without trial.
2. The opposition United Party was harassed; leaders such as K. A. Busia went into exile.
3. Ghana became a republic (1960) with Nkrumah as a powerful executive President.
4. A referendum in 1964 made Ghana a one-party state with the CPP as the only legal party.
5. A personality cult: he was called 'Osagyefo' (the redeemer); statues and portraits everywhere; the press was controlled.

Reasons for his overthrow (military coup, 24 February 1966, while he was abroad)
1. Economic crisis: the world price of cocoa, Ghana's main export, fell sharply; foreign debts mounted; prestige projects and rapid industrialisation were expensive and some failed.
2. Rising prices, shortages and new taxes made people discontented.
3. Dictatorship: detention without trial, one-party rule and the personality cult alienated many.
4. Corruption among party officials.
5. The army resented his interference and the special President's Own Guard Regiment, which seemed favoured.
6. His foreign policy, close to the communist countries, and spending on Pan-African causes worried Western governments and some Ghanaians.

Worked example

[4] Give four reasons for the overthrow of Nkrumah in 1966. (Analysis)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Economic crisis: fall in cocoa prices, debts, costly projects - 1 mark.
2. Dictatorship: Preventive Detention Act, one-party state (1964), personality cult - 1 mark.
3. Corruption and rising prices made people discontented - 1 mark.
4. Army resentment of the President's Own Guard and interference - 1 mark.

Answer: Nkrumah was overthrown because (1) the collapse of cocoa prices, heavy debts and expensive projects caused an economic crisis; (2) the Preventive Detention Act, the one-party state of 1964 and his personality cult made him a dictator; (3) corruption, rising prices and shortages made people resentful; and (4) the army, angered by his interference and the favoured President's Own Guard, seized power in February 1966.

Kenya: conflict and independence (1947-64) and Kenyatta's role

Conflict with whites

• White settlers owned the best farmland in the 'White Highlands'; many Kikuyu had lost land and worked as squatters or labourers.
• Africans faced a colour bar, low wages, restrictions on growing cash crops, and very little representation in the Legislative Council.
• The settlers wanted Kenya to remain under white control, which made a peaceful transfer like Ghana's difficult.

The Mau Mau rising (from 1952): a secret, mainly Kikuyu movement (calling itself the Land and Freedom Army) attacked settlers and Africans loyal to the government. The British declared a State of Emergency (October 1952), sent troops, set up detention camps and killed thousands of Mau Mau; the rebellion was crushed by 1956, though the Emergency lasted to 1960. Revelations of brutality, such as the deaths of detainees at Hola camp (1959), shocked British opinion.

Role of Jomo Kenyatta
1. A Kikuyu leader who had spent years in Britain; he returned in 1946 and became president of the Kenya African Union (KAU) in 1947, building it into a national party demanding land and rights for Africans across tribes.
2. He pressed for more African seats in the Legislative Council and an end to discrimination.
3. Although he condemned Mau Mau violence, he was arrested in 1952 and convicted (1953) of managing it; he spent years in prison and restriction, becoming a national symbol.
4. Released in 1961, he led the Kenya African National Union (KANU), which won the 1963 elections.
5. His moderate, reconciliatory approach towards the British and the settlers ('forgive and forget') ensured a smooth transfer of power.
6. Kenya became independent on 12 December 1963 with Kenyatta as Prime Minister, and a republic on 12 December 1964 with Kenyatta as President.

Britain's change of policy: the cost of the Emergency, criticism after Hola, and Macmillan's 'wind of change' (1960) led to the Lancaster House conferences (1960, 1962) and majority rule.

Worked example

[4] How did Jomo Kenyatta help Kenya move from colonial rule to independence? Explain four contributions. (Analysis)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Led the KAU from 1947, uniting tribes in a national movement - 1 mark.
2. Demanded more African seats in the Legislative Council and land rights - 1 mark.
3. Condemned Mau Mau violence but was imprisoned (1952-61), becoming a national symbol - 1 mark.
4. On release led KANU to victory (1963); his reconciliatory approach ensured a smooth transfer; first Prime Minister and President - 1 mark.

Answer: Kenyatta led the Kenya African Union from 1947, turning it into a national movement across tribes; he demanded land and more African seats in the Legislative Council; though he condemned the Mau Mau, he was imprisoned from 1952, which made him a symbol of resistance; and after his release in 1961 he led KANU to victory, followed a policy of reconciliation with Britain and the settlers, and became Prime Minister at independence (1963) and President of the republic (1964).

De-colonisation – in Asia (China) and Africa (Ghana & Kenya) in real life

Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Topics in this chapter

• The Great Leap Forward in China (1958-61)

De-colonisation – in Asia (China) and Africa (Ghana & Kenya): key facts

People's Republic of China

Proclaimed 1 October 1949

Agrarian Reform Law 1950.

Collectivisation

Mutual aid teams; elementary then advanced co-operatives; almost complete by 1957

Communes from 1958.

First Five Year Plan

1953-57, Soviet model and help

Heavy industry; targets exceeded.

Great Leap Forward

1958-61: about 26,000 communes; backyard furnaces

Famine 1959-61; Soviet experts withdrawn 1960.

Ghana

CPP 1949; Positive Action 1950; independence 6 March 1957; republic 1960; one-party 1964; coup 24 February 1966

Nkrumah, 'Osagyefo'.

Kenya

KAU (Kenyatta) 1947; Mau Mau and Emergency 1952; independence 12 December 1963; republic 1964

Kenyatta jailed 1952-61; KANU.

How the board asks De-colonisation – in Asia (China) and Africa (Ghana & Kenya)

The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.

Tricks to remember De-colonisation – in Asia (China) and Africa (Ghana & Kenya)

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

• China's path: 'L-M-C-C'

  Land reform (1950), Mutual aid teams, Co-operatives, Communes (1958).

  Use it when: Agriculture sequence.

• Commune = 'FLAWS'

  Farms, Local government, Army (militia), Works (dams, factories), Social services (schools, clinics, mess halls).

  Use it when: Features of the commune.

• Nkrumah's fall: 'CODE'

  Cocoa prices fell, One-party state, Debts and corruption, Enmity of the army.

  Use it when: Reasons for the 1966 coup.

De-colonisation – in Asia (China) and Africa (Ghana & Kenya): board-level solved questions

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.

Case-study practice (Section D style)

Read the situation, then answer every part. In the board paper this is a 8-mark question split into 2 + 2 + 4 marks.

Where the marks are

How a typical answer is split into step marks. Show every step: a right final answer alone rarely earns full marks.

Where students lose marks in De-colonisation – in Asia (China) and Africa (Ghana & Kenya)

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

• ✗Mistake: Ignoring 'initially' in questions on China

  CISCE examiners' comments, 2025: candidates 'Overlooked the qualifier "initially" and wrote on later developments such as the Cultural Revolution' and 'Failed to distinguish problems from policies implemented'.

  ✓Do this: For 'initial problems' write only the situation in 1949: war damage, food, industry, inflation, population.

  Usually costs: Up to 4 marks.

• ✗Mistake: No long-term impact of the Great Leap Forward

  CISCE examiners' comments, 2024: 'Many could not state the long-term impact of the Great Leap Forward'; examiners suggested explaining 'the distinction between features and impact'.

  ✓Do this: Write features first, then short-term and long-term impact under separate headings.

  Usually costs: Up to 4 marks.

• ✗Mistake: Writing post-independence policies for Kenyatta's role in the struggle

  CISCE examiners' comments, 2025: candidates 'Focused on post-independence reforms, outside the scope of the question', 'Conflated Kenyatta with Nkrumah' and lacked chronological structure.

  ✓Do this: Stop at December 1963-64; use KAU, Mau Mau, prison, KANU in order.

  Usually costs: 2-3 marks.

• ✗Mistake: No clear difference between Ghana and Kenya

  CISCE examiners' comments, 2024: 'Many failed to state a clear difference between the two movements.'

  ✓Do this: Use a contrast word: 'Ghana's was peaceful, whereas Kenya's was violent.'

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Mixing up the two African leaders' policies

  CISCE examiners' comments, 2025: candidates 'Confused the internal policies of Kenyatta with those of Nkrumah, conflating the two leaders.'

  ✓Do this: Nkrumah: CPP, Positive Action, one-party state, coup. Kenyatta: KAU, prison, KANU, reconciliation. Both: Pan-Africanism.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

Practice questions on De-colonisation – in Asia (China) and Africa (Ghana & Kenya)

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

1. Q1 · 1 mark · Very short answerBoard level

   In one sentence, contrast the way Ghana and Kenya won their independence.

   Hint

   Method.

   Answer

   Ghana's movement was largely peaceful and constitutional, while Kenya's involved the violent Mau Mau rising.

2. Q2 · 1 mark · Very short answerBoard level

   Give one difficulty that confronted Nkrumah's new government in Ghana.

   Hint

   Money, experience, infrastructure.

   Answer

   Any one: lack of experience in government; poverty and a low standard of living; lack of industry and infrastructure; shortage of finance; dependence on cocoa.

3. Q3 · 1 mark · Very short answerBoard level

   Name the party founded by Nkrumah in 1949.

   Hint

   CPP.

   Answer

   The Convention People's Party (CPP).

4. Q4 · 1 mark · MCQHarder board level

   Which of these was NOT a feature of the communes?
   (a) Communal mess halls
   (b) Local militia
   (c) Private ownership of large farms
   (d) Schools and clinics

   Hint

   Collective, not private.

   Answer

   (c) Private ownership of large farms.

5. Q5 · 4 marks · Short answerHarder board level

   [4] Why did Mao abandon the Soviet model and launch the Great Leap Forward?

   Hint

   Agriculture lagging; labour; ideology; USSR.

   Answer

   (1) The First Plan had neglected agriculture, which grew too slowly to feed the cities. (2) China's greatest resource was its vast rural labour, not capital or experts. (3) Mao wanted to 'walk on two legs', developing agriculture and industry together, and to build socialism quickly through mass enthusiasm. (4) Relations with the USSR were cooling and he wanted a distinctly Chinese path.

6. Q6 · 4 marks · Short answerHarder board level

   [4] Explain how the British responded to the Mau Mau rising.

   Hint

   Emergency, troops, camps, leaders.

   Answer

   (1) A State of Emergency was declared in October 1952 and troops were sent. (2) Kenyatta and other KAU leaders were arrested and tried. (3) Tens of thousands of Kikuyu were held in detention camps and villages were fortified; thousands of Mau Mau were killed. (4) The rising was crushed by 1956, but scandals such as Hola (1959) led Britain to move towards majority rule.

7. Q7 · 4 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

   [4] 'The Great Leap Forward was a failure.' Do you agree? Give two arguments for and two against.

   Hint

   Famine versus lasting works.

   Answer

   For: (1) the famine of 1959-61 killed tens of millions; (2) backyard steel was useless and farming methods were unscientific. Against: (1) the communes survived as useful units of rural administration and welfare; (2) dams, irrigation and rural industries built then helped later growth. Overall a short-term disaster with some lasting benefits.

8. Q8 · 4 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

   [4] Assess Nkrumah's achievements after independence.

   Hint

   Development, Pan-Africanism, then the cost.

   Answer

   (1) He expanded schools, hospitals and roads and built the Akosombo dam on the Volta. (2) He made Ghana a leader of Pan-Africanism, hosting the 1958 conference and helping found the OAU (1963). (3) But costly projects, falling cocoa prices and corruption led to debt. (4) His one-party dictatorship undermined democracy, ending in his overthrow in 1966.

9. Q9 · 8 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

   [8] (a) Describe the changes in Chinese agriculture and industry between 1949 and 1957. [4]
   (b) Compare Nkrumah and Kenyatta as national leaders. [4]

   Hint

   (a) land to collectives; Plan; (b) methods, prison, approach, legacy.

   Answer

   (a) Land was redistributed under the 1950 Agrarian Reform Law, then peasants were organised in mutual aid teams and co-operatives, and by 1957 almost all were in collective farms. Industry grew under the First Five Year Plan (1953-57), on the Soviet model with Soviet loans and experts, concentrating on heavy industry, with most targets exceeded. (b) Both were Pan-Africanists educated abroad. Nkrumah led a non-violent mass party to independence in 1957 and became more authoritarian, ending in a coup; Kenyatta led the KAU, was imprisoned during the Mau Mau Emergency, and on release led KANU to independence in 1963, pursuing reconciliation with the settlers and remaining in power.

10. Q10 · 8 marks · Long answerHarder board level

    [8] Trace Ghana's journey from independence to military rule (1957-66).

    Hint

    Achievements; dictatorship; economic crisis; coup.

    Answer

    (1) Independence on 6 March 1957 under Nkrumah, with high hopes. (2) Development: schools, roads, hospitals, the Volta project. (3) Pan-Africanism: 1958 conference, OAU 1963. (4) Preventive Detention Act (1958) and suppression of the opposition. (5) Republic (1960) with a powerful President. (6) One-party state by the 1964 referendum; personality cult. (7) Economic crisis: cocoa price collapse, debts, shortages, corruption. (8) Army resentment led to the coup of 24 February 1966 while Nkrumah was abroad.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1. 1.When was the People's Republic of China proclaimed?Show answer

   1 October 1949.

2. 2.What were 'backyard furnaces'?Show answer

   Small local furnaces for making iron and steel during the Great Leap Forward.

3. 3.When did Ghana become independent?Show answer

   6 March 1957.

4. 4.What was 'Positive Action'?Show answer

   Nkrumah's non-violent campaign of strikes and boycotts (1950).

5. 5.When did Kenya become independent?Show answer

   12 December 1963.

6. 6.Which party did Kenyatta lead to victory in 1963?Show answer

   The Kenya African National Union (KANU).

Quick revision checklist

The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?

• ☐China 1949: war damage, backward farming, weak industry, inflation, huge population.
• ☐Agriculture: land reform 1950; mutual aid teams; co-operatives; collectives by 1957.
• ☐First Five Year Plan 1953-57: Soviet model and help; heavy industry.
• ☐Great Leap 1958-61: communes, backyard furnaces, public works; famine 1959-61; Soviet experts withdrawn 1960; long-term rural gains.
• ☐Ghana: CPP 1949, Positive Action 1950, PM 1952, independence 1957; Preventive Detention 1958; one-party 1964; coup 1966.
• ☐Kenya: White Highlands; KAU (Kenyatta 1947); Mau Mau, Emergency 1952; Kenyatta jailed; KANU; independence 1963; republic 1964.

De-colonisation – in Asia (China) and Africa (Ghana & Kenya): frequently asked questions