New flags, old borders

History · The Modern World · ages 15-16

Name ______________________ Date ____________

How could an inherited colonial border contribute to disputes after independence?
- It could give every community equal representation without further political decisions
- It could divide communities or raise disputes over territory and representation
- It could settle territorial claims permanently when colonial authorities departed
Which list names methods used to seek independence from colonial rule?
- Negotiations, mass campaigns, and armed struggle
- Negotiations between empires to exchange control of their colonies
- New national symbols while colonial authorities retained political control
Which independence year and former colonial power are correctly matched?
- India, 1947, from Britain
- Algeria, 1947, from Britain
- Nigeria, 1962, from France
Which explanation best describes Cold War influence on new states?
- Accepting any foreign aid transferred all decisions about government to the donor
- Superpower aid and pressure mattered, while new states also pursued their own goals
- Seeking non-alignment prevented every foreign government from influencing a new state
Why did political independence not automatically end economic dependence?
- Recognition as an independent state automatically cancelled existing foreign contracts
- Debts, trade ties, and foreign ownership could still limit economic choices
- Authority over government meant that foreign markets no longer affected export income
Every country used the same combination of methods to gain independence.
Circle one: True False
A border divides a community between two independent states. A student predicts that war must follow. Which assessment is supported?
- War must follow because political borders prevent any cooperation between neighbouring states
- Disputes cannot follow because independence makes inherited boundaries acceptable to everyone
- Disputes are possible, but negotiation and cooperation can prevent fighting
A student finds foreign debts after independence and concludes that the country used negotiations rather than armed struggle. Is that inference supported?
- Yes, because foreign debts can remain only when a colonial power negotiates its departure
- Yes, because armed struggle always cancels foreign debts when a new government takes office
- No, because later debts alone do not identify the methods used to gain independence

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

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It could divide communities or raise disputes over territory and representation · A boundary could divide communities or leave questions about territory and representation. These conditions could cause disputes, but did not guarantee war.
Negotiations, mass campaigns, and armed struggle · Talks, public campaigns and armed struggle could contribute to ending colonial rule. Movements often used more than one method.
India, 1947, from Britain · India became independent from Britain in 1947. Nigeria became independent from Britain in 1960, and Algeria from France in 1962.
Superpower aid and pressure mattered, while new states also pursued their own goals · Aid, arms and intervention could affect decisions without removing all local agency. Non-alignment also did not remove every outside pressure.
Debts, trade ties, and foreign ownership could still limit economic choices · Control over government and freedom from economic constraints are different. Foreign debts, markets and ownership could still affect a new state's choices.
False · India's mass campaigns and negotiations differed from Algeria's war and negotiated settlement. Overlapping methods did not make their experiences identical.
Disputes are possible, but negotiation and cooperation can prevent fighting · A divided community can face disputes about territory or contact. That creates a possible problem, not proof that fighting will occur.
No, because later debts alone do not identify the methods used to gain independence · Economic ties could remain after different independence methods. Evidence about later debt does not by itself establish how colonial rule ended.