M A R I A C L A R A C H E N

India vs. Ghana

India

Pre-Colonial India

Mughal Empire (1526 – 1707)

Established basic structures of centralized government in India

Connected India to global economy

British East India Company

Founded in 1600

Merchants traded to compete with European rivals

Increased commercial, political, and military activity British control

(1858 – 1947)

Export of cotton textiles

Seized control of Bengal

Colonization

Regulating Act of 1773

Gave the British Gov. the right to command Company activity

Pitt‘s India Act of 1784

Formation of a Board of Control that reviewed all Company activity

Indian Civil Service (1793)

Train British citizens to replace Indian revenue collectors, police

officers, and judges

British eventually dominated all of the higher ranks in political and

military scenarios

Independence Leaders in India

Mohandas Gandhi Jawaharlal Nehru Mohammad Ali Jinnah

“It is a fundamental principle of Satyagraha that the tyrant, whom the Satyagrahi seeks to resist, has power over his body and material possessions, but he can have no power over the soul. The soul can remain unconquered and unconquerable even when the body is imprisoned.”

—Mohandas Gandhi, Young India, May 21, 1931

Mohandas Gandhi

Worked under the principle of

Satyagraha, or non-violent

resistance

1919: Rowlatt Satyagraha

April 13th, 1919: Jalianwalla

Bagh Massacre as a result of a

un-authorize, non-violent

gathering

Mohandas Gandhi

June 1920: Non-Cooperation Movement

Boycott of foreign (British) good and promotion of khadi

1928: Civil Disobedience Campaign

March 12th, 1930: Salt March

Led to Gandhi‘s arrest on April 6th

Post-Colonialism

Reached Independence on February 20th, 1947

After partition + decolonization:

India‘s main trading partner continued to be England

England continues to have the privileges of being the

‗colonizer‘ without running the government

Could not afford to maintain government after broken post-WWII

economy

Ghana

Pre-Colonial Ghana

Non-settler colony

Called ―Gold Coast‖ to its abundance in the resource

1471: Portuguese arrive at the Golden Coast

1482: Build first European settlement, the Castle of Elmina

Traded slaves, gold, knives, beads, mirrors, rum, and guns

1642: Elmina lost to the Dutch; Portuguese abandoned

territory

1867: British Gold Coast formed

Colonization

Anglo-Ashanti Wars

Ashanti Empire (Modern-day

Ghana) vs. British Empire

Four wars fought between 1824-

1901

War of the Golden Stool

1900: Remaining Ashanti were

defeated by the British

January 1st, 1902: Ashanti

territories became a part of the Gold

Coast colony under British control

Kwame Nkrumah

Independence leader in Ghana

1947: General Secretary of the United

Gold Coast Convention

Imprisoned for leading riots against the

British

1948: Formed Convention People‘s Party

(CPP)

Kwame Nkrumah

1949: CPP gathered workers/farmers for riots

1954: New constitution proposing direct elections through universal

suffrage

Opposed by the National Liberation Movement (NLM)

Another proposed constitution approved (April 29th, 1954)

establishing a directly-elected African ministers

May 1956: White paper with proposal for independence

Agreed by British govn‘t

March 6, 1957: the state of Ghana gained its independence

Post-Colonialism

No significant positive repercussions

Fight was against colonialism, but did not appear to have a

purpose once independence was achieved

National bourgeoisie rose to power, replacing

previous colonial rule

Comparison - Theorists

Historians India Ghana

A.G. Hopkins As nationalist concepts gained support within the country, global influence was not a dominating factor in the fight for independence.

Was not significantly influenced by outside powers; nationalism was predominant over globalization in the struggle for independence.

Spivak Indians, who were deemed the ‗subalterns‘ by the British, gained a voice and were able to negotiate independence peacefully, as they wished.

The large population (‗subalterns‘) didgain a voice through the CPP and successfully negotiated independence peacefully.

Benedict Anderson

Increasing nationalist movements ultimately led to decolonization and gain of independence of the nation.

Growing nationalist concepts and movements led to greater popular support of decolonization and its success.

Steven Kemper

Local, immediate response to British colonizers: Rowlatt Act leads the way to decolonization.

Local, immediate response to colonizers: 1947 riots against the British led by Kwame Nkrumah.

Antonio Gramsci

Subordinated by Britain. Subordinated by Britain.

Explanations

India Ghana

Metropolitan Post World War II economy in Britain allowed for a peaceful independence agreement – no longer had to pay to maintain government but still benefitted from commerce.

Majority of British Togoland residents voted for the unification with an independent Golden Coast, leading to the agreement of independence.

Nationalist Increasing nationalist idealsencouraged by independence leader Mohandas Gandhi, beginning 1857 with the Great Revolt.

Nationalist ideals were spread by the CPP, gaining increasing local support and leading to non-violent riots as well as the ultimate independence of the nation.

Internationalist Was not significantly affected by intervention of other nations – fight for independence was not influenced by global events.

Was not significantly affected by intervention of other nations – fight for independence was not influenced by global events.

World System Theory

World system (not nation

states) is the basic unit of social

analysis

Dominance of core countries

Individual states can gain or lose

the core status over time (dynamic)

World System Theory:

Core Semi-periphery Periphery

Britain China India

Core Semi-periphery Periphery

Britain China Ghana

Comparing Consequences

India Ghana

Economy remained stable after its independence due to continuous relations with England

Economy crashed: replacement of colonial rule with bourgeoisie

Independence leaders remained as representatives of the people

Independence leader was soon replaced

Successful long-term consequenceseconomic growth and stability

No significant positive outcome or change post-decolonization