Compare and contrast the contribution of nationalist movements to the achievement of independence in Senegal and Tanganyika.

The question requires that candidates give an account of the similarities and differences concerning the contribution of nationalist movements to the achievement of independence in the named countries. The Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), launched in 1954 by Nyerere, supported the union among Africans and rejected any tendency or tradition that could divide them. Candidates may refer to the fact that during the negotiations with the British government, TANU asked for an elective system, demanded that most political offices were reserved for Africans, and supported the claims of African peasants. In the case of Senegal, candidates may consider the existence of more than one nationalist movement, the most important of these being the Senegalese Democratic Bloc, which was founded by Leopold Sedar Senghor in 1948. In 1958, it merged with another political party to become the Senegalese Progressive Union. Candidates may reflect on its socialist roots and the adoption of Marxism–Leninism as its ideological basis, and on Senghor’s ideas to unite African movements that led to the formation of the Mali Federation, which was a short-lived coalition, before its separation and the subsequent achievement of Senegalese independence.

Candidates were required to give an account of the similarities and differences of the role of nationalist movements in the achievement of independence in Senegal and Tanganyika. Responses tended to show a lack of balance with considerable detail being provided on one country but inadequate content on the other. This made it difficult to meet the demands of the question.