Evaluate the contribution of political parties to the achievement of independence in French West Africa.

The question requires that candidates make an appraisal of the contribution of political parties to the achievement of independence in French West Africa, weighing up their importance or otherwise. Candidates may evaluate the importance of the Rassemblement Democratique Africain (RDA), a grouping of parties from all parts of French West Africa, which ensured that nationalism developed a strong cross-regional character. This party, which included political heavyweights like Felix Houphouet-Boigny and Leopold Senghor, sat in the French parliament and worked closely with French Communists, leading to some support for independence in the metropolis. They may evaluate other parties such as Sekou Toure’s Democratic Party of Guinea, which voted against plans for an independent regional community in 1958, thus hastening independence from France but scuppering proposals for a post-independence federation. Other relevant factors may be addressed, for example the willingness of the French government to smooth a path to independence by enacting legislation such as the Loi Cadre of 1946 or the 1958 Constitution. Candidates’ opinions or conclusions will be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.