Africas Decolonization and Years of Independence SSWH 20

Africa’s Decolonization and Years of Independence SSWH 20 a

Time and Geography

SOCIAL/ POLITICAL

Decolonization External and Internal Dynamics • Linked to global trends: – – – Calls for self-determination Founding of UN American opposition to colonialism International labor movement Successful independence movements in Asia South African military convoy in Namibia, 1978.

Decolonization External and Internal Dynamics • Internal factors: – – – Injustices of colonial rule White racism African nationalism New leaders with Western-style educations Yearning for freedom • Each country’s conditions determined speed and ease of independence Marxist African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) soldier with an AK 47

POLITICAL

Post-Independence Politics Contemporaneously, Ebola Pandemic Fears Grip West Africa • Problems faced: – Maintaining national unity, stability, prosperity – Pandemics and natural disasters – Continual interference by foreign powers

Post-Independence Politics African refugee camp. • Results of independence mixed – Millions died from famine, civil wars, and political terror – Millions became refugees

Post-Independence Politics Flag of South Africa, 1994 • Reasons for guarded hope: – Freeing of the last “colony, ” South Africa – Generosity towards former colonizers and occupiers – Spirit of reconciliation in areas of ethnic conflict – Winding down of civil wars – Better leadership’ movements towards democracy – Return to prosperity in some nations

Decolonization: The Run-up To Independence • 1950 -1965, rapid decolonization done peacefully – 35 states from former European colonies emerged • Since then, independence obtained through armed action – – Portuguese colonies in 1975 Rhodesia in 1980 Eritrea in 1993 South Africa in 1994 Political cartoon depicting Africa’s struggle for independence.

Influence of External Factors • Signing of the Atlantic Charter in 1941 – Britain/US pledged to principle of selfdetermination • UN: self-determination; end to colonialism • Nationalist movements in Asia • India’s independence in 1947 • China’s reassertion of control • Forced decolonization of France in Syria, Lebanon and Indochina

Influence of External Factors • International labor movement organized African protests for fair treatment and wages • African militancy and belief that colonialism could be defeated • Pan-African movement with ideas: “blackness” and Negritude; sense of racial unity and strength Pan Africanist Congress of Azania

Africa for Africans • New leaders: union leaders, soldiers, or university students returning home from America and Europe • Vision of a better Africa - “Africa for Africans” • More politically active than predecessors • Skillful at organizing and channeling grievance • Phenomenon of mass nationalism and national political parties Africa for Africans

Africa for Africans • Leaders: – Leopold Senghor, Senegal – Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nigeria – Kwame Nkrumah, Gold Coast – Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya Julius Nyerere, Tanganyika – Kenneth Kaunda, Northern Rhodesia Kaunda during an official visit to the United States in 1983

Independence Orderly Way with Minimum of Violence – Kwame Nkrumah, Gold Coast/Ghana, 1957, first independent nation – 1958, Charles de Gaulle, allowed vote for self-rule in French West and French Equatorial Africa – 1960 was a “miraculous year” for Africa: • more than half of the continent independent • more followed within the next four years Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of the Republic of Ghana See notes for documentary on Kwame Nkrumah

ECONOMIC/ POLITICAL

Independence Delayed and Violent • White settler colonies, Algeria, Kenya, (Southern) Rhodesia, Mozambique, Angola, Southwest Africa, and South Africa • Significant minority of Europeans who immigrated for a better life: – Had large houses, big farms – Cheap African labor – servants, laborers – Special privileges with colonial governments

Independence Delayed and Violent • Kenya: – Rebel group, “Land Freedom Army or “Mau Mau” – Attacked African collaborators and white farmers – Retaliation: “Mau Mau” put into camps and brutalized – British public outraged by brutality; sea change – Kenya granted independent in 1963 – First president Jomo Kenyatta President Kenyatta in 1978

White Settler Colonies • Won freedom after years of conflict: – Rhodesia and South Africa – Algeria, Angola, Mozambique, Southwest Africa – South Africa, at last in 1994, Afrikaner-supported government of F. W. de Klerk allowed African majority right to vote • Nelson Mandela was first president. Nelson Mandela

The Immediate Post-independence Years • Return to African names - Mali, Ghana, and Zaire, etc. • New states not inclined to wipe out European presence • Colonial borders continued • Pro-democracy wave disappeared quickly – dictators, single parties took over Idi Amin Dada

The Immediate Post-independence Years • Why? Colonel Muammar Gaddafi – No tradition of Western-style political institutions and Parliamentary customs – Strong tradition of personal leadership, loyalty to lineage/kin group • Post-independence leaders felt multi-party systems were alien and unworkable in Africa

Post-Independence Politics • Puppet governments – Ethiopia, Somalia, Angola, and Mozambique • Breakdown of democracy often ended in military dictatorships – First, Ghana, then from Nigeria to Somalia and from Algeria to Angola • Some generals wanted power and riches – Jean-Bedel Bokassa, Central African Republic – Idi Amin, Uganda – Joseph (Ssese Seko) Mobutu, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) – Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe

Robert Mugabe Jean-Bédel Bokassa Idi Amin Ssese Seko Mobutu

Hope for Change – Some vicious repressors been forced out – Popular protests against one-party dictatorships increasing – Since 1990 s, right to establish legal opposition – Passage of time will reveal: trend or remission African Protesters

ECONOMIC

Post-Independence Economies • Outgrowths of colonial-era policies – monoeconomies: producing single crops: cacao, rubber, coffee, and palm oil or minerals: copper or bauxite for export Woman harvesting coffee in Etheopia

Post-Independence Economies • Operations owned by Westerners – Few domestic manufactures, mostly import substitutes – Emphasis on export crops meant Africans had to buy food instead of growing it African farmers

Africa – Moderate Growth Rate • World War II created demand for raw materials; prices rose, African producers prosperous • For over a decade, Africa’s GNPs rose, jobs, goods available, towns and villages had new schools, nation had university • Africa’s new leaders remained popular

Economic Crisis After 1970 s oil crisis, economies slid badly • After 1970 s oil crisis, economies slid badly – Hit developing countries hard – Rapid inflation

Economic Crisis • Combination of reasons – – – Diminishing food stocks Prolonged drought: Ethiopia, Somalia, and the Sudan Civil wars: Sudan, Chad, Angola, Mozambique, and Ethiopia Sharp reduction in foreign aid Continuing population increase, which was partly offset by the rapid spread of AIDS The red ribbon is a symbol for solidarity with HIV-positive people and those living with AIDS.

SOCIAL

Social Consequences – ¼ of sub-Saharan Africans live in “chronic food insecurity” – Labor migrated to cities where jobs are minimal City of Accra

Social Consequences African Street – People took to living on streets and hawking – Theft, unknown in African society, became common, along with street violence because of hunger and deprivation

The Population Bomb • Overwhelming problem – Too many people for available resources – No country tried to limit population growth • Agriculture - only 10% of land is suitable for cropping – Repeated droughts made matters worse – Rain forest was being destroyed • Pastoralism – Herders increased herds, which put further stress on land – Sahara Desert expanding southward

The Population Bomb • Tourism – major income producer – Large regions opened to human habitation, limits animal populations – Which in turn hurts tourism • Population bomb has exploded – Green Revolution prevented it elsewhere but not in Africa – Yields do not appear able to rise

The Population Bomb

Prospects at Start of 21 st Century Internal and international conflicts • Still seems picture of chaos, famine, brutality – Continent holds most of world’s poorest people – Low life expectancies, high infant mortality – Low adult literacy rate, little access to higher education

Prospects at Start of 21 st Century • AIDS – – – Has hit Africa harder than other parts of the world Over 30% of population is infected More AIDS deaths than rest of world combined Official countermeasures weak, ineffective Governments relying on international aid Bizarre obstacle in South Africa: • President Thabo Mbeki deny connection between HIV and AIDS President Thabo Mbeki

POLITICAL

Law and Government

Prospects at Start of 21 st Century • 2002, major rebellions, riots, demonstrations • Today, signs of a new harmony: • Organization of African Unity (OAU) - Africa’s peacekeeper • Intervened in wars in Liberia, Congo-Kinshasa (former Belgian Congo), Darfur, and elsewhere • Peace returned to Liberia • Violence subsided in other parts of West Africa • National elections

ECONOMIC

Economies • Deeply indebted to World Bank, international banks • Structural Adjustment Programs supposed to re-start economies, but require unpopular measures

Signs of Hope for the Future • Malawi, Botswana, Kenya, and Mozambique democratized their politics • Better relations between the First and Second Worlds and the African Third World • Fantasts, tyrants, and kleptocracies (rules of thieves) lost colonial support • International lenders stopped financing grandiose projects • New projects to reflect real needs

Signs of Hope for the Future • Mini-grants to enterprising individuals and small groups, especially to women, replaced big programs • So far, these have produced much better results • Less emphasis on export crops, more on family farming • Change in attitudes toward women and their roles • Women receiving active support and encouraged to make their voices heard in politics, economy, public affairs generally

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