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Summary Uhuru (Independent Africa)
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This note provides an in-depth and bullet pointed summary of the events which occurred after the independence of African states
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Chloë van Beukering Grade 12 History SyllabusUhuru: Freedom
The Scramble for Africa
• By 1880s European interest in Africa had increased drastically
• Otto von Bismarck (Chancellor of Germany), and Jules Ferry (Premier of France)
organised an International conference in Berlin to lay down the basic rules for colonising
Africa
• Berlin Conference established the principle that European occupation of African
territory had to be based on effective occupation that was recognised by other states,
and that no single power could claim Africa
• Between 1878 and 1914, European powers divided up the entire African continent
except for Ethiopia and Liberia
• Interest in Africa motivated by: economic, military, political, humanitarian and religious
reasons, as well as from the development and acceptance of Social Darwinism, and
advances in technology
• By 1913, the vast majority of Africa was under European control
• The European imperialist expansions and pressures of the late nineteenth century
ultimately provoked African resistance, but due to technological superiority Europeans
were able to dominate the African people
Pan-Africanism
• Pan-Africanism is an ideology and movement that encourages the solidarity of Africans
worldwide
• Based on the belief that unity is vital to economic, social and political progress and
aims to “unify and uplift” people of African descent
• States that the fates of all African peoples and countries are intertwined
• At its core, it is a belief that African peoples, both on the continent and elsewhere,
share not only a common history, but also a common destiny
• Roland Oliver, a well-known historian, compared African Nationalism to a tree
• Said the trunk of the tree was Pan-Africanism, and the deep roots the different ideas
of people of African origin that fed into it
• The branches represented the different nationalist movements and independent states
of Africa
• The origins of Pan-Africanism can be traced back to the West Indies and ideas of
Marcus Garvey and W.E.B. Du Bois of the USA
• Du Bois highlighted the shared suffering of black people as a result of colonial rule,
but believed that African-Americans should play the leading role in promoting Pan-
Africanism, as some of them had the advantage of a good education
• Garvey focused on the shared common heritage of all black people, regardless of
where they lived
• Spoke of “black pride” “African for the Africans” and encouraged all black people
to return to Africa in order to escape racism and rebuild a unified and liberated
Africa
Page 1 of 20
,Chloë van Beukering Grade 12 History Syllabus
Had 3 aims:
1. To counter the idea that black people were inferior to whites
2. To encourage black unity and self-determination
3. To demand that black people are treated with dignity
• Initially mainly African-Americans were involved in the Pan-Africanist Movement, but
after 1945 the movement became more and more influential on the African continent
African Nationalism and the Second World War
• WW2 should be viewed as one of the major turning points in African History
• Before the War, pace of change was steady but unhurried, after the War we see drastic
increase in the pace of change
• One of the results of WW2: people began to question the values of the dominant
European powers
• Africans had been drafted into the Allied armies and been sent overseas where many
developed a new political awareness as they became more aware of the rights
enjoyed by others
• Allies had claimed to be fighting a war for the freedom and right of people to enjoy
equality and choose their own government
• Fact that the colonial powers weren’t offering these rights to all their people caused
great unhappiness
• As a result: growing independence movement began to gain momentum in the
European Colonies as educated African, South American and Asian people began to
question the Colonial powers
• The War had weakened the colonial powers both militarily and financially
• As a result: found it increasingly difficult to control their colonies
• Resulted in a number of Asian colonies being granted their independence and
inspired African Nationalists to become more vocal in their demands for
independence
• This was further encouraged by the UN Charter of 1947, which promised all nations
the right to self-determination
• African Nationalists had a further advantage as a result of the Cold War struggle
between the USSR and USA
• Both of these Super Powers were prepared to support newly independent states in
the hope of drawing them into their sphere of influence, thus guaranteeing financial
support
• Not easy for developing Nationalist organisations to spread their ideology: tribal loyalty,
geographical boundaries imposed by European powers, illiteracy and poverty often
proved problematic
• From the 1950s, many African leaders openly rebelled against governments
• Many joined organisations to fight for independence and to work together to rid
themselves of their colonial rulers
• Often led to violent confrontation with authorities
Page 2 of 20
, Chloë van Beukering Grade 12 History Syllabus
• Still took most countries a little more than 20 years to achieve independence as Britain,
France and Belgium began to withdraw from Africa
Paths to Independence
• Two main paths of independence for African countries: constitutional one;
independence came as a result of negotiations, or lengthy wars of liberation before the
colonial powers would consent to majority rule
• Independence as a Direct Result of the War:
• The defeat of Italy in Africa during WW2 led to the independence of their colonies
Ethiopia (1941) and Libya (1951)
• Sudan also granted independence from Egypt as a result of the War
• British Decolonisation
• The British ruled over their colonies as independence self-governing colonies with
legislative councils
• Each colony had its own government, which was instructed and had to report back
to the British government
• As a result: each British colony was treated separately
• The process of transferring the power from legislative councils to parliament of
elected majority was carried out within each colony using the model British parliament
initially, however, each colony was allowed to finalise the parliamentary system within
their own constitution
• Beginning with Ghana in 1957, Britain negotiated with each colony to set up the
institutions necessary for independence
• Hoped they could influence their colonies and guarantee that they followed a
democratic British Parliamentary democracy
• French Decolonisation
• Tried to keep it’s colonies part of a closely-knit community
• Offered a referendum to allow colonies to choose the form of government they
preferred
• Except for Guinea, chose to be autonomous self-governing states whose external
affairs would be controlled by France
• Following referendum, gave all its colonies except Algeria independence between
1960 and 1961
• Belgian Decolonisation
• Transfer of power took place quite suddenly in the Belgian Congo
• Initially, wanted a 30 year period to prepare for independence
• However, met with violent protests, which forced government to grant immediate
independence in June 1960
• Newly independent state faced enormous problems when the army mutinied and a
civil war broke out
• Order was finally restored after the UN intervened
• In Rwanda and Burundi the legacy of Belgian rule resulted in civil war and ultimately
genocide
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