This is a complete and full summary of Independent Africa used to study for final IEB History Examinations. This includes: The Congo, Independence + Civil War, Mobutu, Zaire, Tanzania, Arusha Declaration, Julius Nyerere, Patrice Lumumba, Tanzania, Africanisation, Angola, Civil War in 1974, Outside ...
African states were not wealthy at the time of independence. The
colonial powers had done little to develop the economic self-sufficiency
of their colonies. The colonial economies had been geared towards
exporting unprocessed minerals and cash crops cheaply and importing
expensive manufactured goods.
The Congo:
The Congo with its vast mineral resources and strategic position in
central Africa became a focus of attention by the superpowers during the
cold war.
When Congo became independent from Belgian rule in 1960, a critical
situation soon developed which brought the Cold War to Africa for the
first time. The Congo became a tool of the Western Powers during the
Cold War.
Belgian rule in Congo was very harsh. People were forced to pay high
taxes and had to do forced labour. Belgian policy was based on
paternalism (a belief that African people should be treated as children
and are not allowed any responsibility of representation in the
government). There were few secondary schools and no higher
education for Africans. There were however many primary schools.
After the second world war the Belgians were determined to keep Congo
under their control, and they tried to stop the spread of nationalist ideas
from other African colonies.
Until the late 1950’s, they banned all political parties and independent
African newspapers. However, after violent protests in towns around -
Congo in 1959, Belgium quickly decided to grant independence within
6 months. The people of Congo were totally unprepared for the sudden
change of policy and many parties were quickly formed. Many of these
were regionally based parties.
, As people prepared for the elections in May 1960, they had high hopes
that independence would resolve the problems caused by years of
poverty and oppression. In the elections, 120 political parties
participated, and no single party won an outright majority of seats in
parliament. The MNC under leadership by Patrice Lumumba won the
most seats.
Independence + Civil War:
When the Congo formally became independent in June 1960, Lumumba
formed a coalition government. He became prime minister and
appointed his main rival, Joseph Kasavubu, as president. Lumumba
wanted a strong unitary or centrally controlled government, while
Kasavubu and other leaders favoured a loose federation, where each
region would have some autonomy.
5 days after independence, units in the Congolese army mutinied,
demanding the removal of Belgian officers. Violent protests broke out in
many parts of the country including attacks on Belgian property and on
civilians. The unity of the new state was also threatened and there was
the breakaway of 2 new provinces. These two were Katanga
(backed by Belgian mining interests) and Kasai (backed by the
Soviet Union). The more important was Katanga which Moise
Tshombe declared to be an independent state.
As 50% of Congo’s total revenue came from Katanga’s mineral
wealth (mainly - copper mines), this was a serious blow to the new
state. When Belgium sent troops to the Congo, supposedly to protect
Belgian property and the 100 000 Belgian nationals still in the Congo,
Lumumba and others saw this as an attempt by Belgium to restore
colonial control. They were also suspicious of Belgian motives because
of their control of the copper mines in Katanga.
Lumumba appealed to the United Nations for military assistance to
restore order, to re-unite the country and to ensure the withdrawal of
Belgian forces.
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