Decolonisation of Africa: Difference between revisions
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Indeed, in the 1930s, the colonial powers had cultivated, sometimes inadvertently, a small elite of leaders educated in Western universities and familiar with ideas such as [[self-determination]]. In some cases where the road to independence was fought, settled arrangements with the colonial powers were also being placed.<ref name=":0" /> These leaders came to lead the struggles for independence, and included leading [[African nationalism|nationalists]] such as [[Jomo Kenyatta]] ([[Kenya]]), [[Kwame Nkrumah]] ([[Gold Coast (British colony)|Gold Coast]], now [[Ghana]]), [[Julius Nyerere]] ([[Tanganyika]], now [[Tanzania]]), [[Léopold Sédar Senghor]] ([[Senegal]]), [[Nnamdi Azikiwe]] ([[Nigeria]]), and [[Félix Houphouët-Boigny]] ([[Côte d'Ivoire]]).{{citation needed|reason=No citation for claim.|date=January 2015}} |
Indeed, in the 1930s, the colonial powers had cultivated, sometimes inadvertently, a small elite of leaders educated in Western universities and familiar with ideas such as [[self-determination]]. In some cases where the road to independence was fought, settled arrangements with the colonial powers were also being placed.<ref name=":0" /> These leaders came to lead the struggles for independence, and included leading [[African nationalism|nationalists]] such as [[Jomo Kenyatta]] ([[Kenya]]), [[Kwame Nkrumah]] ([[Gold Coast (British colony)|Gold Coast]], now [[Ghana]]), [[Julius Nyerere]] ([[Tanganyika]], now [[Tanzania]]), [[Léopold Sédar Senghor]] ([[Senegal]]), [[Nnamdi Azikiwe]] ([[Nigeria]]), and [[Félix Houphouët-Boigny]] ([[Côte d'Ivoire]]).{{citation needed|reason=No citation for claim.|date=January 2015}} |
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One of the leaders Nkrumah strived towards independence and pan Africanism. Under British colonization and influence from indigenous elites, Nkrumah endured innumerable challenges towards full liberation.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The World Transformed 1945 to the Present|last=Hunt|first=Michael|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=|location=New York|pages=264}}</ref> In 1947 the elites established United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) with the influence of British government. Through the UGCC, Nkrumah revealed his opposition towards the British by setting up newspapers, schools, and youth organizations in order to gain support from the community. After verbal and political attack from the UGCC, Nkrumah created his own movement known as the Convention Peoples Party (CPP). Through his nonviolent movement and his legislative victory in 1951, the British soon realized that Nkrumah will continue to fight towards full decolonization. Through the issues of neocolonialism, the United States suggest for Ghana and other independent states to align with them economically and politically in order to suppress colonialism.<ref name="auto">{{Cite book|title=The World Transformed 1945 to the Present|last=Hunt|first=Michael|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=|location=New York|pages=267–268}}</ref> Although Nkrumah efforts towards black unity, economic and political success was his goal, different views from fellow elites, a large amount of debt, and armed forces against decolonization became evident issues constructed from the European nations. In 1972, Nkrumah died of cancer and his plot towards Ghana's full independence withered away as well during his passing.<ref name="auto"/> |
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Revision as of 13:35, 12 December 2017
The Decolonisation of Africa followed World War II, when colonised people agitated for independence and colonial powers withdrew their administrators from Africa.[1]
Background
| Independent |
The ‘scramble for Africa’ between 1870-1900 ended with almost all of Africa being controlled by European states. Racing to secure as much land as possible, but wanting to avoid conflict amongst themselves, without regard to local differences leaders divided up the continent, formalising it in the Berlin Agreement in 1885.[2][3] By 1905, control of almost all African soil was claimed by Western European governments, with the only exceptions being Liberia (which had been settled by African-American former slaves) and Ethiopia (which had successfully resisted colonisation by Italy).[4] Britain and France had the largest holdings, but Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, and Portugal also had colonies. As a result of colonialism and imperialism, a majority of Africa lost sovereignty and control of natural resources such as gold and rubber. The introduction of imperial polices surfacing around local economies led to the failing of local economies due to an exploitation of resources and cheap labor.[5] Progress towards independence was slow up until the mid-20th century. By 1977, 57 African countries had seceded from European colonial rulers.[6]
Causes
External Causes
During WWI and WWII, African soldiers were conscripted into imperial militaries.[7] This led to a deeper political awareness and the expectation of greater respect and self-determination, which was left largely unfulfilled.[8] During the 1941 Atlantic Conference, the British and the US leaders met to discuss ideas for the post-war world. One of the provisions added by President Roosevelt was that all people had the right to self-determination, inspiring hope in British colonies.[9]
On February 12, 1941, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met to discuss the postwar world. The result was the Atlantic Charter.[10] It was not a treaty and was not submitted to the British Parliament or the Senate of the United States for ratification, but it turned to be a widely acclaimed document.[11] One of the provisions, introduced by Roosevelt, was the autonomy of imperial colonies. After World War II, the US and the African colonies put pressure on Britain to abide by the terms of the Atlantic Charter. After the war, some British considered African colonies to be childish and immature; British colonisers introduced democratic government at local levels in the colonies. Post-war, the US and African colonies pressured Britain to abide by the Atlantic Charter’s terms. Britain was forced to agree but Churchill rejected universal applicability of self-determination for subject nations. He also stated that the Charter was only applicable to German occupation states, not to the British Empire.[12]
Furthermore, colonies such as Nigeria, Senegal and Ghana pushed for self-governance as colonial powers were exhausted by war efforts.[13]
Internal Causes
For early African nationalists, decolonisation was a moral imperative. In 1945 the Fifth Pan-African Congress demanded the end of colonialism. Delegates included future presidents of Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and national activists.[14]
Colonial economic exploitation led to European extraction of Ghana’s mining profits to shareholders, instead of internal development, causing major local socioeconomic grievances.[15] Nevertheless, local African industry and towns expanded when U-boats patrolling the Atlantic Ocean reduced raw material transportation to Europe.[16] In turn, urban communities, industries and trade unions grew, improving literacy and education, leading to pro-independence newspaper establishments.[17]
Indeed, in the 1930s, the colonial powers had cultivated, sometimes inadvertently, a small elite of leaders educated in Western universities and familiar with ideas such as self-determination. In some cases where the road to independence was fought, settled arrangements with the colonial powers were also being placed.[5] These leaders came to lead the struggles for independence, and included leading nationalists such as Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya), Kwame Nkrumah (Gold Coast, now Ghana), Julius Nyerere (Tanganyika, now Tanzania), Léopold Sédar Senghor (Senegal), Nnamdi Azikiwe (Nigeria), and Félix Houphouët-Boigny (Côte d'Ivoire).[citation needed]
Economic legacy
The economic legacy of colonialism is difficult to quantify but is likely to have been negative. Modernisation theory emphasises that colonial powers built infrastructure to integrate Africa into the world economy, however this was built mainly for extraction purposes. African economies were structured to benefit the coloniser and any surplus was likely to be ‘drained’, thereby stifling capital accumulation.[18] Dependency theory suggests that most African economies continued to occupy a subordinate position in the world economy after independence with a reliance on primary commodities such as copper in Zambia and tea in Kenya.[19] Despite this continued reliance and unfair trading terms, a meta-analysis of 18 African countries found that a third of countries experienced increased economic growth post-independence.[20]
Effects of debt
The debts of African economies are external and one-sided. While the USA and the UK have gross external debts of 95% and 400% respectively, these debts are balanced by the countries being major lenders.[21] This is not the case for African nations which do not own as many assets or debts to balance the burden. The debt situation in sub-Saharan Africa means that the world’s poorest countries were transferring $3 billion US dollars to developed countries between 1995 and 2000.[22] This is exacerbated by interest and principal arrears which made up over 27% of total external debt for sub-Saharan nations in 1998.[23] This causes two main problems: firstly, servicing the debt means less money is available for importing goods, secondly debt creates uncertainty and risk which puts off investors and reduces business confidence.[24] This has held back African countries from developing after decolonisation.
Social legacy
Language
Over 2,000 distinct languages are spoken in the continent. Along with Africa’s indigenous dialects - Afro-Asiatic, Kordofanian and Khoisan languages, many colonial languages are spoken today. For example, English is spoken in Ghana, Gambia and Kenya, French in Benin, Burkina-Faso and Cameroon, and Portuguese in Guinea-Bissau, Angola, São Tomé and Príncipe.[25] Scholars including Dellal (2013), Miraftab (2012) and Bamgbose (2011) have argued that Africa’s linguistic diversity has been eroded. Language has been used by western colonial powers to divide territories and create new identities which has led to conflicts and tensions between African nations.[26]
Land
Today, 93% of South Africa’s land is still owned by ‘descendants of white settlers’ despite the political negotiation of the Native Land Act in 1913.[27] King (1990) argued that ‘space’ is a mode of segregations, creating forms of inclusions and exclusions. Evidence is represented through different architecture designs, and distinct segregation of spaces (Zonification) in cities are still a feature in the colonial present. For example, the new development of the business improvement district in Cape Town portrays a similar image of the colonial era with embedded struggles in class, race, ethnicity and hierarchical differences.[28] Decolonisation marks one of the historical moments in which African countries increased its autonomous status from the impetus Western colonial powers. Echoes of the colonial past are still visible in the African society today because Ferguson (2006) stated there are still widespread social stigmas associated with the continent such as phrases of ‘darkness’ and ‘troubled’. The representation of Africa, therefore, reveals the continual Western legacies of the colonial past and the struggles embedded in the countries.
Difficulties in transition
The transition to independence in many postcolonial countries is often fraught with political and ethnic tensions. In Rwanda and neighbouring Burundi, the move from colonial to independent rule led to violence.[29] Racialised policies under colonial rule led to rivalries between ethnic groups and was a major contributor to the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. The first Presidential election in Rwanda, 1962 was won by Grégoire Kayibanda, leader of the Parti du Mouvement de l'Emancipation du Peuple Hutu (Party for Hutu Emancipation) which sustained the backbone of his government policy.[30] Following this, many Tutsis left the country as they became increasingly ostracised in Rwandan society. There had always been tensions between the Hutus and Tutsis, but the animosity between them grew substantially under Rwanda’s transition to independence and many serious Hutu-Tutsi conflicts ensued.
Timeline
This table is the arranged by the earliest date of independence in this graph; 58 countries have seceded.
See also
- Colonialism
- Decolonization
- Indépendance Cha Cha, a 1960 Congolese song widely considered as the anthem of African independence
- Economic history of Africa
- Scramble for Africa
- Wars of national liberation
- States and Power in Africa
- Year of Africa
Notes
- ^ Birmingham, David (1995). The Decolonization of Africa. Routledge. ISBN 1-85728-540-9.
- ^ "Berlin Conference of 1884-1885". http://www.oxfordreference.com. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
{{cite web}}: External link in|website= - ^ "A Brief History of the Berlin Conference". http://teacherweb.ftl.pinecrest.edu. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
{{cite web}}: External link in|website= - ^ Evans, Alistair. "Countries in Africa Considered Never Colonized". http://africanhistory.about.com. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
{{cite web}}: External link in|website= - ^ a b Hunt, Michael (2017). The World Transformed 1945 to the Present. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 264. ISBN 9780199371020.
- ^ [1], DECOLONISATION OF AFRICA. (2017). HISTORY AND GENERAL STUDIES.
- ^ [2], The call of the Empire, the call of the war - Telegraph.
- ^ Ferguson, Ed, and A. Adu Boahen. (1990). African Perspectives On Colonialism. The International Journal Of African Historical Studies 23 (2): 334. doi:10.2307/219358.
- ^ [3], DECOLONISATION OF AFRICA. (2017). HISTORY AND GENERAL STUDIES.
- ^ "The Atlantic Conference & Charter, 1941". https://history.state.gov. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
The Atlantic Charter was a joint declaration released by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on August 14, 1941 following a meeting of the two heads of state in Newfoundland.
{{cite web}}: External link in|website= - ^ Karski, Jan (2014). The Great Powers and Poland: From Versailles to Yalta. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 330. ISBN 9781442226654. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
- ^ [4], DECOLONISATION OF AFRICA. (2017). HISTORY AND GENERAL STUDIES.
- ^ Assa, O. (2006). A History of Africa. Volume 2. Kampala East Africa Education Publisher ltd.
- ^ [5], A ‘Wind Of Change’ That Transformed The Continent | Africa Renewal Online. 2017. Un.Org.
- ^ [Boahen, A. (1990) Africa Under Colonial Domination, Volume 7]
- ^ [6], DECOLONISATION OF AFRICA. (2017). HISTORY AND GENERAL STUDIES.
- ^ [7], DECOLONISATION OF AFRICA. (2017). HISTORY AND GENERAL STUDIES.
- ^ Bertocchia, G. & Canova, F., (2002) Did colonization matter for growth? An empirical exploration into the historical causes of Africa's underdevelopment. European Economic Review, Volume 46, pp. 1851-1871
- ^ Vincent Ferraro, "Dependency Theory: An Introduction," in The Development Economics Reader, ed. Giorgio Secondi (London: Routledge, 2008), pp. 58-64
- ^ Bertocchia, G. & Canova, F., (2002) Did colonization matter for growth? An empirical exploration into the historical causes of Africa's underdevelopment. European Economic Review, Volume 46, pp. 1851-1871
- ^ [8] The Guardian, (2012) A developing world of debt.
- ^ Fole, A. G.,( 2003). The Historical Origin of African Debt Crisis. Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review, 19(1), pp. 59-89
- ^ Fole, A. G.,( 2003). The Historical Origin of African Debt Crisis. Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review, 19(1), pp. 59-89
- ^ Geda, A., (2002). Debt Issues in Africa: Thinking beyond the HIPC Initiative to Solving Structural Problems. UNU/WIDER development conference on Debt Relief, Helsinki, 17-18 August 2001, Volume 35.
- ^ Locke, Jason (2010). Death at birth: The political, economic and social impact of the decolonization and perpetual, neo-colonial control of Congo.
- ^ IMF Country Report No. 17/80 (2017). Article Iv Consultation - Press Release; Staff Report; And Statement By The Executive Director For Nigeria.
- ^ Talton, Benjamin (2011). The Challenge of Decolonization in Africa; African & African Diasporan Transformations in the 20th Century
- ^ Ezenwe, Uka (1993). The African debt crisis and the challenge of development.
- ^ Vandeginste, S, (2014). Governing ethnicity after genocide: ethnic amnesia in Rwanda versus ethnic power-sharing in Burundi. Journal of East African Studies, 8, 263-277
- ^ Gascoigne, Bamber (2001). HistoryWorld.
- ^ Explanatory notes are added in cases where decolonization was achieved jointly by multiple countries or where the current country is formed by the merger of previously decolonized countries.
- ^ Some territories changed hands multiple times, so in the list is mentioned the last colonial power. In addition, the mandatory or trustee powers are mentioned for territories that were League of Nations mandates and UN Trust Territories.
- ^ The dates of decolonization for territories annexed by or integrated into previously decolonized independent countries are given in separate notes.
- ^ The Union of South Africa was constituted through the South Africa Act entering into force on 31 May 1910. On 11 December 1931 it got increased self-governance powers through the Statute of Westminster which was followed by transformation into republic after the 1960 referendum. Afterwards, South Africa was under apartheid regime until elections resulting from the negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa on 27 April 1994 when Nelson Mandela became president.
- ^ Transcontinental country, partially located in Asia.
- ^ King, Joan Wucher (1989) [First published 1984]. Historical Dictionary of Egypt. Books of Lasting Value. American University in Cairo Press. pp. 259–260. ISBN 978-977-424-213-7.
- ^ On 28 February 1922 the British government issued the Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence. Through this declaration, the British government unilaterally ended its protectorate over Egypt and granted it nominal independence with the exception of four "reserved" areas: foreign relations, communications, the military and the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.[36] The Anglo–Egyptian treaty of 1936 reduced British involvement, but still was not welcomed by Egyptian nationalists, who wanted full independence from Britain, which was not achieved until the 1952 revolution. The last British troops left Egypt after the Suez Crisis of 1956.
- ^ Robert O. Collins, A History of Modern Sudan
- ^ Anglo-Egyptian Condominium Agreement of 1899, stated that Sudan should be jointly governed by Egypt and Britain, but with real power remaining in British hands.[38]
- ^ See Tunisian independence.
- ^ Cape Juby was ceded by Spain to Morocco on 2 April 1958. Ifni was returned from Spain to Morocco on 4 January 1969.
- ^ The British Togoland mandate and trust territory was integrated into Gold Coast colony on 13 December 1956.
- ^ After the French Cameroun mandate and trust territory gained independence it was joined by part of the British Cameroons mandate and trust territory on 1 October 1961. The other part of British Cameroons joined Nigeria.
- ^ Minor armed insurgency from Union of the Peoples of Cameroon.
- ^ Senegal and French Sudan gained independence on 20 June 1960 as the Mali Federation, which dissolved a few months later into present day Senegal and Mali.
- ^ The Trust Territory of Somalia (former Italian Somaliland) united with the State of Somaliland (former British Somaliland) on 1 July 1960 to form the Somali Republic (Somalia).
- ^ Part of the British Cameroons mandate and trust territory on 1 October 1961 joined Nigeria. The other part of British Cameroons joined the previously decolonized French Cameroun mandate and territory.
- ^ a b After both gained independence Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged on 26 April 1964.
- ^ The Sultanate of Zanzibar would later be overthrown within a month of sovereignty by the Zanzibar Revolution.
- ^ Due the Rhodesia's unwillingness to accommodate the British government's request for black majority rule, the United Kingdom (along with the rest of the international community) refused to recognize the white-minority led government. The former self-governing colony would not be recognized as an independent state until the aftermath of the Rhodesian Bush War, under the name Zimbabwe.
- ^ Although the fight for Cape Verdean independence were linked to the liberation movement occurring in Guinea-Bissau, the island country itself saw little fighting.
- ^ UN General Assembly Resolution 34/37 and UN General Assembly Resolution 35/19
- ^ The Spanish colonial rule de facto terminated over the Western Sahara (then Spanish Sahara), when the territory was passed on to and partitioned between Mauritania and Morocco (which annexed the entire territory in 1979). The decolonization of Western Sahara is still pending, while a declaration of independence has been proclaimed by the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, which controls only a small portion east of the Moroccan Wall. The UN still considers Spain the legal administrating country of the whole territory,[52] awaiting the outcome of the ongoing Manhasset negotiations and resulting election to be overseen by the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara. However, the de facto administrator is Morocco (see United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories).
References
- Ali A. Mazrui ed. "General History of Africa" vol. VIII, UNESCO, 1993
- Chafer, Tony. The end of empire in French West Africa: France's successful decolonization (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2002).
- Clayton, Anthony. The wars of French decolonization (Routledge, 2014).
- Cooper, Frederick. Decolonization and African society: The labor question in French and British Africa (Cambridge University Press, 1996).
- Michael Crowder. "The Story of Nigeria" Faber and Faber, London, 1978 (1962)
- Dávila, Jerry. "Hotel Tropico: Brazil and the challenge of African Decolonization, 1950–1980." Duke University Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0822348559
- Gordon, April A. and Donald L. Gordon, Lynne Riener. Understanding Contemporary Africa (London, 1996).
- Rothermund, Dietmar. The Routledge companion to decolonization (Routledge, 2006), comprehensive global coverage; 365pp*Kevin Shillington "History of Africa" St. Martin's Press, New York, 1995 (1989)
- Khapoya, Vincent B. The African Experience (1994)
- White, Nicholas. Decolonization: the British experience since 1945 (Routledge, 2014).
External links
- Africa: 50 years of independence Radio France Internationale in English
- "Winds of Change or Hot Air? Decolonization and the Salt Water Test" Legal Frontiers International Law Blog