MODERN AFRICAN HISTORY
HONORS NON-WESTERN STUDIES
MR. TUMINO
Prentice Hall World
History Textbook
Readings
Chapter 12, section 2
Chapter 16, section 2
Chapter 23, sections 1-4
RESISTANCE TO COLONIAL RULE
Opposition to imperialism grew among Africans. Resistance
took many forms.
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Those who had lost their lands to Europeans sometimes
squatted, or settled illegally, on European-owned plantations.
In cities, workers began to form forbidden labor unions.
Western-educated Africans criticized the injustice of imperial
rule.
Socialism found a growing audience.
In Kenya, the Kikuyu protested the loss of their land, forced
labor, heavy taxes, and required identification cards.
In Nigeria, Ibo women denounced British policies that
threatened their rights and their economic role.
In South Africa, a vital nationalist movement demanded rights
for black South Africans.
RISE OF NATIONALISM
During the 1920s, a movement known as Pan-Africanism
emphasized the unity of Africans and people of African descent
around the world.
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Marcus Garvey preached “Africa for Africans” and demanded an end
to colonial rule.
W.E.B. DuBois organized the first Pan-African Congress, which called
for a charter of rights for Africans.
French-speaking writers in West Africa and the Caribbean expressed
pride in their African roots through the négritude movement.
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Senegalese poet Léopold Senghor celebrated Africa’s rich cultural
heritage and later became Senegal’s first president.
1
THE COLONIAL LEGACY
Western imperialism had a complex and contradictory impact on
Africa. Some changes brought real gains. Others had a
destructive effect on African life that is felt down to the present.
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After liberation, the pattern of economic dependence
established during the colonial period continued.
During the colonial period, Europeans undermined Africa’s
traditional political system.
Colonial doctors addressed some diseases, such as yellow
fever, smallpox, and malaria. Colonial governments did not
emphasize general health care, however.
At independence, African nations inherited borders drawn by
colonial powers. These borders often caused immense
problems.
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A GROWING SPIRIT OF NATIONALISM
In 1945, the rising tide of nationalism was sweeping over
European colonial empires. Around the world, liberation
would follow this tide.
Impact of World War II
The Global Setting
Japanese victories in
Asia shattered the West’s
reputation as an
unbeatable force.
After the war, most
Europeans had had their fill
of fighting.
Africans who fought for
the Allies resented the
discrimination and
second-class status they
returned to at home.
In response to growing
demands for independence,
Britain and France
introduced political reforms
that would lead to
independence.
Nationalist Leaders
Most were western
educated.
Leaders organized
political parties, which
published newspapers,
held rallies, and
mobilized support for
independence.
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ROUTES TO FREEDOM
During the great liberation, each African nation had its own
leaders and its own story.
GHANA
KENYA
ALGERIA
Kwame Nkrumah tried to
win independence for the
British trading colony
Gold Coast. He organized
strikes and boycotts.
Before World War II, Jomo
Kenyatta became a
spokesman for the Kikuyu,
who had been displaced by
white settlers.
Muslim Algerian
nationalists used guerrilla
warfare to win
independence from
France.
Nkrumah was imprisoned.
In 1957, Gold Coast won
independence.
Radical leaders turned to
guerrilla warfare.
During eight years of
fighting, hundreds of
thousands of Algerians,
and thousands of French,
were killed.
Nkrumah named the new
country Ghana, after the
ancient West African
empire.
The British imprisoned
Kenyatta and killed or
imprisoned thousands of
Kikuyu.
In 1963, Kenya won its
independence.
In 1962, Algeria won
independence.
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THE COLD WAR AND AFRICA
African nations emerged into a world dominated by rival blocs
led by the United States and the Soviet Union.
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By supplying arms to rival governments, the superpowers
boosted the power of the military in many countries and
contributed to instability.
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Cold War rivalries affected local conflicts within Africa. The
Soviet Union and the United States supported rival groups in
the liberation struggles.
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Weapons supplied by the superpowers enabled rival clans,
militias, or guerrilla forces to spread violence across many
lands.
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BARRIERS TO UNITY AND STABILITY
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Once freedom was won, many Africans felt their first loyalty
to their own ethnic group, not to a national government.
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Civil wars, some of which were rooted in colonial history,
erupted in many new nations.
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Faced with divisions that threatened national unity, many
early leaders turned to a one-party system.
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When bad government led to unrest, the military often
seized power.
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ECONOMIC CHOICES
SOCIALISM OR CAPITALISM
Many new nations chose socialism.
Some nations set up mixed
economies, with both private and
state-run enterprises.
URBAN OR RURAL NEEDS
Many governments kept food prices
artificially low to satisfy poor city
people. As a result, farmers used
their land for export crops or
produced only for themselves.
Many governments neglected rural
development in favor of industrial
projects.
CASH CROPS OR FOOD
Governments pushed to grow more
cash crops for export.
As a result, countries that once fed
their people from their own land had to
import food.
THE DEBT CRISIS
Lenders required developing nations
to make tough economic reforms
before extending new loans.
In the short term, these reforms
increased unemployment and led to
higher prices the poor could not pay.
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CRITICAL ISSUES
POPULATION EXPLOSION
DROUGHT AND FAMINE
The rising population put a
staggering burden on
Africa’s developing
economies.
In the 1970s and 1980s, prolonged
drought contributed to famine in
parts of Africa.
DEFORESTATION
Once forests were cleared,
heavy rains washed nutrients
from the soil and destroyed
its fertility.
AIDS
The AIDS epidemic spread
rapidly across parts of Africa. In
1998,
it was estimated that more than
21 million people were infected
with the virus.
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POPULATION PYRAMIDS
Population Pyramids
Kenya
Males
Ages
Females
Ages
60-79
40-59
20-39
0-19
60-79
40-59
20-39
0-19
60
50
40
30 20
10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Percentage of male population Percentage of female population
Nigeria
Males
Ages
Females
Ages
60-79
40-59
20-39
0-19
60-79
40-59
20-39
0-19
60
50
40
30 20
10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Percentage of male population Percentage of female population
South Africa
Males
Ages
Females
Ages
60-79
40-59
20-39
0-19
60-79
40-59
20-39
0-19
60
50
40
30 20
10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Percentage of male population Percentage of female population
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DESERTIFICATION IN AFRICA
Desertification is
the spread of desert
areas.
Overgrazing and
farming remove
topsoil and speed up
the process of
desertification.
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OLD AND NEW PATTERNS
In Africa, as elsewhere, modernization disrupted old ways.
URBANIZATION
Urbanization contributed to the
development of a larger national
identity.
However, it weakened traditional
cultures and undermined ethnic
and kinship ties.
CHRISTIANITY
Christianity has grown since its
introduction to Africa centuries
ago.
Christian churches often combine
Christian and traditional African
beliefs.
WOMEN
As men moved to cities, rural women
took on the sole responsibility of
providing for their children.
Most constitutions promised women
generous rights. In reality, most
women’s lives continued to be ruled
by traditional laws.
ISLAMIC REVIVAL
Messages of reform based on
Islamic traditions and the call for
social justice were welcomed by
many Islamic Africans.
In some areas, it stimulated deeper
religious commitment.
PRESSURES FOR CHANGE IN
NIGERIA
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At independence, Nigeria drew up a constitution to protect various
regional interests.
The system did not work and ethnic rivalries increased. When Ibo
leaders declared the independent state of Biafra, civil war broke out. By
the time Biafra surrendered, almost a million people had died.
During the 1970s oil boom, Nigeria set up industries and borrowed
heavily from the West.
Between 1960 and 1985, rural people flooded to the cities. While the
cities grew, Nigeria ignored its farmers. Once a food exporter, Nigeria
began importing expensive grain.
When oil prices fell, the economy almost collapsed.
During Nigeria’s debt crisis in the 1980s, General Ibrahim Babangida
imposed harsh economic reforms to restore economic stability.
In 1993, elections were held, but Babangida and his military successors
set aside election results and cracked down on critics.
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DICTATORSHIP IN CONGO
After World War II, Belgium was determined to keep the
Congo and did nothing to prepare the colony for freedom.
In 1960, Belgium suddenly rushed the Congo to
independence.
With some 200 ethnic groups and no sense of unity, the new
nation quickly split apart.
Civil war raged for almost three years.
In 1965, Mobutu Sese Seko seized power and renamed the
country Zaire.
For the next 30 years, Mobutu built an increasingly brutal
dictatorship.
In the late 1990s, ethnic violence in neighboring countries
spilled into Zaire. Mobutu was at last overthrown.
Continuing power struggles within the country led to
continuing violence.
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TANZANIA’S EXPERIMENT IN SOCIALISM
Tanzania’s first president, Julius Nyerere, sought to improve rural
life, build a classless society, and create a self-reliant economy.
To carry out his programs, Nyerere embraced “African socialism.”
Nyerere claimed that this system was based on African village
traditions of cooperation and shared responsibility.
Under African socialism, rural farmers were encouraged to live in
large villages and farm the land collectively. Under this
arrangement, Nyerere believed farm output would increase.
Nyerere’s experiment did not work as planned. Many families had to
be forcibly moved to the village collectives, farm output did not rise,
and high oil prices, inflation, and a bloated bureaucracy plunged
Tanzania into debt.
Nyerere’s successor, Ali Hassan Mwinyi moved Tanzania toward a
market economy. These moves brought some improvement.
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WHAT CHALLENGES FACED ZIMBABWE?
In 1980, Southern Rhodesia became the nation of Zimbabwe. The new
nation faced severe challenges after years of war:
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International sanctions had damaged the economy.
Droughts had caused problems.
Recovery was slowed by a power struggle between nationalist
leaders, Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo.
When Mugabe prevailed and became president, he called for a
one-party system and tolerated little opposition.
In 2000, tensions over land ownership led to renewed violence.
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SOUTH AFRICA’S LONG STRUGGLE
APARTHEID
In 1910, South Africa
won self-rule from
Britain. Over the next
decades, the white
minority government
imposed apartheid, a
system of racial laws
which separated the
races and kept the black
majority in a subordinate
position.
BLACK RESISTANCE TOWARD REFORM
From the beginning, black
South Africans protested
apartheid. In 1912, the
African National Congress
(ANC) was set up to
oppose white domination.
Nelson Mandela mobilized
young South Africans to
take part in acts of civil
disobedience against
apartheid laws. As protests
continued, government
violence increased.
In the late 1980s,
President F. W. de Klerk
abandoned apartheid,
lifted the ban on the ANC,
and freed Mandela. In
1994, Mandela was
elected president in
South Africa’s first
multiracial elections.
Mandela welcomed
longtime political foes
into his government.
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OTHER NATIONS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA
NAMIBIA
Instead of preparing the territory
for independence, South Africa
backed the oppressive regime
run by the white minority.
By the 1960s, the Southwest
African People’s Organization
(SWAPO) turned to armed
struggle to win independence.
The struggle became part of the
Cold War, with the Soviet Union
and Cuba lending their support to
the independence movement.
When the Cold War ended,
Namibia was finally able to win
independence.
PORTUGUESE
COLONIES
Portugal was unwilling to
relinquish its colonies in Angola
and Mozambique.
In 1975,after fifteen years of
fighting, Angola and
Mozambique won independence.
After independence, bitter civil
wars raged, fueled by Cold War
rivalries.
The United States and South
Africa saw the struggles in
southern Africa as a threat
because some of the liberation
leaders were socialists.
The end of the Cold War helped
stop the conflict.
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OUTLOOK AND GAINS
Despite many setbacks, African nations have made progress.
EDUCATION
As governments set up more
schools, literacy rates rose.
Universities trained a new
generation of leaders.
A few countries promoted higher
education for women.
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
Africa has enormous potential for
growth.
With free-market reforms, countries
such as Ghana enjoyed economic
growth.
HEALTH CARE
Most African nations sought to
improve health care and created
family planning programs.
Governments recognized the profound
effect population growth had on
standards of living.
CULTURE
In literature, film, and the arts,
Africans made major contributions to
global culture.