• Decolonization: the process of becoming free of colonial status and achieving statehood
• Between WWI and WWII, movements for independence begun in earnest in Africa and
Asia
• Dominance of colonial powers seemed at odds with Allied goals in WWII.
• Call for national self-determination – fight for independence.
• Empires reluctant to let colonies go.

Nationalism grew in the different African countries after WWII.
Most Europeans were reluctant to fight to hold onto overseas colonies.
African leaders began to use the cry of “Africa for Africans”.

African leaders organized political parties and staged strikes & boycotts.
Organization of African Unity -
Formed in 1963 to promote peace and independence
Pan-Africanism – calls for the unifying of all of Africa

In the 1950s & 1960s,
African colonies experienced decolonization
& gained independence
The first sub-Saharan
African colony to gain its independence was
Ghana in 1957

• Post-WWII - a focus on self-determination in Europe
• Colonialism seemed to contradict the spirit of the Allies fight against Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy
• Over 200,000
Africans had fought in Europe and Asia for the Allies’ freedom and democracy – most noticed the contradiction

• Surge of anti-colonial nationalism after 1945.
Leaders used lessons in mass politicization and mass mobilization of 1920’s and 1930’s.
• Three patterns:
 Violent Revolutions and
Civil War (China, Algeria,
Angola, Vietnam)
 Non-Violent, negotiated
independence (India, Ghana,
Turkey)
 Both violent and non-violent
methods (Kenya, Congo,
Egypt, South Africa)

•
Soviet pushed anti-colonial movement offered assistance
•
United States wanted access to African markets (why were they closed before?)
AND to prevent the spread of communism.
•
When West refused to help nationalists, they turned to the Soviet Union

• Most Europeans planned a “long transition” period to independence
• By mid-1950’s pace increased
• 1960 considered the year of Africa with so many nations gaining independence

“The wind of change is blowing through this continent, and whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact. We must all accept it, and our national policies must take account of it.”
-
British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in 1960 to the South
African Parliament
• What is the significance of this statement to the
British Empire?

• The first phase of decolonization was by no means without violence, but it included many examples of peaceful, smooth transfer of power
• Colonial powers maintain some control over the terms of decolonization
• Decolonization was grounded in the rhetoric of democracy and classical liberalism
• Newly independent states looked to Japan and
Germany as models of a post-occupation boom

• Violence was far more ubiquitous than in the first phase of decolonization
• Decolonization tended to be grounded in the rhetoric of liberation and social transformation
• Deeply enmeshed with the Cold War

• Three major routes:
– Peaceful / Negotiated independence
• Typically achieved in non-settler colonies, ex = Ghana
– Violent
• Typically occurred in settler colonies, ex = Kenya, Algeria
– Incomplete
• White settler minority population given political power in decolonization, ex = S. Africa

As a imperial power,
Britain conquered much of Africa including Gold Coast
After WWII, Britain allowed Africans in
Gold Coast to participate in local self governments
Starting in 1947,
Kwame Nkrumah used Gandhi’s nonviolent strategy of boycotts & strikes to pressure Britain to grant independence

Non-Violent Movements
Leader:
• Kwame Nkrumah
Goals:
• “Freedom Now” from British rule
• Pan-African Congress
Events/Methods:
• Influenced by Gandhi
• “Positive Action” movement
• Strikes and boycotts
• Civil disobedience

• 1 st black African majority to gain independence in 1957
Nkrumah’s Goals:
• Unify Africa politically and economically (Pan-
Africanism)
• Harness vast natural resources
• Reduce Western influence
• Positive economic influence

•
•
•
•

Nkrumah supported Pan-
Africanism (unity among
Africans) & hoped to create a
“United States of Africa”
After a decade of struggle, Britain granted Gold Coast independence in 1957
& the nation was renamed Ghana
Kwame Nkrumah was
In 1966, Nkrumah was overthrown &
Ghana struggled between military & civilian

Non-Violent Movements
Results:
• 1957 – Independence granted – 1 st sub-
Saharan nation to gain independence
• Nkrumah becomes 1 st Prime Minister
• Formation of Organization of African
Unity in 1963 (OAU)
Major Problems:
• Nkrumah makes himself “President for life” in 1964
• Economic downturn – general unrest
• Overthrown by Military coup – led to suspension of constitution and banning of political parties
• 1992 – new constitution, multi-party politics, elections – continued poverty

• Different obstacles met by settler vs. nonsettler colonies - what might they be? What is the difference?
• Settler colonies in Algeria (one million) and
Kenya (40,000) pushed governments to defeat nationalist uprisings

Not all African independence movements ended with democracy or without bloodshed
After gaining independence,
Nigeria erupted in an ethnic civil war
In Congo, a series of civil wars weakened the newly-formed nation
Ethnic divisions weakened Kenya’s government & led to violence & rule by dictators

Both Violent and Non-Violent Movements
Leader:
• Jomo Kenyatta
Goals:
• Independence from Britain
• Wanted to unite all Kenyans,
Kikuyu and non-Kikuyu
• Get back fertile highland farmland

Kenya
In the 1950s the Kenyan path to independence did not go as smoothly as it did in Ghana.
Conflict
• Ownership of land, possibility of independence led to conflict between white Kenyan farmers, native Kikuyu people
• Farmers feared independence would cause them to lose large tracts of valuable cash crops in
Kenyan highlands
• Kikuyu wanted these ancestral homelands back
Mau Mau
• Leader of Kenya’s nationalist movement, Jomo Kenyatta argued for Kikuyu’s right to land, its importance
• Many Kikuyu farmers formed violent movement, Mau Mau
• Group terrorized highlands, murdered anyone opposing them, including Africans who cooperated with white settlers

Both Violent and Non-Violent Movements
• Presence of settlers prevented smooth transition of power.
• Jomo Kenyatta used nonviolent protests
• Kenya (20,000 Europeans only) led to violent revolt.
• Mau-Mau Revolt, 1952, led by Kikuyus suppressed by
British.
• 1963 independence granted to black majority, led by
Kenyatta.

• What is the cartoon trying to say? What perspective is it conveying?

"We refused to do this work. We were fighting for our freedom. We were not slaves. ... There were two hundred guards. One hundred seventy stood around us with machine guns. Thirty guards were inside the trench with us. The white man in charge blew his whistle and the guards started beating us. They beat us from 8 am to 11.30. They were beating us like dogs. I was covered by other bodies - just my arms and legs were exposed. I was very lucky to survive. But the others were still being beaten. There was no escape for them.”

British Regain Control
British eventually regained control of colony
• British murdered, tortured members of Mau Mau movement
• Late 1950s, British convinced to accept decolonization
– 1963, Kenya became independent nation
– Jomo Kenyatta became first prime minister

Both Violent and Non-Violent Movements
Events/Methods:
• Clash between white settlers and Nationalists
• Harambee, “Pull Together” peaceful protest
• Mau Mau Rebels – Violent campaign
• British jailed many – Kenyatta for 7 years
Results:
• 1963 – Kenya gets Independence
• Kenyatta – First President
• Ethnic groups continued to work together
Major Problems:
• Difficulty of Ethnic diversity and Tribalism
• One party/Kikuyu domination
• Government corruption

Violent Movements
Leader:
• Ahmed Ben Bella
Goals:
• Independence from French Rule
• Arab Nationalism
Events/Methods:
• FLN (National Liberation Front)
• Used violence, guerilla warfare,
Terrorism, Torture
• 8 year civil war 1954-1962

Violent Movements
Results:
• 1962- Algeria won its
Independence
• As many as 300,000 died
Major Problems:
• Religious and ethnic conflict
• Rise of Islamic Salvation Front (FIS)
• Ethnic minority Berbers – ongoing autonomy campaign
• Social and infrastructure problems
(unreliable electric and water supply

• Both Kenya and Algeria uprisings would be eventually smashed
• Weariness and new anti-colonial sentiments lead to independence anyway
• Most French Algerians leave, most British
Kenyans stay

Portuguese and Belgian Colonies
Transition Difficult
• Transition to independence for
Belgian, Portuguese colonies more difficult than for British,
French
Belgian Congo
• After World War II, Belgian government agreed to prepare people of Belgian Congo for self-government
• Belgians, Portuguese held on to colonies longer than any other
European nations
• 1950s, African nationalists in
Congo demanded immediate self-government
• Violence forced decolonization • 1960, Belgians announced complete withdrawal; soon violence toward Belgian settlers, civil war erupted

Leaders Emerge in Portuguese Colonies
• Portugal continued to hold on to colonies
• Meanwhile, African leaders emerged in colonies of Angola,
Portuguese Guinea, Mozambique
• Leaders organized armies to fight for independence
Bloody Warfare in Portuguese Colonies
• Long years of bloody warfare marked last decades of Portuguese rule
• War, military coup in Portugal drained Portuguese economy; made it impossible to continue support of colonies
• 1974, Portugal withdrew completely from Africa

Violent Movements
Leader:
• The Popular Movement for the Liberation of
Angola (MPLA), proclaimed the country's first president, Dr Agostinho Neto,
Goals:
• Independence From Portugal
Events/Methods:
• 1961 – War of Independence began after
Portugal refused to give Angola self-rule
• UNITA disputed the MPLA's rule, and civil war broke out almost immediately. With the Soviet
Union and Cuba supporting the Marxist MPLA, and the United States and South Africa supporting the anti-Communist UNITA, the country became a cold war battleground.

Violent Movements
Results:
• Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost - and 4 million people displaced in the quarter century of fighting
• 1992 – Shift to multiparty Democracy
– Free elections
Major Problems:
• Constant civil wars and violence
• Poor infrastructure and technology
• Famine due to corruption and mismanagement of oil revenue

Both Violent and Non-Violent Movements
Leader:
• Patrice Lumumba and
Mobutu Sese Seko
Goals:
• Gain Independence from Belgium
• Create a National Party that represented and united the
Congo, the non-tribal Movement
National Congolais (MNC)
• Create a constitution and have free elections

Both Violent and Non-Violent Movements
Events/Methods:
• Anti-colonial strikes and riots led to Belgium granting
Congo Independence
• Patrice Lumumba became first legally elected Prime
Minister of the Republic of the Congo after he helped to win its independence.
• Ten weeks later, Lumumba's government was deposed in a coup during the Congo Crisis. He was subsequently imprisoned and murdered under controversial circumstances.
Results:
• 1965 – Mobutu Sese Seko takes over the nation and rules as Military dictator for 32 years
Major Problems:
• One party state
• Government corruption – “Kleptocracy”

•
For the most part, decolonization in the parts of African that had been British and French went smoothly.
•
Both Britain and France prepared their colonies for freedom by educating native elites, allowing greater native representation in transitional governments, and minimizing the possibility of interethnic conflict.
•
The worst transitions to independence were made by
Belgian and Portuguese colonies who had been exploitative and did not prepare colonies for independence.

• Western investments remain
– Impact?
• Economic dependence on former colonial powers
• Cold War (USSR v. US) struggle to spread influence

• Tribal allegiances
• Illiteracy / under developed education system
• No tradition of ongoing political leadership in modern times
• Religious differences
• Diverse geography and climate
• Established social hierarchies

Among the worst examples of violence in Africa is the genocide (mass killings) in Rwanda & Sudan
In Darfur, the Sudanese gov’t killed up to 400,000
Muslims in an attempt to destroy an anti-gov’t rebel movement
In Rwanda, ethnic conflict between rival clans led to the
Hutus massacring between
500,000 & 800,000 Tutsi in 1994

U.N. Peacekeeping Interventions, 1945-2009

• Nationalist parties & African elites gain power
– Use anti-colonial legacy to maintain power & cloud ineptitude & favoritism
• Economic dependence on West coupled with political corruption cripples attempts to diversify economy
– Stuck in cash crop ag & extraction of resources

• Initial political parties reflected ethnic, regional, or religious groups - few true national parties
• Power often gained by corrupt African
“strongmen” (dictators) who ignored the social needs of people
• Large loans to modernize economies squandered by those in power - leave little progress, lots of debt

•
Decolonization was sometimes a violent process- dependent in large part on how many settlers had come to the colony.
•
In many parts of world, decolonization was not revolutionary. Power passed from one class of elites to another. Little economic and social reform occurred.
•
Significant challenges faced independent nations.
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Western economic dominance of the global trade system continued unabated. WHY?