Name: _______________________________________________________________ Block: __________
African Independence Webquest!
Directions: Go to the “BBC: The Story of Africa” website (see link below). Use the bar on the left side of
the website to read through the different pages. Answer the questions as you read through the different
pages.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/
AFRICA & EUROPE (1800-1914)
1. What did European powers do in the 1880s?
BETWEEN WORLD WARS (1914-1945)
1. What were Europeans focusing on between World War I and World War II? Why?
2. What were Africans focusing on?
3. What kind of contribution did Africans make to both World War I and World War II?
4. How did Africans feel after World War II?
5. When __________________ gained its independence in 1947, the movement toward
_________- ______________ became unstoppable.”
Click “The Pan-African Vision” on the right hand side.
1. What resolutions did the First Pan-African Congress make in 1919?
2. What resolutions did the Second Pan-African Congress make in 1921?
3. What resolutions did the Third Pan-African Congress make in 1923?
4. Based on these resolutions, what do you think the goal of Pan-African Movement was?
INDEPENDENCE
In the 1950s and 1960s most countries finally gained independence. Some gained selfdetermination through political pressure, others through violence.
Click “Towards Independence” on the right hand side.
1. Why did America want to end colonialism in Africa?
2. Why did the Soviet Union want to end colonialism in Africa?
3. Why do you think these two superpowers are interested in Africa? (Hint: think about the Cold
War.)
Click “Case Study: Algeria”
1. What European country colonized Algeria?
2. Conflict over independence resulted in _________________________________.
3. Did Algeria gain their independence?
Click “Case Study: Kenya”
1. What European country colonized Kenya?
2. The Mau Mau uprising and the Kikuyu Central Association were two forms of the Kenyan
independence movement. Who was leading both groups?
3. What is oath-taking?
4. How many Kenyans died because they refused to take an oath? How many died fighting the
British?
5. How many Europeans died?
6. Who became the first President of independent Kenya?
SOUTHERN AFRICA
South Africa has a unique story. It became independent in 1910, but the government
continued to be dominated by whites descended from Europeans. The government set up a system
called “Apartheid” to keep the white minority in power…
Click “Apartheid Origins”
1. What is Apartheid?
2. By the mid-19th century, ________________________________________________ before the
law was, in theory, a principle established by the British, regardless of ___________________ …
3. In 1913, what was the turning point in African-European relations in South Africa?
Click “Apartheid Law”
1. Describe the three important Apartheid laws.
1.
2.
3.
2. What was one “test” used to determine race in South Africa?
3. Why was the word “African” never used to describe race in South Africa?
4. Who were Afrikaners?
Click “Collapse of Apartheid”
1. Events in 1958, 1960, and 1961 are all evidence of the (circle one: escalating/declining) issue of
racial segregation in South Africa.
2. In 1964, the then lawyer and ANC (African National Congress) activist,
______________________________________ was imprisoned for life on a charge of treason.
3. In the 1980s, South Africa reached a crisis point. What were foreign countries doing to pressure
South Africa?
4. What happened in 1990?
Go to http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/independence.htm
Read about West Africa and answer the following questions:
1. What was European colonization like in West Africa?
2. ______________________________________________’s Convention People’s Party, however,
was able to follow a _______________________________________ path to independence and
the Gold Coast became independent __________________________ in 1957.
3. West Africa’s transition to independence was (circle one):
peaceful
violent
Google search: “Political Map of Africa”
Label—Ghana, Senegal, Algeria, South Africa, Kenya, Egypt