Transcript Decolonization

What is Decolonization?
• 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.
Steps to African Independence
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”.
Steps to African Independence
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
Road towards independence
• 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
Effect of WWII
• 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)
Impact of the Cold War
• 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
Road towards Independence
• 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
End of an Empire?
“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?
Colonial Rule and Independence in
Africa
Phases of Decolonization in
Africa
Phases of Decolonization
• Phase One: roughly 19571973 (most of West and
East Africa)
• Phase Two: roughly 19741994 (mostly
Southern/Central Africa)
Phase One---The 1960s: Optimism and
Compromise
• 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
Phase Two of Decolonization
• 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
Independence
• 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
Ghana
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
Ghana & Nkrumah’s Vision
• 1st black African majority to gain independence
in 1957
Nkrumah’s Goals:
• Unify Africa politically and economically (PanAfricanism)
• Harness vast natural resources
• Reduce Western influence
• Positive economic influence
Kwame Nkrumah
What is his vision?
• Unify Africa politically and
economically (Pan-Africanism)
• Harness vast natural resources in Africa
• Lessen influence of West
• Positive economic influence
Nkrumah supported PanAfricanism (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
elected president-for-life
1966,
Nkrumah was overthrown &
& beganInan
ambitious
struggled
between military & civilian
seriesGhana
of road,
education,
rule until
elections were finally held in 2000
health
programs
Non-Violent Movements
Ghana
Results:
• 1957 – Independence granted – 1st subSaharan nation to gain independence
• Nkrumah becomes 1st 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
Settler Africa
Settler Colonies
• 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
Kenya
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
Mau Mau
• Ownership of land, possibility
of independence led to conflict
between white Kenyan
farmers, native Kikuyu people
• Leader of Kenya’s nationalist
movement, Jomo Kenyatta
argued for Kikuyu’s right to
land, its importance
• Farmers feared independence
would cause them to lose large
tracts of valuable cash crops in
Kenyan highlands
• Many Kikuyu farmers formed
violent movement, Mau Mau
• Kikuyu wanted these ancestral
homelands back
• 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.
Kenya
• What is the cartoon trying to say? What perspective
is it conveying?
Kenya
"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
Kenya
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
Algeria
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
Algeria
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
Settler Colonies
• 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
Belgian Congo
• Transition to independence for
Belgian, Portuguese colonies
more difficult than for British,
French
• 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
Angola
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
Angola
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
Congo
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
Congo
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”
Results of Decolonization
Varying Transitions of Freedom in
Africa
• 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.
External Challenges
• Western investments remain
– Impact?
• Economic dependence on former colonial
powers
• Cold War (USSR v. US) struggle to spread
influence
Internal Challenges
• 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
Link
video on Rwandan
genocide (3.00)
IntoDarfur,
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
massacring
LinkHutus
to video on
Darfur genocidebetween
(5.00)
500,000 & 800,000 Tutsi in 1994
Genocide in Africa
U.N. Peacekeeping Interventions, 1945-2009
Results of Decolonization
• 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
Results of Decolonization
• 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
Conclusions
• 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.
• Western economic dominance of the global
trade system continued unabated. WHY?