Pan-Africanism and Nationalism

The Birth of Independence Movements Africans began to desire independence from European colonial rule, why? Africans were viewed as second class citizens African lands were exploited for European profit African cultures were belittled

The Birth of Independence Movements World Wars I & II showed Africans: Europeans were inconsistent… If Japanese and German efforts to rule people were wrong, why was it ok for Europeans to rule Africans?

The Birth of Independence Movements World Wars I & II showed Africans: A wider world then they had ever been exposed to before. Many Africans fought for European countries in WW II

The Birth of Independence Movements World Wars I & II showed Africans: After the war, European countries were financially drained Africans thought…now is the time to break free!

Pan-African Movement Africans were dreaming of freedom This growing ideal lead to the growing nationalism of Africans. Nationalism – a feeling of pride in one’s homeland. In order to win independence from the colonial powers, African leaders encouraged the growth of nationalism.

Pan-African Movement Pan-Africanism: A movement that wanted Africa to become a homeland for all people of African descent.

Pan African Movement In the 1920’s, Africans formed a movement called Pan-Africanism, which stressed unity and cooperation among all Africans. Their slogan was “Africa for Africans” W.E.B. DuBois was an early leader of the Pan-African movement. He worked with African leaders such as Jomo Kenyatta & Kwame Nkrumah, to make plans for African countries to become independent.

Pan-Africanism began as a movement emphasizing the common bond shared by people of African descent. It worked for unity among African people. From 1900 to 1945, young Pan-Africanist leaders began to organize influential groups of black Africans. Some of the groups attending Pan-African conferences in Europe developed nationalist movements in their colonies and fought for independence.

Some of the most influential Pan-Africanists rose to become leaders of newly independent African countries. This is true for Kenya and Ghana. The Pan-African movement led to the development of a loose organization of African states known as the African Union.

South Africa Much of the colonial conflict in South Africa occurred between the British and the settlers of Dutch, German, and French origin who preceded the British. Eventually, the British Empire was able to consolidate power over this group and established the Union of South Africa in 1910. At this time, all power remained in the hands of white South Africans under British rule.

In 1912, the African National Congress was established. This group fought for the rights of black and “colored” people in South Africa. They fought from 1912 through the end of Apartheid until the election of Nelson Mandela in 1994.

The independence of South Africa from the British Empire was established by the white minority in 1961. Their decision to declare themselves a republic was driven by their desire to maintain the system of racial segregation called Apartheid.

The nationalist movement in South Africa did not achieve independence from a colonial power; rather, it defeated the Apartheid system and established equal rights for non-white South Africans.

Kenya Although there was a European presence in this part of Africa as early as 1498, Kenya did not become an official British colony until 1920. Black people in the colony were denied a role in politics until 1944, when a few black people were allowed to run and hold office.

In the 1950s, there was a violent, seven year uprising called the Mau Mau Rebellion. It resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of black Kenyans. Black participation in government increased steadily during this period. Kenya became an independent nation in 1963. Then, for many years, Kenya was seen as a model nation. But during the last decade or so, ethnic violence has risen and plagued election cycles.

Nigeria British influence in Nigeria began in 1885 and the territory officially became a British colony in 1914. A largely peaceful nationalist movement in Nigeria led the British to move Nigeria gradually toward independence between 1945 and 1960. Final independence was achieved in 1960.

Unfortunately, economic development by the British during the colonial period was unequally distributed among the several ethnic groups that were combined within the borders that were drawn to create Nigeria. This allowed some of the ethnic groups in the country to have greater wealth and power than other ethnic groups. These inequalities and ethnic tensions caused multiple coups and internal violence throughout the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s.

Independence and Its Challenges Different Paths to Independence Ghana won its independence from Britain peacefully. Algeria, a former French colony, had to fight for its freedom. Ghana Algeria

Independence and Its Challenges The Challenges of Independence Colonial rule caused problems for African countries after independence because African countries had little experience in governmental matters. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President, and MLK, Jr.

Independent Africa Costs (Negatives) Benefits (Positives) Inexperienced leaders New interest in African cultures Military, dictatorships African writers won awards Civil wars, debt, drought, overuse of land, diseases African art, music, and movies became popular.