AIM:AFRICAN INDEPENDENCE

Main Idea After World War II, almost all countries in Africa gained independence from ruling European powers. African Nations Gain Independence Reading Focus • What ideas and actions led to independence for British and French colonies? • Why did Portuguese and Belgian colonies have difficulty achieving independence? • What effect did apartheid have on the lives of black South Africans?

GHANA • British colony of the After 1945 European colonial powers began a process of decolonization—the withdrawal of colonial powers from their colonies and areas of influence. Great Britain and France led the way. GHANA • British colony of the Gold Coast, West Africa, first to achieve independence • African leaders established convention to demand greater participation in Government TWO MOVEMENTS • Goal: to cooperate with British, gain influence peacefully • Less cooperative movement also Brewing • 1947, Kwame Nkrumah became leader of Convention People’s Party (CCP) NATIONAL ELECTIONS • Nkrumah led strikes, demonstrations • British jailed him • Still transformed CCP into major political party • 1951, British pressured into allowing national elections

NEW NATION CCP swept Gold Coast national elections • Nkrumah continued to press for independence – 1957, Britain granted Gold Coast full independence – Nkrumah became first prime minister of new nation, Ghana

KENYA Conflict • 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 Mau Mau movement • Late 1950s, British convinced to accept decolonization 1963, Kenya became independent nation Jomo Kenyatta became first prime minister In the 1950s the Kenyan path to independence did not go as smoothly as it did in Ghana. • 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

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

Bloody Warfare 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 How did Africans in the Portuguese colonies achieve independence? Answer(s): African leaders organized armies to fight for independence; years of bloody warfare ended Portuguese rule. 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 Leaders Emerge in Portuguese Colonies

Aim: How does Africa Gain Independence? SOUTH AFRICA: (1910-1940) APARTHEID: whites(minority) strengthened their grips on S.A. imposing a system of racial segregation. GOALS: ensure white economic power

LAWS: Restricted better paying jobs in mines, etc to whites only Blacks had to carry passes at all times Evicted from the best land Forced to live in crowded reserves (HOMELANDS) Separate bathrooms, schools, etc.

LAWS: Restricted better paying jobs in mines, etc to whites only Blacks had to carry passes at all times Evicted from the best land Forced to live in crowded reserves (HOMELANDS) Separate bathrooms, schools, etc.

1912 AFRICANS STRIKE BACK Educated africans set up a political party known as: (ANC) AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS Protested laws through legal means Protested laws that restricted Black Freedoms Promoted Pan-Africanism – emphasized the unity of Africans and of people of African descent around the world.

Apartheid Segregates Society 1948, the National Party came to power in South Africa Afrikaner- Dutch South African, Nationalism Sharpeville Massacre- 1960, police killed 69 people, it was an organized boycott, strikes protest. Run by the ANC ANC Leader Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.

European Motives For Colonization European Nationalism Source for Raw Materials Missionary Activity Industrial Revolution European Motives For Colonization Markets for Finished Goods Military & Naval Bases Social Darwinism European Racism Places to Dump Unwanted/ Excess Popul. Humanitarian Reasons Soc. & Eco. Opportunities “White Man’s Burden”