AFRICAN

NATIONALISM
Unit 4: Growth of African Nationalism &
Decolonization
African Nationalism

■ “African nationalism is a subjective feeling of kinship or affinity shared by people of

African descent. It is a feeling based on shared cultural norms, traditional
institutions, racial heritage, and a common historical experience. One enduring
historical experience shared by nearly all Africans was colonial oppression… Along
with this sense of shared identity is a collective desire to maintain one’s own
cultural, social, and political values independent of outside control.” (Vincent B.
Khopoya: “The African Experience”, 2013)

■ So, what were the catalytic factors that fueled the growth of African nationalism
during the 20th century?
African Nationalism: Catalytic factors

1. Colonial oppression
– Nearly all African territories were colonised by European powers at some stage
in history. Hence, nearly all Africans experienced some form of colonial
subjugation.
– Since the beginning of colonial occupation of Africa, African resistance existed.
– African resistance to colonial occupation initially took the form of armed revolt.
Over time, Africans adopted more moderate and conventional strategies, i.e.
forming associations.
– As colonial subjugation continues through the 19th and early 20th centuries,
Africans increasingly thought of self-rule as the answer to their problems.
African Nationalism: Catalytic factors

2. Missionary churches
– Christian churches impacted the growth of nationalism in Africa largely because of the
education they provided.
– Missionary education whet the Africans’ appetite for more and better education, and also
created greater political consciousness with Africans.
– Colonial authorities were more likely to deal with educated people.
■ E.g. in 1929 Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya was chosen by his people to present their grievances under
colonial rule to British authorities.
– Missionary education provided Africans with the skills with which to articulate their
grievances and/or demands.
– Missionary education was also a medium through which Africans could acculturate Western
values (Christian and political values) which was then used in political debate.
– Ironically then, colonial education gave Africans the tools with which they could free
themselves from colonial rule.
African Nationalism: Catalytic factors

2. Missionary churches
– Christian churches also preached one thing and practiced another:
■ What was preached: that all people are equal in God’s eyes; right to treated with dignity
and kindness; etc.
■ What was practiced: Africans were not regarded as equals to Europeans; Africans were
not treated with dignity and kindness; etc.
■ This discrepancy between what was taught and what was practiced further aggravated
Africans.
■ Certain people resented this disparity in the doctrine and practice of missionary
churches, so they created their own churches that did not look down on African lives,
values, languages, customs, culture, etc.
■ Within these separatist churches, Africans found religious self-expression, which added
to the growth of political consciousness and eventually also African nationalism.
African Nationalism: Catalytic factors

3. World Wars 1 and 2

– African soldiers fought in WW1 and WW2 on the side of their colonial masters.
– They learned modern military skills and leadership
– Upon return to their homeland, war veterans felt that they have deserved the right to be
treated with respect. However, they were not treated with respect by colonial authorities. This
lack of gratitude shown by their colonial masters further angered them at their situation.
■ E.g. British war veterans were rewarded with pensions, and offers of free land in the colonies.
African war veterans were given a handshake, a train ticket, and they could keep their uniform.
– African soldiers were exposed to new ideas:
■ “We all overseas soldiers are coming home with new ideas. We have been told what we fight for.
That is ‘freedom’. We want freedom, nothing but freedom.”
– The myth of the white man’s superiority was broken down by the wars.
■ “The Africans noticed that, in war, the white man bled, cried, was scared, and when shot, died just
like anyone else… It dawned on the African that beneath the skin, there was no difference between
him and the European.”
African Nationalism: Catalytic factors

3. World Wars 1 and 2

– World Wars 1 and 2 had a direct impact on societies in African colonies:
■ High unemployment
■ Accelerated urbanization
■ Inadequate schools and health facilities
■ Forced labour
■ Higher taxes
– Why? European powers had to shift all their attention and resources to the war
effort, thus inadvertently adding to the pressure in colonies.
African Nationalism: Catalytic factors

4. Pan-Africanism
– Pan-African movement in the New World (USA, West Indies) added to growth of
African nationalism.
– An ideology that notes that all people of African descent share a common
heritage, and that they must thus work together for the interest of Africans the
world over.
– In short, the growth of the Pan-Africanist movement in the first half of the 20th
century (1900 – 1940s/50s) helped to centralize the African plight under
colonialism, as well as unifying Africans in their quest for political
independence.
– Pan-Africanism was a great source of inspiration for colonial elites, who
eventually took the lead by means of the creation of African elite groups or
organizations.
– Under the influence of these elite individuals and/or organizations, African
nationalist ideas grew and inspired the masses.
Decolonization
Decolonization

■ Before the 1880s, most of Africa was ruled by Africans themselves.

■ The Berlin Conference of 1884-85 started the so-called “Scramble for Africa”. This
resulted in the colonization of African territories on an industrial scale.
■ By the early 1900s, nearly the whole continent was under colonial rule.
■ It is only from 1945 onwards that decolonization picked up momentum in Africa.
– Thus, we have to ask: what were the factors/reasons behind the decolonization
of Africa in the mid-20th century?
Decolonization: Factors
1. Influence of World War 2:
■ WW2 had a significant impact on Africa, as it was partly fought in North Africa itself, as well as the
fact that African colonial soldiers fought in active battle.
■ African soldiers returned home after the war unwilling to accept the conditions of colonial rule.
■ Psychological effect of WW2: Africans saw that white European soldiers were just as human as
them as they also cried, got scared, bled, died, etc. This meant that the idea of whites as superior
beings – an idea promoted by colonialism – started to break down in the minds of Africans.
■ Many ex-soldiers played leading roles in the independence struggles.
■ The war led Africa into high consumer prices and this gave the Nationalist leaders an opportunity
to use these circumstances to organize protests against colonial rule.
■ Economic and social impact of WW2 on African colonies:
– Higher taxes, higher unemployment, forced labour output, sub-standard schools and
hospitals, urbanization
■ The war helped to destroy the colonial (European) image because the ex-soldiers became
supporters of the national movements.
■ Atlantic Charter of August 1941 (Roosevelt and Churchill) promised the right of all people to self-
government.
Decolonization: Factors

2. Western education:
■ Education had spread Western understanding of freedom and
democracy to Africans.
■ Western education produced a new generation of people who
were critical of the colonial rule.
■ Leaders like Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana (pictured right), Jomo
Kenyatta of Kenya and Leopold Senghor of Senegal were
educated overseas and returned to Africa as an ‘elite’ group
eager to bring about political change.
■ Western education created an African working class of
professionals, like doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc.
■ The growth of this African professional working class resulted
in the rejection of colonial ideas.
Decolonization: Factors

3. Influence of the Cold War:

■ The appearance of the USA and USSR (Soviet Union) as powerful countries after the
WW2 boosted the African nationalist movements.
■ In an attempt to gain the support of emerging African nations in the Cold War, both
criticized colonialism and gave assistance to the African states to speed up the
decolonization process.
■ Why did the USA and USSR want African countries to be free of colonial rule?
– To get their hands on Africa’s mineral riches? E.g. cobalt, which is used in the
production of nuclear weapons, in the Congo.
– To further the global trend toward democracy and self-government, as embodied by
the United Nations?
– To assist their allies in Africa? E.g. the American support for South African troops in
the Border War.
Decolonization: Factors
■ Examples of how the Cold War impacted African
decolonization:
– USSR and Cuba actively assisted South West
Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) during
the Border War (on the border of Namibia and
Angola), while the USA gave diplomatic
support to South Africa.
– USSR assisted the ANC and Umkhonto we
Sizwe (MK) in their fight against apartheid in
South Africa.
■ In the picture on the right, note the Soviet-made AK-
47 that this MK-soldier is holding.
Decolonization: Factors
4. Formation of the United Nations (UN):
■ UN established in 1945 to maintain international peace and security, develop
friendly relations between nations, achieve international co-operation, and to be a
centre for harmonizing the actions of nations.
■ UN became an important venue for the discussions of the decolonization process
around the world.
■ African leaders used the UN to motivate world opinion against colonialism, and later
also to speak out against the apartheid-system in South Africa.
■ The public diplomacy of the UN opened up spaces to question colonial powers.
■ Through the UN, countries could exchange political ideas easier, while UN machinery
was also used to publish anti-colonial material.
Decolonization: Factors
5. Nationalism elsewhere in the world:
■ The success of nationalist movements in Asia also provided inspiration to African
nationalists.
■ The Bandung Conference (Indonesia 1955) criticized colonialism.
■ “Spillover effect” of nationalism elsewhere in the world into Africa.
– Vietnam (1945)
– South Korea (independence from Empire of Japan, 1945)
– India/Pakistan (1947)
– Myanmar (1948)
– Indonesia (1949)
– Cambodia (1953)
– Laos (1954)
– See the map on the next slide.
Decolonization: Factors
6. Colonial attempts to find solutions short of decolonization:
■ Britain tried to prepare its colonies for independence by giving
limited responsibility to educated elites. This never succeeded in
countries like Ghana where independence was demanded
speedily.
■ France wanted to follow a policy of assimilation in her colonies.
This meant that, although colonies were granted independence,
they were still seen and regarded as part of France.
■ Portugal, meanwhile, wanted to retain control of colonies and
even promote white settlement. This caused the outbreak of
wars, such as the one in Mozambique.
■ Thus, the attempts of colonial powers to find a solution just short
of full decolonization also served as a motivating factor for
African colonies to push even harder for exactly that, namely full
decolonization and independence.
Suggested reading

■ Reading 1 – African Nationalism and Pan-Africanism, pp. 423-427.

■ Reading 2 – African Nationalism and the Struggle for Freedom, pp. 150-172.
■ Reading 14 – Decolonization of Africa
■ Reading 15 – Decolonization, Independence, and the Failure of Politics, pp. 156-
166.
■ Reading 16 – The Decolonization of Africa
■ Reading 17 – National Movements in Colonial Africa, pp. 3-11.