UNIT EIGHT

AFRICA MOVE TOWARDS

INDEPENDENCE

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 8.1. Resistance and Revolts
The Africans did not at all welcome the European rule.
In fact, the African reaction t o the imposition of
colonialism was not the same everywhere.
The struggle against colonialism in Africa can be
divided into three stages.
1. Early Resistance: was a military resistance began
early in the course of European colonial expansion
(1870s-1914).
It was organized by peoples and states that already
existed at the time of colonial conquest.
They were subdued by the colonizers before the
outbreak of WWI.
However, Ethiopia was the only African nation that
successfully resisted the European colonial conquest. 2
2. The Struggle for Independence from
Colonial Rule: was the inter-war period
struggle between 1918-1939.
It was ended with little success.
3. The National Liberation Movements:
were the last and decisive stage emerged
after the end of WWII since 1945.
They freed the continent from the yoke of
Colonialism.

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 8.1.1. The Early African Resistances
1. Samori Toure of the Mandinka
Samori Toure of West Africa was conducted
a stiff/strong resistance against the French
colonial conquest from 1891-94.
He built an empire that include the present-
day Senegal, SE Mali and Guinea by Jihad.
He had admirable military skills and
leadership qualities and earned the name
“the Napoleon of West Africa”.
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The Mandinka metal workers engaged in
manufacturing and repairing rifles and muskets for
Samori.
He fought back the French for several years.
Finally, he was captured by the French army in 1898.
Samori was exiled to the French colony of Gabon until
his death in 1900 at age Seventy.

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 2. The Ashanti Empire
the Ashanti/Asante kingdom, in what is now Ghana, was
the most powerful and largest West African state by the
19th C.
 The king of Ashanti was called the Ashantehene.

 The Ashanti derived its wealth from Gold, hence, the region
was known to the Europeans as the Gold Coast.

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In 1874, the British established the Gold Coast
colony at the coast and trying to take the
hinterlands but defended by the well-organized
army of the Ashanti.
In 1896, the British made the first military
campaign and occupied the Ashanti Empire.
The Ashanti bravely fought against the British
and paid immense sacrifices but unable to defend
Ghana from the British colonialism.
Gold Coast/present-day Ghana/ became under
the British rule by the 2nd military campaign in
1900.
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 3. The Urabi Pasha’s Rebellion
in Egypt
❖ This rebellion was organized and led by Colonel Urabi
Pasha against the British and French imperialism as
well as the puppet Egyptian rulers.
❖ it was caused by the cuts in the payment of the
Egyptian army due to the financial bankruptcy of the
Egyptian government.
❖ The Battle of Tel El-Kabir: marked the final defeat
of the army of Urabi Pasha by the British forces in
1881.
❖ In 1882, Britain took full control of Egypt. This
event became a cause for a bitter Anglo-French 8
 4. The Mahdist Movement in the Sudan
 The word “Mahdi” means the correct way of practicing Islam.
 The movement was founded by the Sudanese military leader
Mohammed Ahmed Ibn Abdallah (the Mahdi) as a religious
revivalist and nationalist movement against Egypt in 1881.
 As the colonial master of Egypt, Britain took over the Sudanese
problem.
 The Mahdists had defeated, killed and beheaded the British
General Gordon (colonial governor of the Sudan) in 1884.
 The Battle of Omdurman: marked the defeat of the heroic
resistance of Khalif Abdullahi (successor of Mahdi) by the
British General Kitchner in 1898.
 Sudan fell under the joint control of British and Egyptian
known as the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium rule.
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 5. The Maji Maji Rebellion
The German East African company bought the coast of
Zanzibar in 1885.
Bushiri Ibn Salim /an Arab sugar planter/ organized the
ethnic communities against the Germans in Zanzibar.
But he was killed and the resistance was crushed in 1889.
In February 1885, German declared a protectorate over
the Tanganyika mainland.

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In 1905, the Maji Maji rebellion /uprising was outbreak
due to the harsh colonial policies of Germany i.e. forced
cotton production for export and ruthless taxation.
The term “Maji” means water in Swahili language.
The revolt had a religious dimension.
They believed that the German bullets could be made
ineffective when the warriors sprinkle their bodies with
magic water.
In 1907, the Maji Maji revolt was brutally suppressed and
the Germans continued with their harsh colonial rule.

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 8.1.2. Anti-Colonial Struggle in Africa Between
the Two World Wars /1918-39/
It was the second phase of African peoples resistance
against colonial rule.
It had regional variations and different forms.
1. Welfare Organizations
2. political Parties
3. Armed struggles

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1. Welfare Organizations
❖ The welfare/self-help associations demanded the
restoration of the expropriated lands to the natives.
A. the Young Kikuyu Association in
Kenya
It was a native association organized by African workers in
urban areas and white farmlands against British
colonialism.
It was founded by Harry Thuku – a young telephone
workers.
Demanded the return of lands expropriated by the white
settlers.
But it was crushed by the British and Harry Thuku was
imprisoned in 1922. 13
B. The Bataka Association in Uganda
❖ Bataka was the title of the clan heads that ruled the
people of Buganda in the ancient times.
❖ Kabakas was the kings/rulers of Buganda.
❖ Lukiko was the colonial assembly in which the
Ugandan Chiefs/Kabakas were allowed to represent the
people.
❖ The Bataka Association was organized by the young
and educated Africans.
❖ They opposed the representation of the Kabakas in
the Lukiko and the government of protectorate of
Uganda(made up of Ankole, Buganda, Bunyoro and
Toro).
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 2. Political parties
❖ The emergent political parties were mobilized Africans
for national independence.

A. ANC/ African National Congress

⮚ It was established in 1912 in South Africa against the
white minority rule.
⮚ The ANC greatly influenced the workers from other
parts of Africa to organize struggle for both democratic
rights and independence from colonial rule.
B. National Congress of West Africa
⮚ It was founded in Gold Coast in 1918 by lawyer J.E Casely
Hayford and spread to Nigeria in 1922.
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✔ It demanded that Africans should participate in the
government to have a saying in the local affairs.

C. The Wafd
⮚ It was emerged in Egypt in 1919 by Saad Zaghlul Pasha.
⮚ The term “Wafd” means delegation.
⮚ Zaghlul Pasha presented the demand of Egyptian
independence from British in the Versailles Peace
Conference but he was deported by the British to Malta.
⮚ The Wafd granted partial independence to Egypt in
1922.

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D. The Neo Datsur Party
❖ It was founded in Tunisia in 1934 by Habib
Bourguiba and demanded the independence of
Tunisia from French colonial rule.
3. Armed Struggle
The Riff Communities: were founded by Abdel-Kerim in
Morocco against French and Spanish colonial rule.
He formed an independent Riff Republic in Morocco in
the 1920s but destroyed by the combined military forces
of France and Spain.
The anti- colonial struggle in Africa, between the
two world wars, also laid down the foundation for
the post- World War II independence movements.
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 8.2. Pan-Africanism
Pan-Africanism was the all African movement that seeks
to unify all blacks peoples of the world whose ancestors
originally came from Africa.
It was started in North America and the Caribbean
Islands with the aim of a “Back to Africa” movement.
It was first advocated by Marcus Garvey of Jamaica.
The First Phase of Pan-Africanism
The first phase of Pan-Africanism (1900-45) was Pan-
Black or Pan-Negro Movement that took shape
outside Africa.
The followings were the first Five Pan-African
Congresses.

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N Place of the year Chairman of the
o Congress Congress
1 London 1900 Henry Sylvester
William
2 Paris 1919 Du Bois
3 London & Brussels 1921 Du Bois
4 London & Lisbon 1923 Du Bois
5 New York 1927 Du Bois

❖ Du Bois was considered as The Father of Pan-

Africanism.

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❖ The Six Pan-African Congress was held in Manchester in
1945 which attended by Du Bois, Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana),
Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya), Nnamdi Azikiwe (Nigeria), Peter
Abraham (S. Africa), Haile Sellassie I (Ethiopia) and Wallace
Johnson (Sierra Leone).
❖ It was an historic congress because it was
Attended by workers, trade unionists, farmers, cooperative
societies etc
Demanded the independence of Africa and to end
colonialism.
Advised to use “Positive Actions” such as strikes and
boycotts.

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 The Second Phase of Pan-Africanism (after
1945)
 the Pan-Black movement was grew in Pan- African
movement.
❖It was became popular all over Africa by the
propagation of the foremost Pan-Africanists such as
Edward Wilmot Blyden (1832-1912) and Burghardt
Du Bois (1869-1963).
❖The independent African states held the first
conference at Accra in April and December 1958.
❖It was attended by Egypt, Ethiopia, Liberia, Ghana,
Guinea, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia.
❖They called for the independence of Africa from
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colonialism.
 Division of the Pan-African Members
1. the Brazzaville Group: composed of the ex-French
colonies formed in 1944.
❖ They advocated neo-colonialism (economic
dependence on former colonial powers).
2. The Casablanca Group: made up of Egypt, Ghana,
Morocco, Tunisia and Guinea.
They proposed the union of all African countries known
as “ The United States of Africa”.
3. The Monrovia Group: composed of Ethiopia, Liberia,
Ivory Coast, Togo, Sudan, Nigeria and Senegal.
They agreed to solve their own internal problems before
the formation of an inter-state political union.
The Brazzaville group later joined this group. 22
 8.3. The Formation of OAU
 The Organization of African Unity/OAU was formed on 25
May 1963 with its headquarter in Addis Ababa.
 Its charter was signed by 32 independent African states.
Aims
⮚ Promoting unity and solidarity among African states
⮚ Eliminating colonialism in Africa.
⮚ Approving the existing boundaries and neutrality in
the Cold War.
⮚ Settling disputes between member states through peaceful
and diplomatic negotiations.

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Principal Organs of OAU
1. The General Assembly: is the Supreme Organ which
made up of heads of States and Governments. It meets
once a year.
2. The Council of Ministers: made up of Foreign Ministers
and meets twice a year or when required.
3. The General Secretariat: has an administrative Secretary
General and run the day-to-day activities
4. The Commission of Mediation, Conciliation and
Arbitration
5. Other Specialized Commissions

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 8.3.1. Problems of Independent African States
❖ Frequent border conflicts
❖ Frequent military coup d'état- b/n 1958 and 1969, 20
coups were took place out of 38 African countries
❖ Prevalence of a single party regimes
❖ Economic dependence on the former colonial powers and
extreme poverty.
❖ Extremely limited social services- health, education,
infrastructures etc.
❖ Spread of HIV/AIDS mainly in the Sub-Saharan African
countries.

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 8.3.2. Problems and success of OAU
Problems of the OAU
 Lack of economic, political and military power.
 Influenced by the former colonial powers.
Successes of OAU
⮚ Liberate the continent from colonialism
⮚ Solve the conflicts b/n Ethiopia and Somalia,
Morocco and Nigeria, Rwanda and the Great
Lakes.
⮚ Set up regional organizations to bring
economic cooperation among the member 26
 The African Union/AU
 The OAU was transformed in to the African Union in 2002.
Aim
❖ To speed up the African political and economic
integration
✔ The AU has 4 solid bases such as the establishment of
1. An all African parliament
2. Pan-African Court of Justice
3. African Development Fund
4. African Investment Fund

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 8. 4 Decolonization and Liberation struggles
 It was the 3rd phase of African anti-colonial struggle
after 1945.
 The year 1945 was a turning point in the course of
struggle for independence in Africa due to the
following reasons.
1. The exhaustion of the supremacy of the former
European colonial powers by WWII.
2. The Europeans were unable to suppress the liberation
movements in Africa.
3. Expensiveness and difficulty to maintain colonial
powers due to the cold war situation.
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The struggle against colonial rule was different in many
African countries in length of time in winning
independence and strength of liberation organizations
and the quality of leadership.
A brief and general survey of the liberation struggle in
the Italian, French, British, Belgian, Spanish and
Portuguese colonies.

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 Italian Colonies: North and East Africa
 The Facicst and Nazi forces explled by the Allied forces in 1942.
 Marked the beginning of struggle for liberation and demanded
for independent in Eritrea, Libya and Italian Somaliland.
French Colonies
 began in the 1950s
 Some French colonies won their independence after prolonged
military fighting- eg. Algeria
 Others secured their independence peacefully, in a bloodless
movement- eg. Guinea by the 1958 Referendum. And others
(14)in the 1960- Year of African independence
 French military defeat in Indo- China in 1954 gave an impetus f
or the peoples of North Africa to wage a liberation war to bring
an end to French colonial rule.

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 British Colonies
 In some cases Britain showed some degree of willingness to grant her
colonies their independence.
 The struggle for independence in white - settled colonies was relatively bitter
and took more years- eg. Kenya and Zimbabwe.
The Portuguese Colonial Empire
 The Portuguese were determined to continue their colonial rule in
their African colonies-Mozambique, Angola, Guinea- Bissau and Cape
Verde.
 After World War II the people of these
 colonies fought bitter and long guerrilla wars against Portuguese
colonial rule.
 Fighting against the African national liberation forces proved to be
too costly for Portugal to win.
 Following the overthrown of the Caetano government Portugal
decided t o end colonial rule in Africa.

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 Spanish and South African Controlled Territories
 South- West Africa (Nambia)- former German colony and
Mandated territory of first League of Nations latter UN
Trusteeship council (UN), was controlled by S. Africa until 1990.
 Spanish Guinea later Equatorial Guinea in 1968.
Belgian Colonies - Central Africa
 One of the national independence parties emerged in Belgian
Congo was the Congolese National Movement under Patrice
Lumumba.
 Lumumba had developed anti-imperialist and Pan- African
attitudes won the independence of the Congo in 1960.
 However, the end of Belgian colonial rule in the Congo was
followed by a civil war.

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 The Congo Civil war (1960-63)
 It was caused by the separation of the mineral rich
provinces of Katanga (led by Moise Teshombe) and
Kasai (led by Kalong).
 The UN troops including Ethiopia was involved in the
Congo crisis.
 The UN Secretary General, Dag Hammarskjold was
died in plane crash in Congo in 1961.
 In 1963, the Katangese forces were defeated and Congo
was re-united.
 Moise Teshombe was appointed as Prime Minister by
Kasavubu in July 1964.
 General Joseph (Sese Seko) Mobutu took power in 1965.
 He became the president of Zaire-Kinshasa in 1970. 33
 Apartheid in South Africa
Apartheid: was the policy of separation/ segregation
of races or the domination of minority whites over
the black majority.
It denied all political rights to the blacks and gave
87% of land in South Africa to the whites.
The ANP: was the Afrikaner National Party formed in
1948.
It was made up of extreme racist groups and passed a
number of laws to suppressed the black Africans.
 It promoted a policy of discrimination which came to be
known as Apartheid.

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The ANC: was the African National Congress formed in
1912.
❖ It was led by Albert Luthuli, Oliver Tambo, Nelson
Mandela and Walter Sisulu.
❖ The ANC struggle for the rights of black population in
South Africa and called for “One Man, One Vote”.
The Sharpeville Massacre
 It was an event in which the policies of the racist South
African government fired on a peaceful and unarmed
demonstrators at Sharpeville on 21 March 1960.
 Nelson Mandela: was arrested by the racist government
at the Robben Island for 27 years until 1990.
 He won the South Africa’s first multi-racial elections in
April 1994. 35
He reconcile the blacks and the whites in
peace, introduce “one man one vote”, left
the presidency for the next democratically
elected president and left a rich legacy of
democratic government in South Africa.
Effects of Colonialism in Africa
Economy and culture of the Africans were
destroyed,
Africans lost their freedom,
The Africans were exploited and oppressed,
The Africans were disunited and were forced
to accept foreign culture, language, etc.
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