Decolonisation of Africa Facts & Worksheets

Internal Factors:

• Economic Exploitation: Colonial economies were mainly designed to extract resources for European shareholders. As more of their natural resources were exploited, Africans began to voice their discontent.
• Impact of African Leaders: The emergence of influential African leaders, who rallied their communities around the cause of independence, contributed to the independence movement. 
• Emergence of Educated Elites: The colonial education system unintentionally created a small group of educated African elites that were knowledgeable with Western ideas of governance. These leaders used their acquired knowledge to establish political movements and advocate for independence in Africa.
• Industrial and Urban Growth: As urban areas expanded, so did literacy rates and the establishment of trade unions and pro-independence newspapers in Africa.

Key Movements and Leaders

The decolonisation of Africa was driven by powerful nationalist movements and influential leaders who led the fight for independence and self-rule:

• The African National Congress (ANC) was founded in 1912 and became a strong voice against racial discrimination and apartheid. Originally focused on petitions and negotiations, the organisation later took on more direct resistance under leaders like Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo.
• The Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya, from 1952 to 1960, was a rebellion against British rule. The result of colonial exploitation led Kikuyu farmers to fight and reclaim their land. Although the uprising eventually failed, it increased international support, leading to the independence of Kenya in 1963.
• The Pan-Africanism Movement called for solidarity among African people and the end of colonialism worldwide. Leaders like W.E.B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey inspired African nationalists. This led to the formation of the Organization of African Unity in 1963 to promote cooperation among independent African nations.
• The National Liberation Front (NLF) of Algeria led a long war against the French colonial forces from 1954 to 1963. Their victory motivated other African countries to fight for their independence.
• Kwame Nkrumah led Ghana to become the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain independence in 1957. His vision of a united and independent Africa inspired other leaders and nationalist movements.
• Julius Nyerere of Tanzania led Tanganyika to independence in 1961, then unified with Zanzibar to form Tanzania. Known for his idea of ‘Ujamaa’ or familyhood, he emphasised equality and cooperative development, which influenced socialist ideals across Africa.
• Patrice Lumumba of the Congo was a strong anti-colonial leader and the first prime minister after Congo’s independence from Belgium in 1960. Though he was assassinated in 1961, he remains a symbol of African resistance against foreign control.

Process of Decolonisation

• In 1941, the Atlantic Charter was signed by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Charter contained a clause stating that all people should have the right to choose their government. This inspired African nationalist movements.
• After World War II, war-torn European nations struggled financially and found it increasingly difficult to fund their colonial empires. With millions of debts to repay, many European powers lacked the resources to continue suppressing the independence movements in Africa. African leaders used this opportunity to negotiate for independence.
• During the Cold War, the United States adopted a cautious approach to the decolonisation of Africa to maintain its alliances with European colonial powers. To balance this out with its anti-colonial stance, the US sought to promote African leaders and movements aligned with Western values, particularly those opposed to communism.
• Both the US and the Soviet Union promoted the cause of decolonisation. However, they had different visions for the future of these newly independent nations. This geopolitical rivalry spurred African independence movements, with both sides supporting African leaders who shared their ideologies.
• Domestic pressures also influenced American policy towards Africa, particularly through the activism of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and anti-apartheid groups. In the US, civil groups pushed for disinvestment from African nations with minority-rule systems, such as apartheid in South Africa. These efforts eventually led to the passing of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, which marked US opposition to racial oppression.
• In 1948, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights reinforced global ideals of self-determination, asserting that all people are born free and equal. From this, the UN issued the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in 1960. The declaration called colonialism a denial of human rights and emphasised the right of all people to self-rule. It placed additional international pressure on colonial powers that were, at the time, facing opposition for maintaining control over African territories.
• All these factors combined to speed up the decolonisation of Africa. By 1980, about 50 African nations gained their independence.

Challenges Post-Independence

• After gaining independence, many African nations faced significant challenges that affected their development and stability.
• Political instability were major issues in the post-independence period. The transition from colonial rule to self-governance often led to power struggles among different political groups and ethnic communities. Leaders who had united people against colonialism sometimes found themselves in conflict with rivals. This led to coups, civil wars and unrest.
• Economic challenges and dependency were also concerns. Many newly independent states inherited economies that were reliant on foreign investments, making them vulnerable to global market changes. Colonial powers had focused on extracting resources rather than developing sustainable economies. This left the newly independent nations with weak infrastructure and limited industrial capacity.
• Consequently, many African countries struggled to diversify their economies, resulting in high unemployment rates, poverty, and a dependence on foreign aid. This economic reliance hindered their ability to achieve true economic independence.
• Nation-building and identity crises have also complicated matters during the post-independence period. As countries emerged from colonial rule, they faced questions about national identity and unity. Although leaders tried to promote nationalism to encourage unity, competing identities resulted in civil conflicts.