JANUARY 20, 2017 Get out stuff for notes and highlighter Decolonization & Nationalism in Africa Rwanda Background Info

Complete on a separate sheet of paper Get out notes from yesterday Explain the reasons for Imperialism Explain the impact of Imperialism on the people of Africa

Road towards independence Post-WWII - a focus on self-determination in Europe Colonialism seemed to contradict what WWII fought for Colonial powers are weak and poor, can’t afford colonies Many Africans returned home to find they had only fought for the European’s

End of an Empire? “The wind of change is blowing through this continent, and whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact. We must all accept it, and our national policies must take account of it.” - British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in 1960 to the South African Parliament What is the significance of this statement to the British Empire?

Independence Three major routes: Peaceful / Negotiated independence Typically achieved in non-settler colonies ex = Ghana Violent Typically occurred in settler colonies ex = Kenya, Algeria Incomplete White settler minority population given political power in decolonization, ex = S. Africa

1994

Results of Decolonization

External Challenges Western investments remain Impact? Economic dependence on former colonial powers Cold War (USSR v. US) struggle to spread influence

Internal Challenges Tribal allegiances Illiteracy / under developed education system No tradition of ongoing political leadership in modern times Religious differences Diverse geography and climate Established social hierarchies

Results of Decolonization Nationalist parties & African elites gain power Use anti-colonial legacy to maintain power & cloud ineptitude & favoritism Economic dependence on West coupled with political corruption cripples attempts to diversify economy Stuck in cash crop ag & extraction of resources The same pattern being a dependence on a cash crop or western control of the extraction of a resource (gold, diamonds, etc.)

Results of Decolonization Initial political parties reflected ethnic, regional, or religious groups - few true national parties Power often gained by corrupt African “strongmen” (dictators) who ignored the social needs of people Large loans to modernize economies squandered by those in power - leave little progress, lots of debt The same pattern being a dependence on a cash crop or western control of the extraction of a resource (gold, diamonds, etc.)

Mobutu in Congo and his palaces