TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Independence in Africa

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Describe how Africa’s colonies gained independence. Explain how Africans built new nations. Analyze the recent history of five African nations. Objectives

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Terms and People savannas – grasslands with scattered trees Kwame Nkrumah – leader of the independence movement in the Gold Coast (which became Ghana) and later president of the nation Jomo Kenyatta – leader of the independence movement in Kenya and its president for 15 years coup d’état – the forcible overthrow of a government

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Terms and People (continued) Mobutu Sese Seko – dictator in the Congo who ruled brutally for 32 years before being ousted Islamists – people who want a government based on Islamic law and beliefs Katanga – mineral-rich province in the Congo Biafra – oil-rich region of Nigeria that declared itself independent and suffered hundreds of thousands of deaths as it was retaken by Nigeria

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. In the decades after World War II, Europe’s colonies in Africa became independent nations. Some achieved independence peacefully. In other countries, the fight was more violent. What challenges did new African nations face? In country after country, bands played new national anthems, and crowds cheered the good news. However, as Africans celebrated their freedom, they also faced many challenges.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Africa has great geographic diversity including deserts, savannas (grasslands), and tropical rain forests.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Fertile farmland Nigerian savanna and forests Moist East African highlands Coastal lands in the north and south Mineral wealth Gold, copper, and diamonds Petroleum (oil) and natural gas Cash crops Coffee Cacao (chocolate) Africa has many resources, which under imperialism had benefited the colonial powers.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Nationalists such as Kwame Nkrumah in the Gold Coast and Jomo Kenyatta in Kenya led the call for independence. In most places, such as Nigeria and Ghana, nonviolent political pressure was enough to gain independence. Violence erupted in some areas where many Europeans had settled, such as in Algeria and Kenya. By the 1950s, African nationalist movements had grown stronger.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Some nations enjoyed peace, democracy, and prosperity. Some fell into civil war, chaos, and dictatorships. Ethnic divisions have been a major challenge, because the European colonial powers had paid little attention to these loyalties when drawing boundaries.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Dictators outlawed opposing parties as threats to unity. They used their positions to enrich themselves and a privileged few. One-party dictatorships and military coups d’état have been problems. Bad government policies often led to violence, resulting in military takeovers or coups d’état.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Africans in most nations have demanded an end to strongman rule. Western nations have made aid contingent on democratic reform. Nations such as Tanzania and Nigeria have held elections, ousting long-ruling leaders. Military governments often promised to restore democracy, but they frequently remained in power—until another coup.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Some remained economically dependent on aid from former colonial powers. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union competed for alliances among African states, leading to support for corrupt dictators. African nations have faced difficulty eliminating foreign control.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. New African nations have many experiences in common, but the history of each is unique.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. The first new nation in Africa south of the Sahara was the Gold Coast, which became Ghana in Led by a socialist, Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana nationalized businesses and constructed a huge power dam. These steps led to massive debt. Government corruption and dictatorial rule led to several military coups, starting in 1966.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Military officer Jerry Rawlings took control. The economy, based on exports of gold and cacao, improved. Rawlings peacefully handed over power after losing an election in After a coup in 1981, the economy grew stronger and power was restored to the people of Ghana.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. In East Africa, Kenya gained independence after an armed rebellion. A group of Kikuyu militants, called Mau Mau by the British, began attacking white settlers in the 1950s. The British jailed Kikuyu spokesman Jomo Kenyatta, who had long called for nonviolent resistance. Violence continued on both sides.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Kenyatta became the first president of Kenya. However, he ruled as a dictator until the 1990s. Recent elections have been plagued by corruption. Jomo Kenyatta, with British Prince Philip in 1963, holds up the official document granting Kenya independence. In 1963, the British withdrew and Kenya achieved independence.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Algeria won independence after a violent revolt. Over a million French citizens lived in Algeria. France did not wish to leave or to give up oil and natural gas wells. From 1945 to 1962, Algerian guerrillas waged war against the French. Algeria became independent in The military took over Algeria and fought Islamist rebels. The conflict slowed in 1999, but the tensions still remain.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Economic rivalries plagued the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly the Belgian Congo. The Congo won independence in Civil war soon broke out when the copper-rich Katanga province tried to break away. Belgian mining companies supported Katanga, and Cold War superpowers backed rival leaders.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. His corrupt 30-year rule bankrupted the Congo. Mobutu was finally driven from power in 1997, but civil war continued. In 1965, Mobuto Sese Seko took over in a military coup. In 2006, Joseph Kabila became president in the nation’s first free elections in 41 years.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas. Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa, gained independence in Discovery of oil in 1963 gave hope for a better future, but prosperity has been elusive. The nation has faced military coups and ethnic rivalries. In 1966, Ibos in the South set up the republic of Biafra. The rebellion failed and half a million Biafrans died of violence or starvation. Conflict continued despite free elections in 1999.