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Explore the struggles and triumphs of African nations post-WWII as they faced diverse hurdles in their quest for independence, from violence to economic dependency. Learn how ethnic divisions, dictatorships, and foreign influences shaped the continent’s path to freedom.
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What challenges did new African nations face? 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. 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.
Africa has great geographic diversity including deserts, savannas (grasslands), and tropical rain forests.
Africa has many resources, which under imperialism had benefited the colonial powers.
By the 1950s, African nationalist movements had grown stronger. • 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.
Some fell into civil war, chaos, and dictatorships. Some nations enjoyed peace, democracy, and prosperity. Ethnic divisions have been a major challenge, because the European colonial powers had paid little attention to these loyalties when drawing boundaries.
One-party dictatorships and military coups d’état have been problems. • Dictators outlawed opposing parties as threats to unity. • They used their positions to enrich themselves and a privileged few. Bad government policies often led to violence, resulting in military takeovers or coups d’état.
Military governments often promised to restore democracy, but they frequently remained in power—until another coup. • 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.
African nations have faced difficulty eliminating foreign control. • 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.
New African nations have many experiences in common, but the history of each is unique.
The first new nation in Africa south of the Sahara was the Gold Coast, which became Ghana in 1957. • 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.
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 2002. After a coup in 1981, the economy grew stronger and power was restored to the people of Ghana.
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.
In 1963, the British withdrew and Kenya achieved independence. • 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.
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 1962. The military took over Algeria and fought Islamist rebels. The conflict slowed in 1999, but the tensions still remain.
Economic rivalries plagued the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly the Belgian Congo. • The Congo won independence in 1960. • 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.
In 1965, Mobuto Sese Seko took over in a military coup. • His corrupt 30-year rule bankrupted the Congo. • Mobutu was finally driven from power in 1997, but civil war continued. In 2006, Joseph Kabila became president in the nation’s first free elections in 41 years.
Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa, gained independence in 1960. • 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.
