Decolonization+in+Africa

= **Decolonization in Africa (1107-1113 )** = Came slowly because of imperial resistance, the cold war, & internal conflicts

France In Africa
The French resisted decolonization, while France fought throughout Africa, but they focused there forces in Algeria, and allowed all there other colonies to gain independence progressively. In 1960 thir

teen colonies won there independence, that year comes to be known as "The year of Africa." Colonies in Morocco and Tunisia were granted independence.

Algeria
After World War 2 there was a nationalist movement in Algeria with protests that turned into violence, revolts started in 1945 and the Algerian war started in 1954-1962. Algerians won at a cost, many civilians and soldiers killed, the Algerians used guerrilla warfare under the National Liberation Front or (FLN). Frantz Fanon, an Algerian Revolutionary, was a symbol of liberation and pushed for a violent revolution. Video: [|War Video]

In Depth:
The conflict in Africa occurred about 50 years ago. It was an ugly war, that dominated European media to almost the same extent as the Vietnam War would almost 10 years later. Ever since the French troops landed at Sidi Ferruch in 1830, Algeria was by all purposes a colony. The majority of the population was native Muslims, mainly Arabs and Berbers, but were dominated by slightly over one million European settlers, know as "colons". Only a tiny minority of the Muslim population held French citizenship rights or significant property. 75% of the Muslims were illiterate, the suffered from unemployment, poor health, and hunger. The settlers farmed the best land, enjoyed a monopoly of political power and imposed thier own education, economic and administrative structures upon the native population. The war in Algeria erupted on the morning of November 1, 1954, when armed bands of Algerian Muslims crept out of the night to attack a variety of targets throughout the country. It was even the Christian festival of All Saints' Day, and most of the devout French settlers would be off their guard and the settlers themselves thought that the Muslims would surely respect a religious holiday. They did not. The first attack was on the barracks at Batna, which went off pretty much as planned. And because of the peace-time, the guards were ordered that their rifles should be unloaded, and their ammunition sewn up in their pouches. These were the first French military personnel to be killed in the war. Torture became a national controversy during the War in Algeria. The French used torture against the Algerians It wasn't until 2002 that the French finally agreed to talk about the torture during the Algerian war. It was in November of 2002 that two high-ranking retired generals admitted that in the 1954-1962 Algeria war member s of the Algerian liberation movement (FLN) were tortured, abused and executed.

Sources: http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_354.shtml http://www.waccglobal.org/en/20022-impunity-and-the-media/688-Breaking-the-silence-on-the-war-in-Algeria-.html http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/apr2001/alg-a09.shtml

Growth of African Nationalism and African Independence A nationalist movement called "blackness" moved throughout Africa, emerging from the United States and Caribbean movements. With this came a protest against European rule. The cold war allowed imperial powers to justify oppressive power through "rooting out communist presence." Sub-Saharan Africa was the first to start gaining independence creating a domino effect of inspiration. At different paces, both peaceful and violent Africa became independent. Ghana in 1957, Angola 1975, and Zimbabwe 1980. Problems after independence include civil war, economic instability, and political and ethnic divisions. Many African nations changed there names to symbolize African pastime.

Freedom and Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa
Ghana’s success in gaining freedom from British power in 1957 served as the end to the African empire. Under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), political parties took place. Although the British put Nkrumah and other nationalists in jail and had control over them, gradually they allowed reforms and negotiated the transfer of power in their Gold Coast colony.

Ghana’s independence in 1957 inspired other African nationalist movements. Nkrumah, as a leader of the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain independence from colonial rule, became a spokesperson for African unity. His ideas symbolized changing times in Africa. When preparing for the visit of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II (1926-present), the people of Ghana created huge side-by-side posters of the queen and their leader, Nkrumah. These posters showed a vision of new-found equality and distinctiveness. Ex-colonial rulers dressed in royal regalia, while new African leaders wore traditional African fabrics.

Anti-colonial Rebellion in Kenya
Attaining independence way not always nonviolent. The battle that took place in the British colony of Kenya in east Africa demonstrated the difficulty of African decolonization. The situation in Kenya turned tense when the white settlers and nationalists clashed with the Kikuyu, one of Kenya’s largest ethnic groups. Beginning in 1947, the Kikuyu rebels went on a violent campaign against the Europeans and traitors in Africa. The settlers who controlled the colonial government in Nairobi refused to see the uprising as an expression of discontent with the colonial rule. Instead, they labeled the Kikuyu tribe as radicals bent on a racial struggle for primacy. Members of the militant nationalist movements were also labeled. They were labeled as Mau Mau subversives or communists by the British government. Kikuyu radicalism and violence had much more to do with nationalist opposition to the British colonial rule, espe<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">cially the land policies. Kikuyu resentment stated in the 1930s and 1940s, when white settlers pushed them off their fertile farm land and reduced them to the title of wage slaves or moved them to overcrowded "tribal reserves." Resistance began in the early 1940s with labor strikes and violent action designed to frighten or force the white settlers off their land. In the 1950s these violent protests escalated, and in 1952 the British established a state of emergency to crush the anti-colonial movements through detention and counterinsurgency programs. Unable to end violent movements, the British moved to jailing Kenya nationalist <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">leaders, including Jomo Jenyatta (1895-1978) in 1953. The British mounted major military force when the resistance to the colonial rule grew. By 1956, the British had effectively crushed all military resistance that claimed the lives of 12,000 Africans and 100 Europeans. tr <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Despite military defeat, Kikuyu fighters broke the British resolve in Kenya and gained increasing recognition of African grievances. In 1959 the British lifted the state of emergency and by 1963 Kenya had negotiated its