African Colonialism and Independence

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African Colonialism and Independence
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Africa in 1880 Pre-Colonization
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1.How did Europeans gain access to Africas
Resources?

• European countries quickly tried to take pieces
  of Africa.
  
• Berlin Conference 1884 Otto von Bismarck
  (Germany) brought together the leaders of
  Belgium, Britain, France, Italy, Portugal and
  Spain.
• Ground rules were set up for colonization.
• This is when the slave trade ends!
• Colonies were established!

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Colonization

• European countries ruled African lands until the
  late 1900s. This is called IMPERIALISM!!
  
• Positives Built roads, schools, hospitals,
  technology
  
• Negatives Took power from traditional leaders,
  ruled as dictators, took away cultural traditions
  in place of European ways!

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African Colonies
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1913- Percentages of Africa Owned by European
Countries
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2. What happened in Africa after WWII?

• Most independence movements began after WWII.
• Prior to WWII, Egypt, Ethiopia, Liberia, and
  South Africa were independent.

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French Colonies

• Fighting in French colonies prompted French
  leader Charles de Gaulle to grant independence.
  
• Most French colonies became independent in 1960.

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British Colonies

• Great Britain freed its colonies little by
  little.
  
• They did not believe in giving them independence
  as a group (like France)

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Portugals Colonies

• Portugal refused to give its 5 colonies
  independence.
  
• Independence did not come until there was
  political change in Portugal in 1974.

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3. What year marked the independence of all
African countries?

• By 1974, all African countries had gained
  independence from their European owners.

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4. What did Kwame Nkrumah want after independence?

• Kwame Nkrumah was a leader in the African
  independence movement who later became the leader
  of Ghana. He pushed for all Africans to work
  together and unite. He was pushing for
  pan-Africanism.

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Pan-Africanism

• Based on uniting all Africans in the fight for
  freedom from oppression.
  
• Focuses on the importance of African ethnicity
  and heritage.
  
• Goals
• Unify Africans from around the globe
• Gain political power
• Belief in oneself

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5. What are three influences over Africa?

• Three influences over Africa are
• Traditional African Cultures
• European Cultures
• Islam

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6. What are the main ethnic groups in Nigeria,
and where do they live?

• The main ethnic groups in Nigeria are the Hausa
  and Fulani, Yoruba, and the Igbo. Some of the
  people in these ethnic groups still live in
  traditional villages, others live in the cities.

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7. How did colonization and the creation of
borders affect ethnic groups in a negative way?

• The Europeans set up borders where they wanted,
  not taking into consideration the African ethnic
  groups that lived there.
  
• This split up ethnic groups and forced ethnic
  groups that did not like each other to live
  together.
  
• This caused a lot of the wars we see in Africa
  today.

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Issues that came with Independence

• A few methods of rule were promoted
• Democracy (rule by the people)
• Socialism (group rather than individual)
• Pan-Africanism/Pan-Arabism (unity amongst ethnic
  groups)
  
• None of these movements were successful!

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Issues Continued..

• Loss of culture
• Loss of development- Africans were never given
  the chance to develop their talents.
  
• Few educated Africans
• Inefficient transportation and healthcare
• No more European support
• Trade with countries outside of Europe was
  virtually non-existent.

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Issues Continued

• Country boundaries mixed ethnic groups that did
  not get along.
  
• This resulted in civil wars all over Africa
• Governments under colonialism provided a negative
  influence for independent countries.
  
• Most governments were based on dictatorships
• There was a lot of corruption
• Leaders made poor decisions because of little
  knowledge of politics and leadership.