Economic problems

1
Economic problems

• Imbalance in distribution of and access to
  resources
• Economic problems often lead to unrest
• African countries relied on cash-crop economies,
  leaving them very vulnerable to price
  fluctuations as happened to Ghana in the early
  1960s. It also meant it was hard for them to
  produce enough food for themselves. Farmers were
  vulnerable to agricultural marketing boards who
  fixed prices. This had originated from colonial
  times. This happened in Ghana. This contributed
  to civil unrest.
• Infrastructure was inadequate for needs
• Rapid population growth from the 1950s to the
  1970s which no-one predicted
• Early schemes for industrialisation were wildly
  ambitious and costly, such as Nkrumah building a
  costly hydroelectric dam
• These all contributed to the military coup
• Nkrumah neglected the agricultural sector
• Droughts
• Britain remained major share holders in new
  companies in Africa and gave them a lot of
  practical power over the economy, to the
  detriment of former colonies. As did SAPs.

2
How orderly was decolonisation? C aim to
identify overall themes, causation and give
examples B/A aim to give an overall argument
by drawing out themes, causation and examples

• Write down key words about what happened to these
  countries after decolonisation
• Nigeria
• Uganda
• Ghana
• Kenya
• Egypt (optional) this one decolonised much
  earlier, so make sure you are clear about this
• What common themes can you identify?

3
Theme (C) How does this show decolonisation was
orderly (C) How does it show decolonisation was
disorderly(C) Actual Examples Is this the
fault of the colonial legacy, the Black Africans,
something else or a combination? (B/A)
Theme (C) How does this show decolonisation was
orderly (C) How does it show decolonisation was
disorderly(C) Actual Examples Is this the
fault of the colonial legacy, the Black Africans,
something else or a combination? (B/A)
What overall themes can you identify in
decolonisation and how can you pull them
together...?
Theme (C) How does this show decolonisation was
orderly (C) How does it show decolonisation was
disorderly(C) Actual Examples Is this the
fault of the colonial legacy, the Black Africans,
something else or a combination? (B/A)
4
Economic problems and Structural Adjustment Plans
(SAPs)

• These are policies the IMF and World Bank put
  into place when giving loans to developing
  countries.
• They are made to ensure borrowing is reduced and
  it is spent in the right way
• It wants the economy in these countries to become
  more market oriented it privatises companies,
  removes trade barriers, deregulates industries.
• It is often argued these countries have no choice
  
• For example in the 1980s Ghana applied for a loan
  after uncontrolled spending from authoritarian
  rulers. It was in huge debt and had no choice but
  to accept the SAP from the World Bank. They are
  now even further into debt and spend four times
  more on their debt than they do on health care.

What are the main problems with SAPs? What are
the benefits? Do you think they should be
enforced?
5
Strong leaders

• Artificial territories however the OAU decided
  that these should be maintained as allowing
  states to split up into ethnic groups would
  easily become a bloodbath with multiple civil
  wars as had happened with Biafra
• Nkrumah bought together the different ethnic
  groups in Ghana, as did Egyptian leaders by
  emphasising Islam and their shared Egyptian
  history
• The parliamentary model didnt really work when
  any oppression had been oppressed for decades
• Strong leaders had led family units, villages and
  tribes in recent history in Africa
• It was often said Africa was politically
  immature
• Even Western leaders said the case of Africa
  needed strong leaders due to its economic
  pressures and political immaturity this led to
  single-party states abusing power, being
  oppressive, monopolising it in their interest.
  Botswana was the only country that enjoyed early
  independence and regular democratic elections.
  One party states became the norm into the 1970s.
  By the 1980s these began to be overthrown
  international pressures, SAPs, humanitarian and
  economic pressures contributed to this.

6
Military involvement

• By the 1970s many African states endured military
  rule. Ghana had a very famous one in 1966 which
  removed Nkrumah.
• In pre-colonial society military and politics
  were closely intertwined, political leaders had
  to be soldiers or seen as soldiers (can you think
  of an example)
• In colonial society the military and politics
  were closely intertwined to rule effectively
• The African military had their routes in the
  1890s and 1900s, when Africans were conquesting
  others, this was how the army was structured and
  its philosophical purpose. They were usually only
  involved in internal rule, such as keeping order,
  relying on the army to protect borders and not be
  involved in politics was a superficial thing.
• The military werent professional standing
  militaries, they were often more like part-time
  militias who followed particular local leaders
• Military rule usually included brutal murders and
  extreme violence especially when they had lost
  their moral right to rule over a scandal, and
  then resorted to extreme violence instead, this
  happened in Liberia and Somalia.

7
How orderly was decolonisation?
Very orderly
Not very orderly
Note this will not come up in the exam but it is
interesting to think about and discuss Things
started to change for Africa into the 1980s and
1990s why might this have been? What problems
does Africa still have today and how could it
solve them?
8
14 How far do you agree that decolonisation was
more orderly in west Africa than in east Africa?

• Homework
• Complete exam question. Due Monday 15th April.
  Remember to be analytical.
• Revise colonisation and material covered so far
  on decolonisation. Mind-maps, notes on walls,
  start a notebook whatever works for you. Use
  this Easter wisely. More revision you do now, the
  less you need to do in the 2 weeks you will have
  to revise at the end of the course, and the less
  panicked you will be.
• Britain re-takers revise key events and key
  figures. Complete 2 (b) type practice timed
  questions. Make sure you include own knowledge.
• Reminder Africa revision day Thursday 4th April
  10am-1.15pm.
• You can email me questions over Easter I will
  be checking my work email. My address is
  k.dennis_at_wcsch.com
• All powerpoints and digital notes are on the
  website www.historywcsch.wordpress.com Use
  this website. Post questions on it and discuss if
  you wish to.
• Let me know if you know you are missing any
  photocopied chapters.

9
A 28 A 23 B 19 C 17 D 15 E 12 Those
of you who are now achieving at least your target
grade in your essays are off intervention on a
Tuesday they are Kelsea, Whelan. That means
Ash, Reginald and Fares you are still on
intervention. Everybody is still welcome to
attend if they want to. The first Tuesday after
Easter will be on the Berlin West Africa
conference.