The Rise of African Nationalism
Senior 6 · History
The Rise of African Nationalism
Lesson 2 of 5
25 min
African nationalists shared one goal, but they did not travel the same road to reach it. Where the colonial power was willing to bargain and there were few European settlers, the road ran through party meetings, strikes and conference rooms. Where settlers held the land and refused to share power, the road ran through forests, mountains and prisons. Study Figure 2 before you read on, and look for the step at which the two roads separate.
Figure 2. The two main roads to independence, simplified. Drawn by Ganzaa.
Analysis. The roads separate at the first step: whether peaceful demands get any answer. In the Gold Coast, repression in 1948 and 1950 was followed by inquiries and elections. In Kenya and Algeria, settler power and a refusal to negotiate pushed nationalists into armed struggle. Yet both roads end with negotiation: even the bloodiest wars of independence finished at a conference table.
Definition
Means (methods): the actions nationalists used to put pressure on the colonial power, such as petitions, strikes or armed struggle.
Channels: the organisations and media through which nationalist ideas and demands were spread, such as political parties, trade unions, churches and newspapers.
Constitutional means: lawful methods that work through the colonial system: petitions, delegations, elections and negotiation.
Mass action: non-violent pressure by large numbers of people: strikes, boycotts, demonstrations and civil disobedience.
Armed struggle (liberation war): the use of organised armed force, usually guerrilla warfare, to end colonial rule.
Internal self-government: a stage in which an elected African government runs a colony's internal affairs while the colonial power still controls defence and foreign policy.
| Means | What it involved | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Constitutional | petitions, delegations to London, Paris or Brussels, elections, constitutional conferences | the Gold Coast elections of 1951, 1954 and 1956; Kenya's Lancaster House conferences (1960–1963) |
| Mass action | general strikes, boycotts of European goods, rallies, civil disobedience | Nkrumah's Positive Action (January 1950); Kaunda's Cha-cha-cha campaign in Northern Rhodesia (1961); the ANC's Defiance Campaign in South Africa (1952) |
| Armed struggle | guerrilla war against colonial forces and their allies | the Mau Mau war in Kenya (from 1952); the FLN in Algeria (1954–1962); FRELIMO in Mozambique (from 1964) |
| Diplomacy | appeals to the United Nations, to friendly states and, after 1963, to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) | Julius Nyerere addressed the UN Trusteeship Council for Tanganyika in 1955; the OAU's Liberation Committee in Dar es Salaam aided liberation movements from 1963 |
| Ideas and the press | newspapers, pamphlets, speeches, songs and books spread nationalist ideas | Azikiwe's West African Pilot (founded 1937); Nkrumah's Accra Evening News (1948) |
Rwanda reached independence through a different channel from Ghana or Kenya: as part of Ruanda-Urundi it was a UN trust territory under Belgian administration from 1946, so Belgium had to report to the UN, and UN Visiting Missions came regularly from 1948. Rwandans could petition the UN directly, and in the late 1950s Rwandan leaders, including the national council around Mwami Mutara III Rudahigwa, asked for a faster move to self-government.
The process was distorted by the Belgian administration. Instead of building a common Rwandan citizenship, it switched its support to parties that organised politics around the categories of Hutu, Tutsi and Twa, which colonial rule had fixed on identity cards from the 1930s. From November 1959, Tutsi were attacked, homes were burned, many people were killed, and many more fled into exile in neighbouring countries. Legislative elections and a referendum on the monarchy were held under UN supervision on 25 September 1961, and Rwanda became independent on 1 July 1962.
Analysis. The UN channel gave Rwandans a voice that colonies such as Kenya did not have, but it could not stop the administering power from dividing the people. Independence came with a large refugee population outside the country and a politics of exclusion inside it: a legacy that led, over the next three decades, towards the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Warning
Do not confuse means with channels. A strike is a means; the trade union that called it is a channel. An election is a means; the party that contested it is a channel. Examiners often ask for one and mark down answers that give the other.
Tip
Explain why the road differed. For a "why did some countries need armed struggle?" question, use three factors: the number and power of settlers (Kenya, Algeria, southern Africa), the attitude of the colonial power (Portugal under Salazar refused to decolonise at all), and the value of the colony (minerals, strategic bases). Then give one example for each.
Important
Discuss. Was armed struggle a choice or a last resort? Use Figure 2 and at least two countries to argue your answer, and consider the cost of each road to ordinary people.
Practice
Sources and credits
Written by Ganzaa: the analysis, the flowchart (Figure 2), the table, the Rwandan case study and the exercises.
