The Rise of African Nationalism
Senior 6 · History (Languages)
The Rise of African Nationalism
Lesson 2 of 4
25 min
The chart below shows when African states became independent, sorted by the power that had ruled them. Before you read the lesson, describe the pattern: which power let its colonies go earliest, which one all at once, and which one last? Then ask the historian's question: why the difference?
Figure 1. Each circle shows how many of today's states became independent from that power in that year. Fourteen former French colonies became independent in 1960 alone, which is why it is called "the Year of Africa".
Definition
Constitutional nationalism: winning independence step by step through elections, negotiation and new constitutions.
Armed struggle: fighting a guerrilla war against the colonial power when peaceful means are blocked.
Settler colony: a colony with a large, permanent European population that held land and power, such as Algeria, Kenya or Southern Rhodesia. Settlers usually resisted independence hardest.
Assimilation: the French policy of turning colonial subjects into French citizens in language and culture.
| Means or channel | Examples |
|---|---|
| Political parties | Convention People's Party (Gold Coast, 1949), TANU (Tanganyika, 1954), KANU (Kenya, 1960), UNIP (Northern Rhodesia, 1959) |
| Trade unions and strikes | The Dakar–Niger railway strike (1947 to 1948); strikes in the Gold Coast during "Positive Action" (1950) |
| Boycotts, demonstrations, civil disobedience | The Gold Coast boycott of European goods (1948); Nkrumah's non-violent "Positive Action" |
| Newspapers and speeches | Nationalist newspapers in West Africa spread ideas among people who could read, and were read aloud to many who could not |
| Elections and negotiation | Constitutional conferences in London; the French referendum of 1958 |
| Petitions to the United Nations | Trust territories such as Tanganyika, Ruanda-Urundi and Togo could send petitions and receive UN visiting missions |
| Armed struggle | Kenya (1952 to 1960), Algeria (1954 to 1962), Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique (1961 to 1974), Zimbabwe (1960s to 1979) |
| Pan-African support | From 1963 the Organisation of African Unity's Liberation Committee helped movements still fighting |
| Power | Policy and path |
|---|---|
| Britain | Mostly gradual and negotiated: elected councils, then self-government, then independence (Ghana 1957, Nigeria 1960, Tanganyika 1961). Where settlers held power the road was violent: the Kenya Emergency (1952 to 1960), and in Southern Rhodesia a white-minority declaration of independence (1965) followed by war until Zimbabwe's independence in 1980. |
| France | Tried to keep the colonies inside a French Union (1946), then reformed them (Loi-cadre, 1956). In the 1958 referendum only Guinea, led by Sékou Touré, voted No and became independent at once; most others followed in 1960, while keeping close ties with France. Algeria won independence only after a long war (1954 to 1962). |
| Belgium | Paternalism: social services but almost no African university graduates or political training. After riots in Léopoldville in January 1959, Belgium suddenly agreed to independence: the Congo on 30 June 1960, Rwanda and Burundi on 1 July 1962. |
| Portugal | The Salazar dictatorship called the colonies "overseas provinces" and refused to negotiate. Armed struggle began in Angola (1961), Guinea-Bissau (1963) and Mozambique (1964). After the Carnation Revolution in Lisbon (April 1974), all became independent in 1974 and 1975. |
| Spain | Equatorial Guinea became independent in 1968 after UN pressure. In 1975 Spain withdrew from Western Sahara, handing it to Morocco and Mauritania without a vote of its people; its status is still disputed. |
Rwanda's independence came through the Belgian and UN trusteeship route, but it was shaped by division. In the 1950s the Belgian administration, which had long ruled through Tutsi chiefs, switched its support to a new Hutu elite and the party PARMEHUTU. From November 1959 Tutsi homes were attacked and burned across the country, and many Tutsi were killed or fled into exile in neighbouring countries. In 1961 the monarchy was abolished, King Kigeli V went into exile, and on 1 July 1962 Rwanda became independent under a government that excluded Tutsi. Hutu, Tutsi and Twa were social categories that colonial rule had hardened into fixed labels; the exiles and the discrimination of these years are part of the history that led to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
SH Mapping Studio, "Decolonization of Africa: Every Month (1945 - 2021)" (animated map, about 3 minutes). Pause at 1960 and at 1975, and match what you see with Figure 1.
Warning
"Peaceful" is relative. Even negotiated independence was often preceded by strikes, riots and imprisonments: Nkrumah was in prison when his party won the 1951 election. And do not call the Kenyan fighters "terrorists" as the colonial government did; historians use the Kenya Land and Freedom Army or the term the movement became known by, Mau Mau.
Tip
Settlers decide the road. As a rule, where there were few European settlers (Ghana, Tanganyika, most of French West Africa), independence was negotiated; where settlers held land and power (Algeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Angola, Mozambique), it took armed struggle.
Important
Discuss. Why did Belgium hand over power so suddenly in 1960 to 1962, and what problems did the speed create for the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi?
Practice
Sources and credits
Written by Ganzaa: the chart, the tables, the analysis and the exercises.
