The decolonization of Africa followed World War II as colonized peoples agitated for independence and colonial powers withdrew their administrators from Africa.[1]
The only two world powers to officially and actively support decolonization in Africa through the entire 20th century were the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China — all others varied their opinions from the strong and stubborn defense of colonialism to a half-hearted support to fait-accompli situations.
Background[]
During the Scramble for Africa in the late nineteenth century, Western European powers divided Africa and its resources into political partitions at the Berlin Conference of 1884-85.[2][3] By 1905, control of almost all African soil was claimed by Western European governments, with the only exceptions being Liberia (which had been settled by African-American former slaves) and Ethiopia (which had successfully resisted colonization by Italy).[4] Britain and France had the largest holdings, but Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, and Portugal also had colonies. As a result of colonialism and imperialism, a majority of Africa lost sovereignty and control of natural resources such as gold and rubber. Following the concept of White Man's Burden, some Europeans who benefited from colonization, felt that colonization was needed to civilize Africans.[5][6]
Causes[]
World War II saw many British African colonies support the Allies against the Axis powers with both military power and resources.[7][8] Many African colonies did not gain independence after the war.[citation needed] Imperial Japan's conquests in the Far East caused a shortage of raw materials such as rubber and various minerals. Africa was therefore forced to compensate for this shortage and greatly benefited from this change.[citation needed] Another key problem Western Europeans faced were the U-boats patrolling the Atlantic Ocean. This reduced and hindered the amount of raw materials that could be transported from African colonies to Europe.[9] As a result of the loss in trade, local industries in Africa became more prominent. Local industries in turn caused the creation of new towns, and existing towns to see a rise in economy and population. As urban community and industry grew so did trade unions. In addition to trade unions, urbanization brought about increased literacy, which allowed for pro-independence newspapers.
On February 12th, 1941, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met to discuss the postwar world. The result was the Atlantic Charter.[10] It was not a treaty and was not submitted to the British Parliament or the Senate of the United States for ratification, but it turned to be a widely acclaimed document.[11] One of the provisions, introduced by Roosevelt, was the autonomy of imperial colonies. After World War II, the US and the African colonies put pressure on Britain to abide by the terms of the Atlantic Charter. After the war, some British considered African colonies to be childish and immature; British colonizers introduced democratic government at local levels in the colonies.
By the 1930s, the colonial powers had cultivated, sometimes inadvertently, a small elite of leaders educated in Western universities and familiar with ideas such as self-determination. These leaders came to lead the struggles for independence, and included leading nationalists such as Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya), Kwame Nkrumah (Gold Coast, now Ghana), Julius Nyerere (Tanzania), Léopold Sédar Senghor (Senegal), and Félix Houphouët-Boigny (Côte d'Ivoire).[citation needed]
Timeline[]
Country[12] | Colonial name | Colonial power[13] | Independence date[14] | First head of state | Independence won through |
Libya | Italian Libya; Allied Military Administration | Italy United Kingdom France |
December 24, 1951 | King Idris I | Western Desert Campaign |
Egypt | British Egypt | United Kingdom | 1922/1936/1952[15] | Sarwat Pasha, Farouk, | 1952 Egyptian revolution[15] |
Sudan | Anglo-Egyptian Sudan | United Kingdom[18] Egypt |
1 January 1956 | Ismail al-Azhari | Condominium ended |
Tunisia | French protectorate of Tunisia | France | March 20, 1956 | Muhammad VIII al-Amin | - |
Morocco | Protectorate of Morocco | France Spain |
April 7, 1956[19] | Mohammed V | Rif War, Ifni War |
Ghana | Gold Coast | United Kingdom[20] Britain | March 6, 1957 | Kwame Nkrumah | - |
Guinea | French Guinea (part of French West Africa) | France | October 2, 1958 | Sékou Touré | - |
Cameroon | Cameroun | France United Kingdom |
January 1, 1960[21] | Ahmadou Ahidjo | UPC rebellion |
Togo | French Togoland | France | April 27, 1960 | Sylvanus Olympio | - |
Mali | French Sudan (part of French West Africa) | France | June 20, 1960[22] | Modibo Keita | - |
Senegal | part of French West Africa | France | June 20, 1960[22] | Léopold Senghor | - |
Madagascar | Malagasy Protectorate | France | June 26, 1960 | Philibert Tsiranana | Malagasy Uprising |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | Belgian Congo | Belgium | June 30, 1960 | Joseph Kasa-Vubu and Patrice Lumumba | Congo Crisis |
Somalia[23] | British Somaliland Italian Somaliland |
United Kingdom Italy |
June 26, 1960 July 1, 1960 |
Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal Aden Abdullah Osman Daar |
- - |
Benin | French Dahomey (part of French West Africa) | France | August 1, 1960[24] | Hubert Maga | - |
Niger | Colony of Niger (part of French West Africa) | France | August 3, 1960 | Hamani Diori | - |
Burkina Faso | French Upper Volta (part of French West Africa) | France | August 5, 1960 | Maurice Yaméogo | - |
Côte d'Ivoire | Ivory Coast (part of French West Africa) | France | August 7, 1960 | Félix Houphouët-Boigny | - |
Chad | French Chad (part of French Equatorial Africa) | France | August 11, 1960 | François Tombalbaye | - |
Central African Republic | Ubangi-Shari (part of French Equatorial Africa) | France | August 13, 1960 | David Dacko | - |
Republic of the Congo | French Congo (part of French Equatorial Africa) | France | August 15, 1960 | Fulbert Youlou | - |
Gabon | part of French Equatorial Africa | France | August 17, 1960 | Léon M'ba | |
Nigeria | British Nigeria | United Kingdom | October 1, 1960 [25] | Nnamdi Azikiwe | - |
Mauritania | part of French West Africa | France | November 28, 1960 | Moktar Ould Daddah | - |
Sierra Leone | Sierra Leone | United Kingdom | April 27, 1961 | Milton Margai | - |
South Africa | Union of South Africa | United Kingdom | 1910/1931/1961[26] | James Barry Munnik Hertzog | - |
Tanzania[27] | Tanganyika Zanzibar |
United Kingdom | December 9, 1961 December 10, 1963 |
Julius Nyerere Jamshid ibn Abdullah |
- - |
Rwanda | part of Ruanda-Urundi | Belgium | July 1, 1962 | Grégoire Kayibanda | - [28] |
Burundi | part of Ruanda-Urundi | Belgium | July 1, 1962 | André Muhirwa | - |
Algeria | French Algeria ('secession from France) | France | July 3, 1962 | Ahmed Ben Bella | Algerian War of Independence |
Uganda | Uganda Protectorate | United Kingdom | October 9, 1962 | Milton Obote | - |
Kenya | Kenya Colony | United Kingdom | December 12, 1963 | Jomo Kenyatta | Mau Mau Uprising (debated) |
Malawi | Nyasaland Protectorate | United Kingdom | July 6, 1964 | Hastings Kamuzu Banda | - |
Zambia | Northern Rhodesia | United Kingdom | October 24, 1964 | Kenneth Kaunda | - |
The Gambia | Gambia Colony and Protectorate | United Kingdom | February 18, 1965 | Dawda Kairaba Jawara | - |
Botswana | Bechuanaland Protectorate | United Kingdom | September 30, 1966 | Seretse Khama | - |
Lesotho | Basutoland | United Kingdom | October 4, 1966 | Leabua Jonathan | - |
Namibia | South West Africa | South Africa | October 27, 1966 (De jure)[29] March 21, 1990 (De facto) |
Sam Nujoma | Namibian War of Independence |
Mauritius | United Kingdom | March 12, 1968 | - | ||
Swaziland | Swaziland | United Kingdom | September 6, 1968 | Sobhuza II | - |
Equatorial Guinea | Spanish Guinea | Spain | October 12, 1968 | Francisco Macías Nguema | - |
Guinea-Bissau | Portuguese Guinea | Portugal | September 24, 1973 | Luís Cabral | Guinea-Bissau War of Independence/Portuguese Colonial War |
Mozambique | Portuguese East Africa | Portugal | June 25, 1975 | Samora Machel | Mozambican War of Independence/Portuguese Colonial War |
Cape Verde | Portugal | July 5, 1975 | influenced by Guinea-Bissau War of Independence | ||
Comoros | French Madagascar, French Comoros | France Madagascar |
July 6, 1975 | - | |
São Tomé and Príncipe | Portugal | July 12, 1975 | - | ||
Angola | Portuguese West Africa | Portugal | November 11, 1975 | Agostinho Neto | Angolan War of Independence/Portuguese Colonial War |
Seychelles | United Kingdom | June 29, 1976 | James Richard Marie Mancham | - | |
Djibouti | French Somaliland | France | June 27, 1977 | Hassan Gouled Aptidon | - |
Zimbabwe | Southern Rhodesia | United Kingdom | April 18, 1980[30] | Canaan Banana Robert Mugabe |
Lancaster House Agreement |
Sahrawi Republic[32] | Spanish Sahara; Moroccan Sahara |
Spain; Morocco |
February 27, 1976; Independence not effectuated over most of the territory |
El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed; Mohamed Abdelaziz |
Western Sahara War; Saharawi Intifada |
See also[]
- Colonialism
- Decolonization
- Indépendance Cha Cha - a 1960 Congolese song widely considered as the anthem of African independence
- Economic history of Africa
- Scramble for Africa
- Wars of national liberation
- Year of Africa
Notes[]
- ↑ Birmingham, David (1995). The Decolonization of Africa. Routledge. ISBN 1-85728-540-9.
- ↑ "Berlin Conference of 1884-1885". http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195337709.001.0001/acref-9780195337709-e-0467. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ↑ "A Brief History of the Berlin Conference". http://teacherweb.ftl.pinecrest.edu/snyderd/MWH/Projects/mun-bc/History.htm. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ↑ Evans, Alistair. "Countries in Africa Considered Never Colonized". http://africanhistory.about.com/od/eracolonialism/tp/AfricaNotColon.htm. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ↑ Siddiqui, Habib. "WHITE MAN’S BURDEN: THE NEVER-ENDING SAGA". http://www.iosworld.org/white_mans_burden.htm. Retrieved 11 January 2015. ""It was a “White man’s burden” to “civilize” the so-called “uncivilized”, “savage”, “Negroes!” Within a few years, the entire Africa was colonized by the Europeans, and her mineral resources looted out to Europe and her people put into chains to work""
- ↑ Gray, Richard. Francophone African Poetry and Drama: A Cultural History Since the 1960s. pp. 8. ISBN 978-0-7864-7558-2. https://books.google.com/books?id=kbmQBAAAQBAJ&lpg=PA8&ots=KkQiXc5Kd-&dq=african%20colonization%20civilize%20white%20man%27s%20burden&pg=PA8#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 11 January 2015. ""The mission to civilize the African continent has historically been referred to as the 'white man's burden'""
- ↑ Sherwood, Marika. "Colonies, Colonials and World War Two". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/colonies_colonials_01.shtml. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
- ↑ "Nationalism and Independence". Michigan State University. http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m7b/activity4.php. Retrieved 26 January 2015. ""World War II (1939-1945) had an important effect on Africa. Some important battles were fought in North Africa. Many Africans from French and British colonies were also recruited to fight for the Allies in Europe, Asia, and North Africa.""
- ↑ "History of WW2: Battle of the Atlantic". History Channel. http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/battle-of-the-atlantic. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
- ↑ "The Atlantic Conference & Charter, 1941". https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/atlantic-conf. Retrieved 26 January 2015. ""The Atlantic Charter was a joint declaration released by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on August 14, 1941 following a meeting of the two heads of state in Newfoundland.""
- ↑ Karski, Jan (2014). The Great Powers and Poland: From Versailles to Yalta. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 330. ISBN 9781442226654. http://books.google.pl/books?id=1zelAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA330. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
- ↑ Timeline list arranged according to current countries. Explanatory notes are added in cases where decolonization was achieved jointly or where the current state is formed by merger of previously decolonized states.
- ↑ Some territories changed hands multiple times, so in the list is mentioned the last colonial power. In addition to it the mandatory or trustee powers are mentioned for territories that were League of Nations mandates and UN Trust Territories.
- ↑ Date of decolonization for territories annexed by or integrated into previously decolonized independent countries are given in separate notes.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 On 28 February 1922 the British government issued the Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence. Through this declaration, the British government unilaterally ended its protectorate over Egypt and granted it nominal independence with the exception of four "reserved" areas: foreign relations, communications, the military and the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.[16] The Anglo–Egyptian treaty of 1936 reduced British involvement, but still was not welcomed by Egyptian nationalists, who wanted full independence from Britain, which was not achieved until the 1952 revolution. The last British troops left Egypt after the Suez Crisis of 1956.
- ↑ King, Joan Wucher (1989) [First published 1984]. Historical Dictionary of Egypt. Books of Lasting Value. American University in Cairo Press. pp. 259–260. ISBN 978-977-424-213-7.
- ↑ Robert O. Collins, A History of Modern Sudan
- ↑ Anglo-Egyptian Condominium Agreement of 1899, stated that Sudan should be jointly governed by Egypt and Britain, but with real power remaining in British hands.[17]
- ↑ Cape Juby was ceded by Spain to Morocco on 2 April 1958. Ifni was returned from Spain to Morocco on 4 January 1969.
- ↑ The British Togoland mandate and trust territory was integrated into Gold Coast colony on 13 December 1956.
- ↑ After the French Cameroun mandate and trust territory gained independence it was joined by part of the British Cameroons mandate and trust territory on October 1, 1961. The other part of British Cameroons joined Nigeria.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Senegal and French Sundan gained independence on 20 June 1960 as the Mali Federation, which dissolved a few months later into present day Senegal and Mali.
- ↑ The Trust Territory of Somalia (former Italian Somaliland) united with the State of Somaliland (former British Somaliland) on July 1, 1960 to form the Somali Republic.
- ↑ Independent Benin unilaterally annexed Portuguese São João Baptista de Ajudá in 1961.
- ↑ Part of the British Cameroons mandate and trust territory on October 1, 1961 joined Nigeria. The other part of British Cameroons joined the previously decolonized French Cameroun mandate and territory.
- ↑ The Union of South Africa was constituted through the South Africa Act entering into force on 31 May 1910. On 11 December 1931 it got increased self-governance powers through the Statute of Westminster which was followed by transformation into republic after the 1960 referendum. Afterwards, South Africa was under apartheid regime until elections resulting from the negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa on 27 April 1994 when Nelson Mandela became president.
- ↑ After both gained independence Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged on 26 April 1964
- ↑ See Rwandan Revolution.
- ↑ UN resolution 2145 terminated South Africa's mandate over Namibia, making it de jure independent. South Africa did not relinquish the territory until 1990
- ↑ Unilaterally declared independence in 1965 as Rhodesia, followed by attempted Internal Settlement in 1979 as Zimbabwe-Rhodesia; both states were unrecognised by the United Kingdom. British-organised elections were held in early 1980 involving the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union and Zimbabwe African National Union as stipulated in the Lancaster House Agreement.
- ↑ UN General Assembly Resolution 34/37 and UN General Assembly Resolution 35/19
- ↑ The Spanish colonial rule de facto terminated over the Western Sahara (then Rio de Oro), when the territory was passed on to and partitioned between Mauritania and Morocco (which annexed the entire territory in 1979), rendering the declared independence of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic ineffective to the present day (it controls only a small portion east of the Moroccan Wall). The UN still considers Spain as administrating country of the whole territory,[31] awaiting the outcome of the ongoing Manhasset negotiations and resulting election to be overseen by the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara. However, the de facto administrator is Morocco (see United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories).
References[]
- Ali A. Mazrui ed. "General History of Africa" vol. VIII, UNESCO, 1993
- April A. Gordon and Donald L. Gordon, Lynne Riener. "Understanding Contemporary Africa" London, 1996
- Dávila, Jerry. "Hotel Tropico: Brazil and the challenge of African Decolonization, 1950–1980." Duke University Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0822348559
- Diueter Rothermund. "The Routledge Companion to Decolonization" Arlington & New York: Routledge, 2006
- Kevin Shillington "History of Africa" St. Martin's Press, New York, 1995 (1989)
- Michael Crowder. "The Story of Nigeria" Faber and Faber, London, 1978 (1962)
- Vincent B. Khapoya. "The African Experience" Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1998 (1994)
External links[]
- Africa: 50 years of independence Radio France Internationale in English
- "Winds of Change or Hot Air? Decolonization and the Salt Water Test" Legal Frontiers International Law Blog
The original article can be found at Decolonization of Africa and the edit history here.