AP World History POD #21 – Nationalism, Tribalism & Genocide in Africa

1. AP World HistoryPOD #21 – Nationalism, Tribalism & Genocide in Africa Africa & the World Wars

2. Class Discussion Notes Bulliet – “Sub-Saharan Africa, 1900-1945”

3. Nationalism ….always the response to Imperialism • “Of all the continents, Africa was the last to come under European rule. The first half of the twentieth century, the time when nationalist movements threatened European rule in Asia, was Africa’s period of classic colonialism. After World War I Britain, France, Belgium, and South Africa divided Germany’s African colonies among themselves. Than in the 1930s Italy invaded Ethiopia. The colonial empires reached their peak shortly before World War II.” (Bulliet, p. 828) • “The contrast between the liberal ideas imparted by Western education and the realities of racial discrimination under colonial rule contributed to the rise of nationalism among educated Africans.” (Bulliet, p. 832)

4. Europeans in Africa • Outside of Algeria, Kenya and South Africa very few Europeans actually lived in Africa • Case Study – Nigeria – native population of 20 million controlled by 386 British officials and 8,000 police (of which 150 were European)

5. Infrastructure Development • Colonial powers built railroads from coastal cities to interior mines and plantations to transport natural resources and raw materials to the industrialized world • Colonial governments took lands from Africans and sold or leased to European companies and settlers • European companies dominated wholesale commerce • Indians, Greeks, and Syrians handled much of the retail trade

6. African Farmers • Where land was divided into small farms, some benefited from the boom • The world market created profits for cash crops such as cocoa, palm-oil, and coffee

7. African Women • Played a role in retail commerce • Sold cloth, food, pots, pans etc. at market • Many were able to maintain their economic independence • With economic independence they were able to keep household finances separate from that of their husbands (a custom that predated colonial influence)

8. African Labor Force • many Africans were FORCED to work in European owned mines and plantations • Colonial governments were eager to develop the natural resource market but refused to pay wages high enough to attract workers and used the police to compel the Africans to work under harsh conditions • Case Study – during the construction of the railroad from Brazzaville to the Atlantic coast, a distance of 312 miles, an average of 64 African workers died for every mile constructed

9. African Health Care • Europeans held in high esteem their development of modern health care, yet prior to 1930 the arrival of the Europeans brought a general decline in health and well-being from the spread of diseases by migrants and soldiers • The conscription of the labor force depleted the number of available farmers, lowering food production output and creating conditions leading to malnutrition and facilitating the outbreak of disease

10. Urbanization: Pros & Cons • “Africans migrated to cities because they offered hope of jobs and excitement and, for a few, the chance to become wealthy. However, migrations damaged the family life of those involved, for almost all the migrants were men leaving women in the countryside to farm and raise children. Reflecting the colonists’ attitudes, cities built during the colonial period had racially segregated housing, clubs, restaurants, hospitals, and other institutions. Patterns of racial discrimination were most rigid in the white-settler colonies of eastern and southern Africa.” (Bulliet, p. 829)

11. Rise of Christianity • First introduced by western missionaries (except Ethiopia, where it was indigenous) • Most influential in West and South Africa as a result of the strong European presence • Missionary Schools – taught craft skills, as well as basic literacy – leading to employment access and the emergence of a new educate elite class • *** students of these schools also began to become familiar with Western political ideas, such as racial equality and political participation • The Roman Catholic Church continues to expand in these regions today

12. Expansion of Islam • Spread inland from the East African coast and southward from the Sahel through the influence and example of Arab and African merchants • Emphasized literacy in Arabic rather than a European language • Less disruptive of traditional African customs such as polygamy

13. African Nationalism • Blaise Diagne – Senegalese political leader – first African elected to the French National Assembly – during WWI recruited soldiers in Africa to join the French Army in exchange for citizenship – after the war led an movement to abolish force labor in Africa • J.E. Casely Hayford – began organizing a nationalist movement supporting the idea of Pan-Africanism advocated the Americans W.E.B. DuBois and Marcus Garvey (unity of African people around the world) as well as the European concept of liberty and nationhood • African National Congress – established in South Africa by western-educated lawyers and journalists to promote and defend the rights and interests of Africans

14. Africa in World War II • Hardships - increased forced labor, inflation, requisition of raw materials • Hope – African troops served and fought admirably around the world in helping the Allied war effort • Inspiration – embraced Allied propaganda in favor of European liberation movements and against Nazi racism and returned to their countries with new and radical ideas