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Africa Post WWII. The Decline of the Colonial Powers. Africa Produced Many Newly-Independent Nations in a Very Short Time. British Colonies Were Some of the First to Seek Independence because. The were unhappy with colonial rule. War left her weak and unable to afford colonies.
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AfricaProduced Many Newly-Independent Nations in a Very Short Time
British Colonies Were Some of the First to Seek Independence because • The were unhappy with colonial rule. • War left her weak and unable to afford colonies. • A New African educated middle class began to emerge in the cities to challenge Colonialism • Self-determination
Pan-Africanism • Is a movement that seeks to unify African people or people living in Africa, into a "one African community. • Pan-Africanism – developed among nationalists in the 1020’s.
Organization of African UnityOAU • Created in 1963 by Kwame Nkrumah • To promote the unity and solidarity of the African states • The OAU was also dedicated to end of all forms of colonialism and achieve independence for all Africans. • To achieve a better life for the people of Africa.
Kwame Nkrumah Led the Former Gold Coastto Independence Educated abroad. Schoolteacher. Preached nonviolence. Used boycotts and strikes. Ultimately successful 1957.
Ghana today still needs to modernize • Market inKumasi. • Sells shoes crafted from old automobile tires. • Sprawls across 25 dusty acres in ancientAshanti capital. • One of the largest marketplaces in West Africa.
Kenyan Independence: 1963 • London educated Jomo Kenyatta provided strong nationalist leadership. • Mau Mau Rebellions made up of Kikuyufarmers weaken British settlers opposition.
The Solitary Baobob Tree The national symbol of Senegal, baobab trees often mark burial sites and inspire the poetry of de-colonization…
I heard a grave voice answer, Rash son, this strong young tree This splendid tree Apart from the white and faded flowers Is Africa, your Africa Patiently stubbornly growing again And its fruits are carefully learning The sharp sweet taste of liberty. David Diop 1956
Apartheid • The official policy of racial segregation formerly practiced in the Republic of South Africa, involving political, legal, and economic discrimination against nonwhites.
How it Worked • Under apartheid, people were legally classified into a racial group - the main ones being White, Black, Indian and Colored • They were geographically, and forcibly, separated from each other on the basis of the legal classification. • The Black majority, in particular, legally became citizens of particular "homelands“.
Homelands • Homelands were independent states to which each African was assigned by the government according to the record of origin (which was frequently inaccurate). • All political rights, including voting, held by an African were restricted to the designated homeland. • The idea was that they would be citizens of the homeland, losing their citizenship in South Africa and any right of involvement with the South African Parliament. • Africans living in the homelands needed passports to enter South Africa: aliens in their own country.
Apartheid • Starting in 1948, the Nationalist Government in South Africa enacted laws to define and enforce segregation. With the enactment of apartheid laws in 1948, racial discrimination was institutionalized. Apartheid "maintained white power by denying political and economic liberty to black South Africans."[
Apartheid Laws • The Population Registration Act, 1950, required that every South African be classified into one of a number of racial "population groups. • The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act, 1953 allowed public premises, vehicles and services to be segregated by race, even if equal facilities were not made available to all races.
Apartheid Laws • The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, 1949 forbade marriages between white people and people of other races. • The Natives Land Act, 1913 limited land ownership by black people to 7% of the land area of South Africa. • The Group Areas Act, 1950 (re-enacted in 1957 and 1966) divided urban areas into "group areas" in which ownership and residence was restricted to certain population groups.
The Passbook • A pass was issued only to a black person with approved work. Spouses and children had to be left behind in non-white areas. Many white households employed blacks as domestic workers, who were allowed to live on the premises— often in small rooms external to the family home. • A pass was issued for one magisterial district (usually one town) confining the holder to that area only.
The Passbook • Being without a valid pass made a person subject to immediate arrest and summary trial, often followed by deportation to the person's homeland. Police vans patrolled the "white" areas to round up the "illegal" blacks.
Nelson Mandela jailed for 20 years in his fight against Apartheid
Lived to vote in the first racially democratic election 1994