Imperial Powers and Decolonization: Revolution in the Portuguese Colonies

1. ImperialPowers andDecolonization:Revolution in thePortuguese Colonies March 13

2. Revolution: Portuguese Colonies Be Sure to Re-ReadLecture on Imperial Powers and Decolonization: Settler Colonies(March 6) -relevant section for this lecture, slides 9-23

3. Revolution: Portuguese Colonies What was ‘different’ about armed battle for Independence in Portuguese Colonies? - Reid (Textbook) looks at Decolonization and Independence in terms of ‘negotiated’ versus ‘violent’ methods - problematic: e.g. he counts Kenya among ‘negotiated’ – difficulty for this interpretation being Mau Mau!

4. Revolution: Portuguese Colonies Our Approach: distinguish between ‘non-settler’ and ‘settler’ regimes -consistent with Davidson: “Where settlers were many … the road to independence was soaked in blood.”

5. Revolution: Portuguese Colonies “... The Road to Independence was soaked with Blood”: violence, armed struggle, war - because of Colonial Resistance ‘that road’ was often taken in the 1960s (even into the 1970s)

6. Revolution: Portuguese Colonies Implications Twofold: - coincided with peak of Cold War [next week] which meant that many struggles were defined in terms of that war [evident and important in the Portuguese case but will be developed more in the context of the next few weeks] - necessitated strategies (military, economic) and ideologies to define ‘struggle’ such that its goals – ‘post-colonial society’ – were enough to convince people to give their lives

7. Revolution: Portuguese Colonies What made Portuguese Colonies Different? - recognition that African support (and needed foreign economic/military support) could only be acquired by developing a strong Ideology and Strategy for Struggle

8. Revolution: Portuguese Colonies What made Portuguese Colonies Different? - the unique local social/cultural make up: complicated challenges already significant because of (African) ethnic differences - mulattoes and even some assimiladoes did not necessarily ‘side’ with the Portuguese: these were ‘locals’ to be fought over/won over to the cause of Independence

9. Revolution: Portuguese Colonies What made Portuguese Colonies Different? - (therefore): RACE was not at all straightforward - it was not ‘black and white’ as it was in some colonies (e.g. Rhodesia) - required more ‘sophisticated’ concepts: Independence politics, Post-Independence Society -- became divisive issue within movements (e.g. Mozambique’s FRELIMO)

10. Revolution: Portuguese Colonies What made Portuguese Colonies Different? -their history would be one of not only ‘independence’ but ‘new societies’ in Africa -produced major intellectual, political ‘thinkers’:AmilcarCabral (Portuguese Guinea) Samora Machel (Mozambique) [see Davidson Video segment, Add’l Rdgs]

11. Revolution: Portuguese Colonies Amilcar Cabral (Portuguese Guinea): • openly questioned ‘real’ aims of imperialist countries (European and American) - in agreeing to African independence in context of emerging Cold War, were they not trying to prevent …

12. Revolution: Portuguese Colonies “…the enlargement of the socialist camp, [to] liberate the reactionary forces in our countries stifled by colonialism, and enable these forces to ally themselves with the international bourgeoisie [middle class].” [from B Davidson, Modern Africa, p.104] [taken from Lecture February 27, context of ‘Decolonization. Also relevant in Lectures on ‘Cold War’]

13. Amilcar Cabral(Portuguese Guinea)

14. Revolution: Portuguese Colonies Decolonization did not only involve ‘negotiated’ (peaceful) processes and ‘non-negotiated’ (violent) processes [Reid] – it involved instances of real REVOLUTION: ‘process’ underpinned by ideological goals differing significantly and (in context of Cold War), confrontationally from values, economics, politics of former colonial power And as Davidson points out: not only was Portugal Western and Capitalist – but Fascist

15. Revolution: Portuguese Colonies Between 1961-63: political struggle became armed warfare in Mozambique, Guinea Bissau and Angola

16. Revolution: Portuguese Colonies Portuguese Guinea

17. Revolution: Portuguese Colonies Angola

18. Revolution: Portuguese Colonies Mozambique

19. Revolution: Portuguese Colonies Video:Basil Davidson “Africa: Rise of Nationalism”[34:18 - 45:10]

20. Revolution: Mozambique

21. Revolution: Mozambique Liberation forces FRELIMO: - central issue: how to unify? - Mozambique large, many ethnic groups, languages (in addition to ‘settler’ issues) - central divide: Zambesi River (created a distinct North and South) Leader Eduardo Mondlane: used Socialist ideology, Portuguese language (ironically) to address divisions

22. Rhodesia SouthAfrica

23. Revolution: Mozambique Portuguese reactions: - colonial power infiltrated liberation groups with informers - 1969: Mondlano assassinated [referenced in Davidson Video] - revealed and exacerbated internal FRELIMO ‘divisions’

24. Revolution: Mozambique Not All Mozambicans Favoured Independence Won by War: Mondlano’s Death Split FRELIMO - right wing: work with Portuguese, seek more opportunities • - left wing: full-scale social revolution, anti- colonial war Left wing emerged predominant: Samora Machel new FRELIMO leader

25. Samora Machel (Mozambique)

26. Battle against Colonialism, not ‘whites’ per se. Battle for Independence and ‘new society’.

27. Revolution: Mozambique FRELIMO strength principally in south, heavily rural areas - (mostly) opposed in north - taking large northern province of Tete, major victory [see Video and Machel’s explanation as to why Tete was so important]

28. Mozambique Rhodesia SouthAfrica

29. Revolution: Mozambique - allowed FRELIMO to cross Zambesi - position also allowed for attacks on critical Beira railroad: - railroad led to Rhodesia - transported materials for Cabora Bassa Dam

30. BEIRA

31. Revolution: Mozambique Cabora Bassa Dam: - project funded by South Africa, various European countries - aim: to provide electricity to South African gold mines [more on South Africa later in the course] - huge international significance

32. Revolution: Mozambique Cabora Bassa Dam: - project employed many 1000s Africans - target (symbolic and real) of FRELIMO’s struggle - FRELIMO strategies effective

33. Cabora BassaDam: workersin the canteen.Differences between African service(top) , ‘Whites’(below)evidence of new racism.Whites paid up to 6X more than Blacks.

34. FRELIMO successful bombing,derailing trains on Beirarailroad.Disrupteddelivery supplies toCabora Bassa Dam; Rhodesia.

35. ‘’

36. FRELIMO in pictures: challenges, goals reflected in photos - taken by Canadian journalist ‘on the ground’ - publicized in Canada and West more generally Important not just as historical evidence but as insight into what was influencing international campaign at the time

37. Supplies had to be carriedoverland; ittook weeksto transportneeded goodsto the Frontlines.

38. Tactics: basic guerilla warfare

39. ‘Liberated Areas’: collective agricultural projectsundertaken for subsistence and export.

40. In all ‘Liberated Territories’ schools educatedthose‘cheated bycolonialism’.

42. Liberation Armies developed own textbooks.

44. Revolution: Mozambique Impact on Metropole: - Portugal drained by costs of war - early 1970s, almost half national budget spent on colonial wars in Africa - no development taking place in Portugal itself - young men migrating to France (and elsewhere) in search of work

45. Revolution: Mozambique Portuguese Military: - national military often seen as ‘way out’ for poor with no education, few skills, no future - Portuguese army no exception - but… war affecting recruitment of young men who had any other choice’ (including out- migration to France): problem • - draft (military conscription) enacted

46. Revolution: Mozambique Many appalled by reality of wars in Africa:- 1970s, pictures (like following) distributed internationally [part of same series by Canadian journalist cited above] - tactics of guerilla war when seen ‘up close in photos’ put new image on argument of ‘protecting overseas provinces’No longer military recruitment but army ‘on-the-ground’ desertions became major problem.

50. Revolution: Mozambique Portugal faced other problems: - rural population supported FRELIMO, helped compensate for logistical difficulties of transporting supplies -“Liberated Zones” with schools, agricultural projects, hospitals desirable – therefore, protected - attracted even those who initially opposed FRELIMO