Grade 12 - Topic 2 - Independent Africa

In 1884, at the Berlin Conference, the European powers carved up Africa amongst themselves. By 1914 all of Africa, except Liberia and Ethiopia, was under colonial rule. Today, African countries are politically independent of their former European masters.

Background and focus

Recommended reading:  Martin Meredith

This topic compares two forms of states that emerged from nationalist movements in the 1960s.

The Congo was used as a tool in the Cold War. This left a legacy that continues today.

Tanzania developed as a socialist state, implementing ideas of African socialism.

The focus is on the political, economic, social and cultural successes and challenges that countries

faced in Africa after independence, illustrated by the Congo and Tanzania.

The Scramble for Africa (or the Race for Africa) was the proliferation of conflicting European claims to African territory during the New Imperialism period, between the 1880s and the start of World War 1.

Figure 1: Africa before Independence                              Figure 2: Africa Today ( 28/01/2015)

Source:

http://www.saflirista.com/Colonial-Africa.png (colonised Africa ) http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africapolitmap.jpg( Independent Africa )

At the Berlin Conference (1883/4 – 1885), the major European countries carved up Africa amongst seven major European states. (See above). Africa had been transformed from being an extension of seven European powers towards full political independence. The first country to gain independence was Liberia ( 26 / 07 / 1847 ) from Britain. The last country to gain independence was Eritrea ( 24/05/1993) from Ethiopia.

Online Source:

http://africanhistory.about.com/library/timelines/blIndependenceTime.htm [Accessed 16 February 2015]

The following is to be covered in this topic:

What were the ideas that influenced the independent states?

This section includes different forms of government  (political ideologies and economies), such as :

1.African socialism,

It is worth mentioning that most African liberation movements were influenced, in varying degrees, by Marxist doctrine. So the amalgamation of what it meant to be African and a newly liberated citizenry; was, again, influenced by Marxist/ Communist doctrine. Post-independent Africa followed this ‘doctrinal’ trajectory by

Friedland and Rosberg's (1992) attempt to summarize the three (3) main characteristics of African socialism, as follows:

a)·no private ownership of land

b)·no social classes

c)·no shirking of responsibility to cooperate (work)

Source:

i)  http://www.drtomoconnor.com/3160/3160lect03.htm [Accessed 16 February 2015]

ii) http://www.drtomoconnor.com/3160/3160lect03.htm [Accessed 16 February 2015]

iii)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXjL-HHn_a8    [Accessed 16 February 2015]

2.  capitalism, democracy and,

3.  one-party states

The galvanising of the opposition to colonisation meant that there was a large degree of unanimity within

liberation movements across Africa. ‘One-party states’ quickly emerged. These states were characterised by an

extremely strong political party, perhaps with smaller, peripheral parties; that largely controlled the domestic

conditions in the country. This emergence, in itself, would create problems for these newly-independent

countries, in the future.

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/African_Socialism.aspx [Accessed 16 February 2015]

Comparative case studies (1960 to 1980) as examples to illustrate the political, economic, social and cultural successes and challenges in independent Africa (1960 to 1980).

The case studies are NOT meant to be seperately examined.

(the Congo (became a tool of the Cold War)

Source: http://s3.amazonaws.com/churchplantmedia-[Accessed 16 February 2015]cms/mavuno_grassroots_development_for_congo/democratic-republic-congo-map.jpg [Accessed 16 February 2015]

For a brief history of the Congo region in general; and the DRC, in particular, please visit...

http://www.mavunocongo.org/history [Accessed 16 February 2015]

It should be noted however that the CONGO REGION consists of :

1.The Republic of Congo and

2.The Democratic Republic of the Congo

The discussion that follows centres on the Democratic Republic of Congo.

King Leopold II...of Belgium

Patrice Lumumba...of the DRC

Source:http://www.standnow.org/system/files/leopold.jpg [Accessed 16 February 2015]

Mobutu

Source:http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/10/25/1382706596437/Mobutu-Sese-Seko-pictured-010.jpg [Accessed 16 February 2015]

Laurent Kabila

Source:https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQJAqFDU_kkYBG8-GVzbBP9SZARifFSKYPNCCBRfhzFwGFXX7-rqw [Accessed 16 February 2015]

Joseph Kabila

Source:  https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRCTvSpvDBFnZJ6-L91RUREjEl_18DF6vx2ug6N-QXnxloKIOUb [Accessed 16 February 2015]

Timeline:

1885

King Leopold II formally acquires Congo territory as his own private property, naming it Congo Free State

1885-1908

Leopold and his army terrorize inhabitants in pursuit of resources. An estimated 10 million Congolese, half the population, die

1959

Major nationalist riots in the capital threaten Belgium's control over Belgian Congo territory

May 1960

Mouvemont National Congolais (MNC) party wins parliamentary elections. Patrice Lumumba becomes prime minister. Joseph Kasavubu is elected President.

June 30, 1960

Belgian Congo gains independence, becoming Republic of Congo

January 17, 1961

Patrice Lumumba is executed by forces from Katanga province backed by Belgium

1963-1965

Kanyarwanda War: Coalitions of different ethnic groups battle for land rights in North Kivu

1965

Joseph-Desire Mobutu overthrows Kasavubu in a Western-backed coup and establishes a one-party system

1966

Mobutu changes the country's official name to "Democratic Republic of Congo" to distinguish it from the former French colony "Republic of Congo"

1966

Mobutu changes the name of the capital from Leopoldville to Kinshasa, and renames several other cities as well

1971

Mobutu renames the country "Zaire" and changes his own name to Mobutu Sese Seko

1972

Massive inflow of Hutu refugees fleeing massacres in Burundi after a failed Hutu rebellion against the Burundian government

1972

All Banyarwanda (ethnic Rwandan and Burundian) residing in Congo from 1959-1963 are granted citizenship

Late 1970s

Amid growing resentment of the increase in Banyarwandan Tutsi power, local Hutu and Congolese increase political mobilization and gain additional influence in the national assembly

1981

Citizenship for Banyarwanda groups, mostly Tutsis, is restricted to those who could trace ancestry in Congo back to 1885. This reflected a desire to counter growing Tutsi economic power in the Kivu region

1990

Mobutu declares the Third Republic, introducing a new constitution that includes democratic reforms and lifts the ban on multiparty politics

February 1990

Fall of the Soviet Union. Relations between Mobutu and the West deteriorate, as incentives to back Mobutu in the name of anti-Communism disappear

March 1993

Governor Jean-Pierre Kalumbo Mbogho orders all Tutsis removed from the region and calls for their extermination. Violence breaks out, claiming 14,000 lives over the next two months

May 1993

Mobutu dismisses Governor Kalumbo and increases Tutsi representation in the provincial government of the Kivus

1994

Rwanda's Hutu extremist government orchestrates genocide of approx. 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. After Tutsi rebels take control of Rwanda, over a million refugees flood into Congo, including Rwandan army soldiers and Hutu extremist Interhamwe militiamen complicit in the genocide

1996-1997

First Congo War

1996

Rwandan forces invade Congo to protect Tutsis and destroy Hutu militia camps. Mobutu's government opposes the incursion, prompting reform elements to unite against him.

May 1997

Anti-Mobutu rebels, backed by Rwanda, seize Kinshasa and install Laurent Kabila as president. The country is renamed again to "Democratic Republic of Congo"

Late 1997

President Kabila calls for withdrawal of all Rwandan and Ugandan forces from the country

1998-2003

Second Congo War

August 1998

Rebels back by Rwanda and Uganda rise up against Kabila and take control of much of eastern DRC. Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Angola send troops to repel the rebels.

July 1999

Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Angola, and DRC sign peace accord in Lusaka, Zambia

August 1999: MLC and RDC rebels sign Lusaka accord

November 30, 1999

UN Security Council sets up 5,500-strong force to monitor the ceasefire, known as MONUC. Fighting continues between rebel and government forces, and between Rwanda- and Uganda-backed forces

January 2001

Laurent Kabila is assassinated by a bodyguard and is succeeded by his son, Joseph Kabila.

Tanzania ...as an example of African socialism

Gained independence from Britain on 09/12/1961.

Source:  http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/images/map-tanzania.png [Accessed 16 February 2015]

·www.sahistory.org.za”º timelines ”º This day in History [Accessed 16 February 2015]

Leaders of Tanzania Since Independence

A list of Tanzanian leaders since gaining independence on 9 December 1961

Zanzibar
Zanzibar gained its independence as a Sultanate on 10 December 1963, and was proclaimed the People's Republic of Zanzibar on 12 January 1964 following a coup. On 26 April 1964 it merged with the Republic of Tanganyika to become the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar.

Although Zanzibar and Tanzania are united, Zanzibar continues to have its own president.

Source:http://africanhistory.about.com/od/tanzania/l/bl-Tanzania-Leaders.html [Accessed 16 February 2015]

This speech, by Julius Nyerere outlines the visions and central points of African Socialism.

http://www.juliusnyerere.info/images/uploads/ujamaa_1962.pdf [Accessed 16 February 2015]

Other Resources:

1. http://www.fsmitha.com/p/ch34-tan.htm [Accessed 16 February 2015]

2. http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2005/05/exch-m19.html

[Accessed 16 February 2015]

3. http://African Socialism - Encyclopedia.com [Accessed 16 February 2015]

The successes and challenges faced by independent Africa?

1) the kind of states that emerged - their aims and visions (political ideologies);

2) political including:

Types of leaders:

Lumumba,

http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/patrice-lumumba [Accessed 16 February 2015]

“We are not communist, Catholics or socialist. We are African Nationalist. We retain the right to be friends with whoever we like in accordance with the principal of political neutrality.”

Patrice Lumumba

http://www.biography.com/people/patrice-lumumba-38745 [Accessed 16 February 2015]

Mobuto Sese Seko

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0782891/bio [Accessed 16 February 2015]

“After me, a flood of chaos. Apres moi, le deluge.” – MSS

http://spartacus-educational.com/COLDmobutu.htm [Accessed 16 February 2015]

Nyerere (What are the qualities of a good leader?)

http://www.nyererefoundation.org/biography [Accessed 16 February 2015]

"Violence is unnecessary and costly. Peace is the only way." - JN

https://www.marxists.org/subject/africa/nyerere/biography.htm [Accessed 16 February 2015]

- legacies of colonialism;

http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m7b/activity3.php [Accessed 16 February 2015]

- types of government; and

- political stability and instability;

Economic including:

- types of economies (as third world countries)

social and cultural including:

- benefits of independence;

- education; and

 - Africanisation.

What was the impact of the internal and external factors on Africa during the time?

Africa in the Cold War: USSR, USA, Cuba, China and South Africa

Case study: Angola ( 11/11/1975...Portugal )

History of Angola ( briefly)...

Source:http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/africa/angola/map_of_angola.jpg [Accessed 16 February 2015]

Angola and slaves: 15th-19th century

Colonial period: 1885-1975

Independence: from1975

http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad33 [Accessed 16 February 2015]

Source:

http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/case-study-angola [Accessed 16 February 2015]

http://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/angola-becomes-independent-portuguese-colonial-rule [Accessed 16 February 2015]

The case study will include:

introduction: how Africawas drawn into the Cold War (broadly);

competing spheres of influence - trade, conflict and aid;

Angola: colonialism and independence (broad overview);

Timeline

Source: http://africanhistory.about.com/od/angola/l/Bl-Angola-Timeline.htm [Accessed 16 February 2015]

outbreak of civil war in 1974

- MPLA and UNITA

www.sahistory.org.za/.../angolan-civil-war-1975-2002-brief-history [Accessed 16 February 2015]

reasons for and nature of involvement in Angola (USSR, USA, Cuba, China and South Africa);

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1owf55/why_did_so_many_countries_get_involved_in_the/  [Accessed 16 February 2015]

www.jstor.org/stable/2637389 [Accessed 16 February 2015]

impact on regional stability;

significance of the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale 1987 and 1988;

http://www.sahistory.org.zapolitics and society ”º 20th Century South Africa [Accessed 16 February 2015]

http://scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.za/pub/article/download/71/99 [Accessed 16 February 2015]

the changing nature of international relationships after 1989

Recommended reading:

1.  http://jim.com/African_capitalism.htm [Accessed 16 February 2015]

2.http://science.jrank.org/pages/7540/Capitalism-Africa.html [Accessed 16 February 2015]

3.isbn: 0857203894 – Google Search. 2015. _Google Search [ ONLINE] Available at: https://booksgoogle.co.za/books?isbn=0857203894. [ Accessed 09 February 2015].

4.http://www.raceandhistory.com/cgi-bin/forum/webbbs_config.pl?md=read;id=534[Accessed 16 February 2015]