Unit 7.4.

3 The Decolonization of Africa

Introduction: Answer the following questions with information from your textbook, Chapter 34,
Section 3, pages 2033 - 2039.

1. What was the Negritude movement and how did it help lead some Africans to want
independence from their European rulers?
Negritude, also known as French Négritude, was a literary movement that developed in the
1930s, 1940s, and 1950s among French-speaking African and Caribbean writers in Paris as a
protest against French colonial control and assimilation policies.

2. The European powers ruled some of their colonies directly, and some, indirectly. How did
the type of rule affect the way a particular country moved from being colonized, to gaining its
independence, to building itself into a new nation?
Unlike divide and rule, the colonial authority did not issue instructions through local elites, but
instead took direct control of administration. To replace ancient power systems, European laws
and practices were imported.

3. What strategies did Nkrumah use to help gain the Ivory Coast's independence from Britain?
What was Pan-Africanism, and why was Nkrumah so committed to promoting it? What hopes
did he have for this movement?
He founded the Convention People's Party, which rose to prominence quickly thanks to its
unparalleled appeal to ordinary voters. He was elected Prime Minister in 1952 and remained in
office when Ghana gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1957. Ghanaians passed
a new constitution in 1960, and Nkrumah was elected president.

4. What / who were key points and people in the move toward the independence of Kenya?
With Jomo Kenyatta as the country's first Prime Minister, Kenya gained independence from
Britain. The new nation's black, red, and green flag replaced the Union Jack. This came after
the first all-inclusive elections, which took place on May 27, 1963.

5. What / who were key points and people in the move toward independence in Algeria?

France
Algerians had the right to select their own future, according to Charles de Gaulle, who stated it
in 1959. Despite terrorist attacks by anti-independence French Algerians and a failed coup
attempt in France by members of the French army, Algeria gained independence in 1962. Also
see Raoul Salan.

6. What distinguished the move towards freedom and independence in both the Congo and
Angola? How did division among the people make this journey to independence and nation
building so difficult?
On November 11, 1975, Portugal declared Angola independence, at a time when numerous
Angolan nationalist forces were contending for control of the newly liberated state.

7. How did Darfur in Sudan and the people of Rwanda experience genocide during the 1990s
and early 2000s? Who were the sides? Who killed whom?

The violence in Rwanda was marked by destruction and looting of property, same as it was in
Darfur. Many Tutsi and dissident Hutu residences were demolished before and during the
genocide; Tutsi properties were also occupied during and after the slaughter.