Chapter 2 Section 4

Independence and its challenges

Rhodesia Becomes Zimbabwe

• On April 18th 1980 Robert Mugabe became prime minister in Rhodesia’s first free election

• The British flag came down and the independent country of Zimbabwe was formed

The Growth of Nationalism

• Began in the early 1900’s

• Africans had to unite in order to end colonial rule

• Most Europeans at the time were racist

Strength In Numbers

• In 1912 South Africans formed the South African Native National Congress (ANC)

• 1920 African lawyers in British West Africa formed the National Congress of British West Africa

• Both worked to gain rights for Africans

Original members of the

ANC

Pan Africanism

• Formed in 1920’s

• All Africans work together for their rights and freedoms

• Their motto was Africa for Africans

• Leopold Senghor of Senegal was one of the movements greatest leaders

Senegal became independent in

1960 with Senghor as its first president

Africa and World War IIThe Players

Allies Soviet Union Great Britain France United States Colonies of

allied countries

Axis Powers

• Japan

• Italy

• Germany

Invasion of Africa

• German and Italian forces invaded North Africa.

• North Africa was mostly under British or French colonial control.

• Thousands of African soldiers fought and died to help free Europe.

What the Axis Powers had in 1942!

African Soldiers

170,000 soldiers from West Africa

and 280,000 from east and South Africa

fought against the Axis powers

We’re Free At Last!

• Colonialism became unpopular.

• Some European countries gave up their colonies peacefully.

• Others fought to keep them.

Gold Coast Becomes Ghana

• Nkrumah organized peaceful protests against British rule.

• Through strikes and boycotts independence was gained in 1957.

Gold Coast to Ghana

War In Algeria

• Many French people settled in Algeria.

• The French fought the Algerians for eight years.

• 100,000 Algerians and 10,000 French died before Algeria became independent in 1962.

Challenges of Independence

• Colonial powers did not allow Africans to gain experience in government

• Therefore many new governments were unstable and some had military governments

Building Democracy

• Democracy is a government in which citizens exercise power through elected representatives

• Most African countries are less than 50 years old!

• USA is over 200 years old!

• “Let Africa be given the time to develop its own system of democracy”