African Decolonization andPan Africanism

•Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana, the first British colony in Africa to gain independence.

Independence and New Nations

•In South Africa, whites dominated the government and implemented a system of racial segregation called apartheid.

•Blacks organized the African National Congress (ANC) to fight for economic and political reform.

Independence and New Nations (cont.)

•The newly independent nations of Africa chose different economic systems to try to stabilize their countries.•Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya and Mobuto Sese Seko of the Democratic Republic of the Congo both implemented Western-style capitalism.

•Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, and Sekou Toure of Guinea all instituted an “African form of socialism.”

Independence and New Nations (cont.)

•Several African leaders supported Pan-Africanism, a movement to unite all black Africans regardless of national boundaries.•Challenges faced by the new nations of Africa:

–Corruption

–Inexperienced leaders

–Poverty, food shortages, and droughts

–Overpopulation and pollution in cities

–Inefficient sanitation and transportation systems

–Gap between rich and poor

–AIDS and other diseases

•Many nations relied on the export of a single crop or natural resource, making it difficult for African nations to maintain economic growth.

Independence and New Nations (cont.)

•Liberia depended on the export of rubber, while Nigeria relied on oil.•The effects of colonialism caused problems and instability in the new nations.

•Fighting between Hutu and Tutsi created unstable governments in Rwanda and Burundi.

•The Hutu began a brutal campaign of genocide against the Tutsis, killing at least 500,000.

Independence and New Nations (cont.)

•When Tutsi rebels gained control, millions of Hutus fled the country to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Tutsi then invaded the DRC, creating a civil war in which 3.5 million people died.

Independence and New Nations (cont.)

•Sudan was also hurt by ethnic violence.

•In Darfur, Arab militants attacked African tribal groups with support of the Arab-led governments. Despite a truce in May 2006, fighting continues.

New Hopes

•Dictatorships came to an end in Ethiopia, Liberia, and Somalia. However, bloody civil wars followed the fall of these regimes.

•Bishop Desmond Tutu and others worked to free Nelson Mandela and end apartheid.

•After being imprisoned for almost 26 years, Nelson Mandela was elected the first black president of South Africa in 1994.

Society and CultureTension between old and new, native and foreign, affects African society.•Most African cities today resemble cities elsewhere in the world.

Nairobi, Kenya has one of the most impressive skylines in Africa.

Society and Culture (cont.)

•Millions of people throughout the countryside live as their ancestors did, without modern technology.•People in rural areas farm, hunt, or raise livestock by traditional methods, dress traditionally, and practice traditional beliefs.

•In most areas, women are allowed to vote and run for political office.

Rural village in Kenya.