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The Scramble for Africa
• In the late 1800s, European leaders got together and divided up the continent of Africa to create European colonies.
• Why did they want African colonies?
• What are some possible problems with this?
Colonial Governments
• Relied on brutal military strength
• Only concerned with economics (getting natural resources from the colony) – did not do anything to try to unite the different tribes, build infrastructure (roads, schools, hospitals, telecommunications, etc.)
• Either ruled directly (sent European officials to live in the colonies and rule) or indirectly (gave power to local tribes to help them rule)
• Southern Africa – settler colonies
African Independence
• Nationalist movements across Africa led to independence for the colonies during the 1960s and 1970s
• In most cases, independence led to either:• Corrupt governments where one man/political
party controlled everything in the country (ex: the Congo)
• Racist governments that put one tribe or group of people over another in order to keep power (ex: South Africa; Rwanda)
The Congo/Zaire
• Mobutu Sese Seko – corrupt leader of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) who stole the wealth from his country for his own personal benefit• Embezzled over $5 billion
from his country!
Apartheid in South Africa
• Apartheid: system of racial segregation enforced by the National Party government in South Africa from 1948-1994
• Black South Africans were not allowed to vote, obtain certain jobs, travel freely, or even marry without the permission of the government
• Does this sound familiar?
Nelson Mandela & the ANC
• ANC (African National Congress) – group led by Nelson Mandela that fought for the end of apartheid
• Nelson Mandela – leader of the ANC who was imprisoned for 28 years and then became the first President of post-Apartheid South Africa
Rwanda
• Two ethnic groups: Hutus (majority) and Tutsis (minority)• The divide between
these two groups was made worse during Belgian colonial rule
• Most of the land and power was given to the Tutsis while the Hutus were forced to be poor laborers
Civil War
• 1959-1962: Hutus rebelled and overthrew the Tutsi government
• 1990: RPF (Tutsi group) invaded Rwanda and tried to overthrow the Hutu government, beginning the Rwandan Civil War
• This only made worse the Hutu fear that the Tutsis intended to enslave the Hutus
Genocide
• Genocide: the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a specific ethnic group or nation
• 1994: Hutus killed Tutsis (and also Hutus who wanted peace because they were seen as traitors)
• In 100 days, an estimated 800,000 people were brutally murdered (this represents 20% of the entire population)
Current Problems for Africa
• Corrupt Governments
• One-Crop Economies
• Disease
• Overpopulation
• Water Scarcity
One-Crop Economies
• Entire countries are often dependent on just one or two main crops which makes them very vulnerable
Disease
• Out of approximately 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS, 70% live in sub-Saharan Africa (mostly in eastern and southern Africa)
• Out of nearly 247 million cases of malaria EACH YEAR, 90% of all deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa
Overpopulation
• Fertility rates: between 4-8 children per mother• U.S.: 2
• Why?• More children = more workers/farmers• Lack of education• Afraid children won’t survive into adulthood