African Independence Webquest

List the African countries that had disagreements over borders.

Chad and Libya have fought over the Aozou strip in northern Chad. Ethiopia and Somalia were locked in a battle over the Ogaden region. Nigeria and Cameroon have disagreed on the border at Bakassi. Morocco continues to contest the border running along the Western Sahara. All of these countries had disagreements over borders.

On the left-hand side, click on Independence. What countries in Africa were independent following World War II?

Egypt, Liberia and Ethiopia were independent countries in Africa after WWII.

Describe the situation facing South Africa following World War II.

European settlers wanted to end communication with Britain and Portugal, but retain white minority rule, excluding the African population was the situation facing South Africa following WWII.

Read "A SENEGALESE VIEW OF THE ALGERIAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE." What are your impressions of this former French soldier's experiences?

My impressions of this former French soldier's experiences is that he was fighting in war against his own kind and he's proud of his color. He basically have PTSD from seeing his family and friends being shot and it hurts him like a nightmare

Now click on Post Independence. What are some of the problems associated with decolonization?

Some of the problems associated with decolonization is Every new state contained all sorts of conflicting interests, competing power bases and ethnic groups. Africa's nationalists had, on the whole, accepted the boundaries drawn up in the 1880's.

List some of the unforeseen factors beyond the control of African leaders during or following the colonization process.

Some of the unforeseen factors for the African leaders during or following the colonization process include, drought and famine in east and southern Africa, plummeting commodity prices for a wide range of products, including agricultural and mineral products, on the world market, a leap in oil prices in the 1970's for non-oil producing countries, mounting debts resulting from money borrowed, weak currencies many of which became non-convertible, and pressure from the IMF and World Bank, forcing governments in the 1980's to remove subsidies on the sort of products which the urban populations of Africa relied on, most importantly sugar and petrol.

Now click on Case Study: Kenya. Why did the British declare a state of emergency in 1952?

The State of Emergency was in response to an increase in attacks on the property and persons of white settlers, as well as African chiefs who were seen as collaborators.

How did the United States and the Soviet Union view colonization?

The United States viewed colonization as ending it would be reason for free trade and political influence and The Soviet Union wanted to end it also for the reasons of ideology and to increase its sphere of influence.

Now click on Towards Independence. Why and how did the independence movement in India have an impact on African independence?

The independence movement in India have an impact on African independence because the leader of India doctrine of nonviolence, and his track record battling prejustice in South Africa made him a huge influence.

How did this movement for independence differ from the independence movement in India? In Algeria?

The other main party to emerge in the run up to independence was the Kenyan African Democratic Union KADU. In the event, KANU gained a majority in the Legislative Assembly and Jomo Kenyatta led Kenya to independence in December 1963. The Algerians were determined to be independent. The result was violence on an appalling scale, with widespread indiscriminate killing and torture of civilians.

What problems did these African nations face when attempting to gain independence?

The problems these African nations face when attempting to gain independence are attaining economic independence and gaining political independence.

Click on Case Study: Algeria. What reasons did the Algerians have for their independence from the French?

The reasons the Algerians have for their independence from the French is they took the most 23 percent of the country's farmland and they was the only French colony in Africa occupied by a white settler population.

Do you agree or disagree with his actions? Why or why not?

Yes, I agree with his actions because he is a soldier, and they do what they are told.