World History
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DecolonizationinAfrica.pptxPopulation of Algeria: poor rural Muslims; French-speaking urban Muslims and Catholics; French colons (control wealth, land, and resources)
France weakened after World War II but determined to hold on to Algeria
National Liberation Front emerges in 1954
Agglomeration of groups; Arab nationalism; Socialist in name but not doctrinaire; modernist interpretation of Islam
I. French Algeria, 1954-1962
Born in Martinique in 1925
French repression early influence
Educated in France
Wrote of psychological trauma of colonialism
Moved to Algeria in early 1950s; joins National Liberation Front
Wretched of the Earth (1961) revolutionary violence by colonial people is justified
Dehumanized; subject to violence; necessary for psychological and political decolonization
International advocate for decolonization
Treated for leukemia in U.S. and Soviet Union; dead in 1961
Frantz Fanon
1954: NLF launches revolution against French
First phase: urban revolt suppressed by French with mass arrests and torture
Second phase: rural revolt led by religious leaders; long, brutal fight
1962: France signs Evian Accords; Algeria is independent, admitted to United Nations
1963: Ahmed Ben Bella elected first president; increasingly autocratic; purges enemies; amplifies socialist rhetoric
1965: removed in coup; one-party dictatorship emerges in Algeria
Algerian Independence
Belgium colonizes Congo river basin in late 19th century; officially a colony in 1908
Brutal economic exploitation; terror and massacres;
Growing independence movement in 1950s driven by educated Congolese
Frustrated by Belgium’s slow reforms
MNC founded in 1958 by Patrice Lumumba
Negotiates Congolese independence in 1960
Antagonizes army, seek aid from Soviet Union
Executed in coup in 1961
Joseph Mobutu takes control with Western backing; personal dictatorship until 1997
II. Belgian Congo
A colony created by British colonial designs
Bound together various tribes, Muslims, Christians
Ruled through tribal federation
1953-1960: riots against British
British pull out amidst chaos in 1960
1967: Civil War in Biafra in southeast; Ibos attempt independence
1970: General Yakubu Gowon establishes military dictatorship
III. Nigeria
Algeria, Congo, Nigeria: violent revolutions lead to dictatorships
Ethnic, tribal, religious differences; failure of nationalism; results in personal dictatorships
Imperialism in Africa in 20th century a disaster for Africans
Exploitation; wealth extracted to powers
Little or no political reforms; “civilizing mission”
Deformed European culture: racism and arrogance
Distorted local cultures; imposed inorganic boundaries
IV. Legacies of Imperialism
