From Nationalism to Independence: South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria

2011 Clairmont Press

South Africa - Beginnings

• Founded in the mid-1600s by the Dutch as a trade post

• Dutch settlers were called the Boers• The British took over the colony in the early

1800s, which forced the Dutch north into Zulu territory

• After warfare with the Zulus, the Dutch set up two new states: Transvaal and Orange Free State

South Africa - Beginnings

• Early 1900s – the two Dutch states were merged with British South Africa to form the Union of South Africa

• British discovered large deposits of gold and diamonds

• Native Africans formed the African National Congress (ANC) to protest against their unfair treatment as second-class citizens

Apartheid

• Apartheid – a strict system of separation of the races in South Africa

• African National Congress worked to end this unfair system

• Other countries placed embargos, or refusals to trade, on South Africa

Apartheid

End of Apartheid

• By 1985, pressure from the embargos and the ANC forced the South African government to begin making changes.

• 1994 – South Africa held its first multiracial elections and Nelson Mandela was elected as the country’s first black president.

Kenya

• Kenya gained its independence from British rule in 1964 under the leadership of Jomo Kenyatta and the Kenyan African National Union (KNAU).

• Kenyatta’s government was not open or free.• Kenyatta, and later Daniel arap Moi, ran

unopposed in every national election until the 1990s.

Kenya

• In the 1990s, the international community told Moi that unless Kenya improved their civil rights record, economic assistance from them would be cut off.

• There has been some improvement in the political rights of Kenya’s people, but much more is needed.

Kenya

• Some argue that a traditional, western style democracy does not fit Kenya’s past or traditions.

• The country remains a multi-party nation, technically, but in reality the KNAU still controls most of the government.

Nigeria

• Nigeria gained independence from Britain in 1960.

• After only a few months, a civil war began between the Christian south and the Muslim north.

• The war killed and injured thousands of people. • In the following years, there have been several

military coups and outbreaks of violence.

Nigeria

• In 1999, elections were held that seemed more free and open, but the government remains unstable.

• Nigeria has the potential to be wealthy from oil deposits, but as a result of government corruption, this resource has not been developed.

• Nigeria must rely on foreign aid and supplies for its people.