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The Pan African Movement
During WW1 a Pan African movement was established to discuss things that concerned all African nationalists,especially the end of colonial rule.Prominent among the nationalists was William Du Bois,a US civil rights campaigner.The Pan African movement started very small developing in the 1930s. It held 4 meeting in 1939 but none were influential.As WW2 ended African nationalists saw an opportunity to push for what had been a major Pan African Issue: an and for colonialism -
Mein Kampf Is Written - Offends Africa
Many Africans were aware and concerned about Hitler. In his book : Mein Kampf he outlined his plans to stop black people from holding positions of authority and for reclaiming German colonies which had been removed after WW1. This angered the African People -
Mussolini Invades Ethiopia
Dictator Benito Mussolini, an ally of Hitler sent his italian army into Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935. Although his actions had been widely condemned by the League of Nations the international community hadn't managed to co-ordinate consistent sanctions on Italy and a bitter war had raged. Africa had been shaken by the invasion -
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Africa's Involvement In World War 2
Africa was heavily involved in WW2. They saw it as a fight against fascism and a way to avenge Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia and a measure to stop Hitler.Also many Africans felt loyal to their to their colonial homelands and eagerly signed up. Conscription was introduced in some areas.The Kings African Rifles composed of soldiers from Kenya,Uganda and Tanganyika fought with the British against the Italians and Japanese in Ethiopia and Burma.French colonial troops fought in Italy. -
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Racism In The European Armies
In total it is estimated that about half a million Africans fought for the British and French Armies. Despite this sacrifice, within the armed forces there was a very clear segregation. Africans were not ever promoted to the rank of officer and they were treated very poorly. Although Churchill officially lifted the colour bar which had been inlace, the practice was still used. -
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Pressure On African Industries During WW2
Industries in Africa were under pressure,as the fighting nations needed extra goods at a tome when they had lost their Asian suppliers. In Liberia there was a strain on the rubber industry.In Nigeria,tin miners were worked very hard infant there was a protest in 1945 at the treatment of the natives at the hand of the British colonialists. The cost of living and food prices increased in the Belgian Congo there was a protest in 1941 that resulted in the death of the strikers. -
Advantages of the Second World War
Although WW2 was a difficult time for Africa,one unexpected advantage of the war was the increase in cultural output. Radio Stations had been appearing in Africa before the war, but the had only catered for the expat community.During WW2 the BBC began to develop radio in native languages, although this was initially a propaganda tool, it began to benefit Africans -
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USA Foreign Policy Towards Africa After WW2
The USA could see few interests in Africa after WW2.There was enough to do in Vietnam after 1954 and the Defeat of the French army,and the major escalation of US involvement in Vietnam.The US was also occupied with its colonies in the Philippines and in Puerto Rico. -
Initial Aftermath of WW2
When the fighting stopped in 1945 many of the African soldiers returned home wondering why they had fought on behalf of colonial powers, fighting for freedom and democracy while those same powers were so slow to give them the right to rule themselves -
Inspiration From India to Ex Servicemen
The African soldiers had sometimes travelled to distant lands and had seen many different ways in which people were ruled.In many African colonies ex-servicemen were a significant proportion of the population- 20% in Kenya. For Africans who had been stationed in India during the war there was another inspiration. Many soldiers saw a country on the brink of independence and wondered if it could be possible at home. -
The Want For Increases In Europe As Well As In Africa
At the same time as this desire for independence arose among ex-servicemen and nationalists in Africa,the colonial powers themselves were near bankrupt after WW2.The costs of having an empire became harder to justify ti the electorates of Britain,France etc. Also the two main superpowers with all the money and weapons: USA and USSR were against colonialism -
The Fifth Pan African Congress
The Fifth meeting of the Pan African Congress was held in 1945 in Manchester UK.The purpose of the meeting was to discuss how independence for the colonies of Africa could be achieved.The conference helped to set the agenda for the decolonisation Africa after 1945. Notably Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya and Kwame Nkrumah of the Gold Coast/Ghana organised and attended the meeting. -
The UN Is Founded
The United Nations was found on 24 October 1945 as an international organisation that aimed to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development,social progress,human rights,and the achievement of world peace. -
Financial Stability Improvements From The UN
Economic development has been assisted by the World Bank and the International Monetary fund,both of which are independent but have worked since 1947 under the UN unable.Although the major colonial powers abstained from voting in favour of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence To Colonial Countries and People in 1960,the UN certainly helped speed up the process through support and economic help as well as other methods -
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American Foreign Policy Towards Africa During the Cold War
During the Cold War the US's priority was to support any ruler who seemed capable of resisting communism.Communism was spreading through Europe and a communist victory in China had turned the nation against the US.All US foreign policy from the late 1950s - late 1980 was directed at containing the global communist threat. This meant that friends of the USA such as General Mobutu of Congo and Haile Selassie of Ethiopia received economic and military assistance due to their anti-communist ways. -
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UN Peace Keeping Missions In Africa
The UN sent 15 Peace Keeping Missions to African countries between 1960(Congo) and 2000(Central African Republic).This is more missions than the UN set to countries in Asia and in the Americas .It is a measure of how may African countries have been torn apart by conflict in this period.With the ending of colonial government,conflicts broke out between groups competing for power in the newly independent countries.Situations worsened in the colonial powers last abruptly - Congo -
Declaration On The Granting Of Independence To Colonial Countries And People
The UN General Assembly adopted the "Declaration On The Granting Of Independence To Colonial Countries And People" in 1960 with no votes against ,but abstentions from all major colonial powers. -
UN Committee On Decolonisation
Through the UN Committee On Decolonisation,created in 1962,the UN has focused considerable attention on decolonisation.It has also supported the new states that have arisen as a result of its specialist agencies such as the World Health Organisation or the International Food and Agriculture Organisation -
US Foreign Policy Towards Africa After The Cold War
After the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s,US African policy began Africa's general problems of economic underdevelopment,internal conflicts and inadequate governance.Instead of supporting anticommunist leaders,American policy shifted away from African rulers who ignored human rights,democracy or honesty.Instead they supported efficient democratic rulers.The priority for the US was to support democracy which would lead to African stability this would foster trade and increase prosperity