African History
By Kaitlyn Baek
Africa Colonization Map
Apartheid in South Africa
21st Century Issues in Africa
Kenya has the highest poverty rate, but it also has the highest birth rate. It can be inferred that Kenya has a high poverty rate because of its growing population. Sudan has the lowest poverty level, and it also has the 2nd lowest death rate. It can be inferred that Sudan has the highest standard of living among the 4 countries.
Independence in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa
The Pan-African movement was the belief that there was global pride in being African. Pan-Africanism started nationalism in Africans. Nationalism is the pride or love of one's country. Africans started fighting for independence after they had developed nationalism.
Independence in Nigeria: After the Berlin Conference, Great Britain controlled Nigeria. Great Britain separated Nigeria into two different colonies. Since Nigeria has a lot of different ethnic groups, diving Nigeria was a bad idea. Many of the ethnic groups did not like being in the same area as the other ethnic groups. The British began to treat ethnic groups differently after the ethnic groups started to disagree. Nigerians did not like this, and by the 1940's many Nigerians had developed organizations to fight off British rule. Although the Nigerians respected the British because of their education, they still believed that Nigerians would only be able to have rights if they were completely free of British control. The organizations fighting British rule eventually became political parties. On October 1, 1960, Nigeria was given independence. The Nigerians did not have to fight the British for independence, which was uncommon at the time.
Independence in Kenya: Kenya was also controlled by the British. The Kenyans thought that the British colonization was an invasion of their land and that it was unfair. To fight British control, Kenyans formed a secret organization called the Mau Mau. The Mau Mau believed that the only way to get Kenyan rights and freedoms was by using force. In 1954, the British defeated most of the Mau Mau, but there was still tension and fighting between the two groups until 1960. Thousands of people were killed in the Mau-Mau-and-British fighting, but only about a hundred were European. Kenyans continued to support the Mau Mau. The British eventually granted independence to Kenya in 1963. Jomo Kenyatta was voted as president.
Independence in South Africa: In 1948, the racist Nationalist Party came into power. The Nationalist Party started a system of segregation called apartheid. Apartheid stripped blacks of the rights that they enjoyed. South Africans protested against this poor treatment by forming organizations like the National Congress (ANC). During the 1950's and 1960's, groups such as the ANC received support from all around the world. Many people around the world found apartheid to be unfair and unjust. In fact, in 1973 the United Nations declared apartheid a crime against humanity. Countries pressured South Africa to end apartheid by putting sanctions on South Africa. Apartheid finally ended and the South Africans got their independence.