African history
by Mackenzie joy
apartheid in south Africa
independence movement Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa
A group of Kenyans started the Mau Mau, which operated from 1952 to 1960.The Mau Mau was a secret society. It believed force was the only way to win Kenyan rights and independence. The Mau Mau rebelled against the British. The British Army mostly defeated the Mau Mau by 1954, but violence continued until 1960. Thousands of people were killed in the fighting, but only about 100 were European. However, the Mau Mau movement still had a great deal of support among Kenyans. Eventually, their support convinced the British they would have to grant independence to Kenya. Kenyans elected Jomo Kenyatta president in 1963.
By the 1940s, Nigerians had started many groups to fight against British rule. Some groups shared ethnicity. Some were youth and student groups. Many people in these groups had gone to school in Europe. They admired European culture. But they believed that the only way for Nigerians to have their rights was to be free of European rule. These groups became political parties that worked for Nigerian independence. In the late 1940s and 1950s, the British let Nigerians elect their own into government. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa became prime minister in 1957. Great Britain gave Nigeria independence on October 1, 1960. Nigeria did not have to fight for its independence from Britain.
Nationalism increased in the Gold Cost after World War II. Many Ghanaians protested for their independence. In 1948, police fired on a group of protesters. The protesters had fought in World War II for the British. They were protesting because the government had not paid them. The police shooting of protestors led to riots in the region. Many people went on strike or protested. In 1954, a man named Kwame Nkrumah formed a new government. His government included many Africans. In 1956, his government called for independence. The Gold Coast was renamed Ghana, after the ancient African kingdom which had been nearby. Ghana won independence in 1957.