Timeline
1920’s Cultural Nationalism grows amongst elite
1930-1 Gold Coast farmers first “cocoa holdups”
1951 Nkrumah wins national elections in Ghana
1958 De Gaulle offers commonwealth status
1960s Most African nations gain independence
1980 Blacks rule Zimbabwe after long civil war
1990 End of Apartheid
1994 Mandela elected president of South Africa
I. European Imperialism
1. Diverse region of sub-Saharan Africa
colonized by Europeans by 1880
2. After WWII most territories quickly and
relatively peacefully gain independence
II. Changes in society
European political, social, religious
& economic influence
Draw interior of Africa into world
economy railroads expand influence
III. Independence
Ghana first independent African nation 1957
Very linked to world economy – role of women
Impact of WWII
Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972)
IV. French attempt to thwart independence
African colonies offered the option of joining a
French Commonwealth
Last nation leaves Commonwealth in 1964.
V. South Africa
Apartheid
1. view that black Africans were
temporary residents
2. WW II changes society
3. limits on voting, land use, jobs,
marriages, registration, mobility,
education.
Nelson Mandela b. 1918
Imprisoned 1962-1990
Election in 1994
Extent of European control of Africa by 1900