2023 - Africa Unit Assessment

Slave Trade

* (1500-1800) 10-15 million enslaved people sent to the New World
* Slaves were purchased from Gold Coast and Slave Coast (West Africa)
* Europeans traded guns and manufactured goods for slaves with African rulers → Arms race
* African rulers obtained enslaved people from prisoners of war captured in conflicts between kingdoms
* African rulers did not see slaves as their own people but as prisoners of war
* Demand for sugar caused the slave trade to surge
* Many Europeans could not enslave the natives because they were sick or dead from foreign disease from the Europeans

Middle Passage - Triangular Trade

* Enslaved people traveled in the Middle Passage
* They suffered disease, maltreatment, psychological depression, death, etc.
* The boats that the slaves traveled on were through the middle passage
* Each slave was only given 5 feet length and 11 inches width
* Unwashed bodies, heat, no fresh air, seasickness, perspiration
* Captains of these ships received cash commissions based on the amount of enslaved people they brought to the Americas


* Triangle Trade = Trade routes between Europe, Africa, and the Americas

Race based enslavement

* Racial Slavery as a result of: Skin color

King Leopold the 2nd

* Carried out the brutal colonization of the Congo for its resources
* Rubber made him very wealthy
* He obtained this rubber by torturing the Congolese people
* He made unattainable quotas and when the people weren’t able to meet demands, their hands were cut off

Barriers to entry in Africa

* Escarpments
* Steep cliffs
* Cataracts
* Large waterfalls on many African rivers
* Inability to create a workaround
* Ex. Nile, Congo, Zambezi
* Boats cannot sail down many rivers
* Early Europeans did not explore much land and many people did not want to be the first to do so
* “Going into the unknown”
* Inability for Europeans to fight off many diseases
* Had to get past indigenous groups

Decolonization of Africa - Post WWII

* Colonial rule was removed in 1931
* South Africa passed the Union Act in 1934
* Sub Sahara
* Independence problems existed
* Overdependence on export crops
* Arbitrarily drawn borders (mixed groups and separated tribes)
* Roads and railroads needed modernization
* Large populations with very little resources
* Some wanted to keep personal priviledges, control of resources, and political power
* Power struggle with indigenous population
* Racial conflict - very severe in South Africa
* White government and diverse majority

Independence Movements

* 1945-1960’s
* Few Europeans lived in Africa, except for in Algeria, Kenya, and South Africa
* This was unlike colonization in the Americas
* First nation to gain independence was Libya in 1951 - From Italy
* Last nation to gain independence was Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) in 1980 - From British

United Nations

* Imposed sanctions and international sympathy arose. Nations refused to trade with South Africa and companies left
* Decolonization of Africa and Asia increased membership of the General Assembly of the UN
* UN began shifting focus
* Issues on poverty
* Racial discrimination
* “We are here as peacekeepers, not peacemakers” during the Rwandan genocide
* They stayed within hotel walls in “Hotel Rwanda” and didn’t intervene in the bigger issue
* Eventually left Rwanda because of the murder of 10 of their Belgian soldiers
* They abandoned the families in need in Rwanda
* Removed all whites from Rwanda

Apartheid & Apartheid Laws/Policies

* Policy of legal racial separation/segregation
* National Party - new power in South Africa implemented Apartheid
* Promoted Afrikaner (Dutch South African) nationalism (1948)
* It helped the people in power to…
* Maintain control over non-whites
* Change economics (to benefit white business owners)
* Change politics (restricting ability to vote)
* Some policies -
* Mixed Marriages Act of 1949
* Whites and members of other races could not marry
* Population Registration Act of 1950
* Must identify as either white, colored (mixed), Indian, or Black
* Group Areas Act of 1950
* Segregated residential areas
* Bantu Authorities Act of 1951
* Political rights restricted to residential zones
* Blacks were excluded from political life
* Extension of University Education Act - forbade non-Europeans to English speaking universities
* Which were the most successful and funded
* Separate universities were created
* Segregation of schools, hospitals, and neighborhoods
* More than 1 million blacks were forced to relocate from white areas between 1950-1980

Homelands/Bantustans

* 10 homelands were created: 9 for non-whites and 1 for whites
* They could not travel to other homelands without permission
* When non-white homelands became independent, people would lose their South-African citizenship
* They were on their own with little resources and protection
* 4 homelands eventually became independent
* The only black people allowed in white homelands were minors used for labor

African National Congress (ANC)

* Created in 1912
* Organized strikes, boycotts, etc. (mostly nonviolent)
* Face imprisonment - organization was banned
* Nelson Mandela emerges as a leader
* He originally didn’t want to join → He wanted to make his family proud
* Jailed 1962…1964-1990
* Ruling party in South Africa at national level since 1994
* Group campaigning for racial equality

Stephen Biko

* 1977 - Popular student leader beaten to death by police while in custody in Pretoria
* Leader of South Africa Students Organization
* He died from “brain injuries sustained through a scuffle with police officers”
* Led the Black Consciousness movement
* Biggest anti-Apartheid movement at the time

Sharpeville Massacre

* March 1960
* Demonstration against Pass Laws (passes that non-Europeans needed at all times
* Police opened fire on unarmed demonstrators; 69 killed
* “State of Emergency” in South Africa declared
* Gives military full control
* 69 were killed and 180 others were wounded
* Turning Point:
* People became more involved
* Leaders became more radical and violent because they saw nonviolence wasn’t working

Soweto Riots

* Black students in high school need to take some Afrikaans’ classes (language of Afrikaners)
* Language of their oppressors
* They were very insulted
* Protest, boycotts
* Daily rioting - hundreds of students killed (about 435)
* Hector Peterson was the first student killed
* Spread through Africa

World Pressure on South Africa/ International Sanctions

* 1985 - US, Canada, European Union limited sanctions on South Africa
* Foreign Policy
* Nations cutting SA off
* Broke official ties with Britain, India, Canada, etc.
* Divestment
* Companies cutting SA off

End of Apartheid

* Meetings between Mandela and de Klerk
* Four year “State of Emergency” ended
* Apartheid repealed
* Separate Amenities Act repealed (1990)
* Apartheid ended under de Klerk

Divestment

* United States corporations announced they were leaving South Africa
* Coca Cola, General Motors, IBM, etc.
* Over 70 major corporations left
* Desmond Tutu won Noble Peace Prize for his efforts

Election of 1994 in South Africa  

* Mandela vs. de Klerk
* Nelson Mandela was elected
* First black president of South Africa
* 1994: 80% of land was owned by whites, yet they were only 16% of the population

Bishop Desmond Tutu

* Led economic fight against Apartheid
* Nonviolence
* Called for trade restrictions from other countries into South Africa
* Established The Truth and Reconciliation Commission

F.W. deKlerk

* Became President September 1989
* February 1990 - legalized ANC as a political party
* Nelson Mandela released from prison in February 1990 (Jailed 1964-1990)
* Passes reforms measures leading to the end of Apartheid

Nelson Mandela

* Wanted to make his family proud
* Wanted freedom
* Was sentenced to prison for sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the state
* He was there from age 44-71
* Government uses the prisoners as tools for ending Apartheid by offering him freedom (his release was conditional)
* He doesn’t want to negotiate for release if it will stop the movement for change
* The whites said they would get equal power share, but Nelson didn’t want that. He wanted One Man One Vote
* He and other prisoners were assaulted and tortured in many forms. They were also asked to preform difficult labor
* When he was eventually released, he said “I don’t want it to be told that you have given me my freedom. Just open the gate and let me go.”
* He became president
* Included people of mixed races in the government

Belgians in Rwanda

* Favored Tutsis and gave them more benefits
* Better education, more opportunities, better jobs, nicer homes, etc.
* Late 1800’s/early 1900’s - They exploit the division of the Hutus and Tutsis to their own benefit
* Divide and conquer method
* After Hutus overthrow the Tutsi monarchy in 1959, the Belgians leave and Hutus take their place

Tutsi & Hutu

* Hutus
* 85% of the population
* Mainly peasant farmers
* Were deprived of priviledges and opportunities
* Tutsis
* Minority group but have long dominated the lands
* Better education, more opportunities, better jobs, nicer homes, etc.
* Mostly aristocratic cattle herders
* The more cattle you had, the more power you held
* “Superior” status
* Belgians gave them protection and weapons
* They both spoke the same language, were mainly Christian

Rwandan Genocide

* 1959 - Hutus overthrow the Tutsi monarchy - tens of thousands or Tutsis fled to neighboring nations (Burundi, Uganda, etc.)
* But wanted to return to Rwanda
* Many still stayed because they didn’t want to lose their status, homes, etc.
* 1962 - Belgians leave - Hutus take their place
* Tutsis were made scapegoats for all problems - they were blamed for everything and targeted
* Radical Hutus begin genocide after President Habyraimana’s death
* April-June 1994: 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in about 100 days as a result of the genocide
* Hutus used the phrases “cut the tall trees” and “weed out the cockroaches” to refer to killing the Tutsis

Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF)

* Tutsi refugees and Hutu moderates form the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) - go to war with government
* Their goal was to overthrow the government and go back to Rwanda
* They invaded Rwanda in 1990
* Forced Hutus to flee to the DRC

Death of President Habyarimana (Spark for genocide)

* Signed peace agreement with RPF but is then killed in April 1994 by mysterious plane crash
* The rebel Hutus think the RPF did it, and the RPF thinks the rebel Hutus did it as an excuse to start the genocide

Interahamwe

* Organizers of the order to carry out the genocide
* Presidential guard and radio propaganda encouraged them
* Militia

Issues with Rwanda today

* Paul Kagame is oppresive
* Police state
* Many random checkpoints
* Every able-bodied citizen has to take part in a clean up on the last Saturday of each month
* Rwanda spends so much money on their airlines and infrastructure when so many people are poor
* Still considered one of the poorest countries
* Less freedom of speech
* Can not challenge the government
* Now illegal to talk about ethnicity

Paul Rusesabagina and the Genocide

* “Family is all that matters”
* Paul wants his family to stay together. He doesn’t care that his wife is Tutsi even though he is Hutu
* He pays almost all he has to save his family
* Paul used his hotel as a refugee center for children in need

Paul Kagame

* Oppresive - Tyranny
* Extended constitutional term limits, allowing him to rule for longer
* Shut down free press
* Clamped down on dissent
* Opposition figures have been imprisoned or killed
* One of the West’s most reliable and best friends
* Visits many American universities, political leaders, sports programs, and international organizations
* Western nations contribute to 70% of Rwanda’s national budget
* Anti-imperialist
* He is good at guilt-tripping the West
* Blamed for “sparking” the Rwandan genocide and then doing little to help it
* Rules with an iron fist

Democratic Republic of Congo

* Territory
* 1/4 the size of the US
* Agriculture
* Can grow variety of crops
* Coffee, sugar, tea, cotton
* Mineral resources → Child labor, unsafe working conditions within mines
* Most important
* Precious metals
* Diamonds, gold, coltan
* 71% below the poverty line
* Belgium colonized and controlled until 1960s
* Did little to prepare for independence
* Under King Leopold’s rule


* Country descended into Civil War
* Prime minister was overthrown and murdered in jail

Joseph Mobutu

* Consolidates power in 1975
* Renamed Congo → Zaire
* Mobutu “Sese Seko”
* Kleptocracy
* Klepto = theif
* He steals the money that the nation gets
* Ruled by thieves
* Money doesn’t go to workers
* 15-20% of state budget went to Mobutu
* Cold War politics support him

DRC’s Conflict with Rwanda

* Cold War ends
* So does support for Mobutu
* Hutu death squads (Interahamwe) from Rwanda
* Flee to Zaire
* Mobutu was weak, dying of cancer
* Border became powder keg (high tension area) - unresolved ethnic disputes
* 1996 - Rwanda invades (under Paul Kagame’s rule)
* Target Hutu death squads
* So much violence in DRC at the border because many Tutsis fled and the border is very tense

DRC’s resources

* DRC and 9 nations surrounding it sit on the richest part of the planet
* Uranium, diamonds, gold, oil, cobalt, etc.
* Which are found in our electronics


* The mines are hazardous and difficult to regulate
* People have been buried alive and have died from the toxic gases
* Children and people that need work desperately work in the mines
* Four conflict minerals:
* Tin
* Tangelum
* Tungstun
* Gold

Effect of Slave trade on Africa

* Disrupted whole societies
* Changes balance of power
* Arms race
* Male population decreases
* Conduct of war shifts because of the focus on guns
* The rich got richer
* Famine
* Because of male population loss and constant fighting

Imperialism

* The process of a large powerful nation dominating a weaker nation
* In 1870, 10% of Africa was colonized
* In 1895, 90% of Africa was colonized
* Belgium colonized Rwanda in the early 1900s
* They used their power to intensify the divide between Tutsis and Hutus
* Gave ID cards to separate the groups

Motivations for imperialism

* Exploration
* David Livingston and Scotts Mungo Park
* Natural Resources

Diseases of Africa

* Malaria
* Sleeping Sickness
* River Blindness
* Bilharzia
* Guinea Worm
* Blinding Trachoma
* Ebola

Social Darwinism

* Europeans created ideas based on Charles Darwin’s ideas about evolution to justify their actions
* Enslaving people conflicted with their beliefs of Christianity, so they needed to find a reason
* “Survival of the fittest”
* Justification for European expansion
* They claimed that “they are to be dominated and that’s just the way it is”
* They said they would bring enslaved people -
* Civilization
* Christianity
* even though they didn’t want this…
* White Man’s Burden
* They claimed they had a duty and were just doing their job
* These reasons made sense to uneducated masses

European dominance in Africa

* They were technologically superior
* Maxim gun was invented in 1884 and it was the 1st automatic gun → They used manpower more efficiently
* Used steamboats, railroads, and cables to gain control in Africa
* Developed drugs to prevent Malaria in 1829
* Manipulated rival Africa groups to fight one another to European benefit

King Leopold, The Congo River Basin and Belgian Congo

* He used his wealth for personal gain
* President of the International Africa Association, which operated in the Congo River Basin
* This area included Lake Malawi, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, and the upper Nile.
* He was celebrated as the leader of a crusade to bring civilization to Africa
* But, after his plans to annex the Congo to Britain, the IAA dissolved and he controlled and owned the Congo by himself
* Demands for increases in rubber outstripped the natural rate of supply, meaning that obtaining enough was impossible
* The people of Congo were unable to meet quotas and they were punished with amputations (of the hands especially) and murder

Berlin Conference

* 1884-1885
* Africa divided into zones
* No concern for natives or environmental factors
* Populations, water sources, food, agriculture
* Europeans occupy lands - respect each others claim so they don’t have to worry about each other as well
* Only 2 nations left free
* Liberia and Ethiopia
* Europeans saw this as the “Scramble for Africa” while Africans saw this as their continent being separated and societies being destroyed
* Africans were not invited