Page 141 - Berkshire Encyclopedia Of World History Vol I - Abraham to Coal

26 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

I shall allow no man to belittle my soul by making me
hate him. • Booker T. Washington (1856–1915)

struggles to achieve that goal. In the following decades Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone,
the African continent experienced many political, eco- Ethiopia, Senegal, and Chad.
nomic, and social challenges as well as moments of The general aims of the OAU were to promote unity
glory that have helped determine its current position in and solidarity among African states, to respect and
world history. defend member nations’ sovereignty and the integrity of
their borders, and to promote intercontinental trade.
Impact of Colonialism However, the OAU had no real authority over its mem-
Colonialism’s impact on the African continent was dra- ber states, and the reality was that external forces (notably
matic: Colonialism was autocratic, and it set up artificial the United States and the Soviet Union) had significant
boundaries that privileged certain regions (or ethnic influence over the various political and economic posi-
groups within those regions). Colonial authorities tions taken by many of the OAU’s member states.While
exploited the territories they controlled for their mineral the OAU did use its influence to mediate or attempt to
wealth, and agricultural potential was poorly developed. resolve various conflicts on the continent (for example,
This colonial legacy was a huge challenge for the new conflict in Mozambique in the mid-1970s, the Somalia-
governments in the early postcolonial period. Ethiopian war of 1977, and civil conflicts in Chad in
The fact that colonial powers had not established 1980–1981), it was less successful as the unifying force
democratic governments in the lands they controlled that Nkrumah had envisioned.
predisposed the newly established independent govern-
ments to continue noninclusive traditions of governing. Military Governments
During the colonial era police forces had been used to Military takeovers of governments have been a consistent
quell disturbances, put down protests, and arrest politi- feature of postcolonial African life. Between 1960 and
cal agitators; many of these practices continued after 1990 there were more than 130 coup attempts, close to
independence. The fledgling independent states did not half of which were successful. By the late 1990s African
have the means to address major concerns such as better countries collectively were spending more of their
employment opportunities, housing, and developing ade- national budgets on military expenditures than on edu-
quate health care and educational systems. Often, out of cation and health systems combined.
political expediency, the new governments catered to Kwame Nkrumah was ousted from power by the mil-
privileged classes or ethnic groups that were the equiva- itary in 1966; the military retained control on again and
lent of mini nations within larger states. off again until 1992. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous
country, was the setting of a violent military overthrow in
The Organization of January 1967 in which the president and several other
African Unity (OAU) prominent politicians were assassinated. Subsequent
At the core of the idea of a united African continent was events in that country led to the outbreak of a devastat-
the Pan-Africanist Kwame Nkrumah (1909–1972), the ing civil war (1967–1970, also known as the Biafra War).
first leader of an independent Ghana. His vision of a In some cases military leaders assumed power to prevent
United States of Africa took a step forward with the for- the total breakdown of the government, and in some
mation of the Organization of African Unity, whose cases the political infighting, governmental corruption,
charter was signed on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, and civil unrest the country endured before the takeover
Ethiopia. Among the conditions for membership were were so severe that the population actually welcomed mil-
political independence and government by majority rule. itary intervention. This was the case with Nigeria in
There were thirty charter members, among them Ghana, 1967 when its first coup took place. But although mili-