Africa - Part I

Module Number: AF01

Module Name: From Colony to Independence

Date: June 27, 2007

Introduction: For centuries, African peoples and empires had been involved in trade and diplomatic relations with Islamic and European powers. The presence of the former was felt most strongly along the northern and eastern coasts of the continent, and along the Nile River. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to establish a physical presence in Africa in the 1480s. Through the 1870s European outposts were restricted to ports along the African coasts focusing on trade and diplomacy. During the last decades of the nineteenth century, however, European interest in Africa and African resources expanded dramatically. By 1890 European nations laid claim to virtually all of the African Continent.

The most profound changes occurred between 1880-1895. In 1884-85, the Berlin Conference was called to establish the ground rules amongst Europeans claiming territory on the African continent. No African sovereigns or representitives were invited to attend. As the maps illustrate, during the years following that Conference, there was an explosion of European exploration of the interior of the continent and the establishment of administrative [colonial] systems to control and manage the newly claimed territories. Though the borders drawn may have eased tension between the European powers in the 19th Century, they were constructed with little concern for the ethnic realities.

Nevertheless, the boundaries drawn by Europeans in the late 19th cnetury remain to a large extent the boundaries of Africa's independent nations today. Hence, when the Organization of African Unity (OAU) first convened in May of 1961, it was resolved to leave the borders as they were on the assumption that to re-draw them would lead to open conflict among the new African nations.

Most of the continents 53 sovereign nations gained their independence in the 1960s. In other cases, internationally recognized independence did not come until much later, even into the 1990s. The Western Sahara is a region that as late as 2007 had not yet received international recognition as an independent, self-governing, nation-state.

Instructions to artist (including "legend / key"): There will just be one section of five frames and we will incorporate bubbles/balloons. Follow colors as at this site:

http://www.ushistoryplace.com/new maps/us27/map1.html

That is, the various territories should have these colors: Portugese- burnt orange; French- emerald green; British- Red; Spanish- mustard yellow; Italian- Navy blue; German- black or dark gray; Belgian- white; and the Ottoman Empire- light green.

Use your discretion for Afrikaner, American and Independent territories, depending on what colors still work.

Section 1:

Title: Africa before Berlin Conference

Title: Indigenous African Polities

Frame 1-A: AF-01-01A
Caption:
Notes: AF-01-A

text box: The greater portion of the African continent remained under indigenous African control through the mid-1880's. Some of those polities noted on this map did distinguish themselves. The non-shaded area on the map, however, does not represent uninhabited areas. There is little sense of formal borders.

Title: Indigenous African Polities and Muslim Communities

Frame 1-B:
Caption:
Use map inventory numbers: AF-01-01A

text box: Over the centuries, a number of Muslim groups gained control over parts of Africa primarily along the north and eastern coast.

Title: Indigenous African Polities, Muslim Holdings and European Colonies

Frame 1-C:
Caption:
Use map inventory numbers: AF-01-01A

text box:In support of trade, Europeans had acquired footholds in Africa already in the 16h Century. The extent and variety of the holdings accelerated in the 19th Century as the value of African resources became better known. The competition for control of ports and resources became intense and threatened to de-stabilize the post Napoleonic peace as had been developed by European diplomats during the middle decades of the 19th Century.

Section 2:

Title: Africa after the Berlin Conference

Frame 1-A:
Caption:
Use map inventory numbers: AF-01-02A

text box: At the Berlin Conference of 1885, European powers drew borders recognizing their respective dominion, yet. significant portions of Africa remained beyond their effective control.

pop-up bubble: Leopold II, King of Belgium, was named sovereign of the Congo Free State in the Berlin Treaty of 1885. Leopold II turned Congo Free State over to Belgium in 1908.

pop-up bubble on Liberia: Although the Republic of Liberia declared its independence on July 26th 1847, this independence was not from any political entity but from a sort of "protectorate" status. The American Colonization Society, a "philanthropic" organization closely associated with the United States government, was formally responsible for affairs in Liberia before official independence. Even after independence, Liberia was governed by an African American elite (or the descendants thereof) who retained close ties with the United States.

Frame 1-B:
Caption:
Use map inventory numbers: AF-01-02A

text box: Following the Berlin Conference, the European powers actively explored and established administrative control [a.k.a. 'colonialism'] of their assigned areas.

Frame 1-C:
Caption:
Use map inventory numbers: AF-01-02A

text box: At the outbreak of WWI, the European administrative/colonial systems were firmly in place.

Section 3:

Title: Africa Under Colonial Rule

Frame 1:
Caption: 1914-1919
Use map inventory numbers: AF-01 11, 12, 13(special attention to circled items on 13, perhaps use bubble. depict difference b/w french territories and UN designated. This is the critical map)

text box: During WWI, the British, French, and Italians expelled the Germans from both East and West Africa and took formal control of Ottoman Territories.

Frame 2:
Caption: Outbreak of WWI to end of WWII
Use map inventory numbers: AF-01 11, 12, 13(special attention to circled items on 13, perhaps use bubble. depict difference b/w french territories and UN designated. This is the critical map)

Notes: the mandates and protectorates are listed on AF 01-13, please follow closely the categories noted on that map

text box: The League of Nations legitimized these seizures and created in the process the "mandate" / "protectorate" system. These latter entities were formally differentiated from colonies; that is mandates and protectorates envisioned sovereignty to be in transition. Only Liberia and Ethiopia remained independent.

Section 4:

Title: From Colonialism to Independence

Note to Artist: We will need a color key to display each "decade's" color and its corresponding date. The text persists as the frames move forward.

scroll-over on Each Country: Displaying name and date of independence

Frame 1: AF01-16
Caption: 1940-1950
Notes: Only show the three independent countries(Liberia, Egypt, and Ethiopia) in gray.

text box: After WWII, and in keeping with the principles of the United Nations, the colonies and protectorates gained their independence. This map shows the current border of African nations with the different colors representing the decade in which the nations gained their independence. With only a few exceptions, the boundaries drawn by Europeans in the 19th century have remained largely intact.

pop-up bubble on Egypt: In 1922, Egyptian independence confirmed, though British influence and control remains pervasive. British influence effectively ended in 1956.

pop-up bubble on Ethiopia: Ethiopian independence was compromised for the years of 1935- 41 when occupied by Mussolini's troops from Italy.

Frame 2:
Caption: 1950-1960
Notes: Frame two show countries that gained their independence in the 50's in red, along with colored in countries from previous frame

text box:This map shows the current border of African nations with the different colors representing the decade in which the nations gained their independence. With only a few exceptions, the boundaries drawn by Europeans in the 19th century have remained largely intact. Balloon: Sudan was jointly administrated by Britain and Egypt from 1889-1955

Frame 3:
Caption: 1960-1970
Notes: Frame three shows countries that gained their independence in the 60's in Blue, along with colored in countries from previous frame

text box:This map shows the current border of African nations with the different colors representing the decade in which the nations gained their independence. With only a few exceptions, the boundaries drawn by Europeans in the 19th century have remained largely intact.

Frame 4:
Caption: 1970-1980
Notes: Frame 4 shows countries that gained their independence in the 70's in green, along with colored in countries from previous frame

text box:This map shows the current border of African nations with the different colors representing the decade in which the nations gained their independence. With only a few exceptions, the boundaries drawn by Europeans in the 19th century have remained largely intact.

pop-up bubble on Western Sahara: In 1975, the International Court of Justice declared the right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination. Just before Spain was to end their colonial administration in Western Sahara in 1976, the nation was partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania.

Frame 5:
Caption: 1980-1990
Notes: Frame 5 shows countries that gained their independence in the 80's in yellow, along with colored in countries from previous frame

pop-up bubble on Western Sahara: By 1987, with the help of United States military support, Morocco had exclusive control of Western Sahara. Morocco still occupies the nation today while many of the indigenous peoples of the area are exiled in refugee camps in Algeria.

Frame 6:
Caption: 1990-2000
Notes: Frame 6 shows countries that gained their independence in the 90's in purple, along with colored in countries from previous frame

text box:This map shows the current border of African nations with the different colors representing the decade in which the nations gained their independence. With only a few exceptions, the boundaries drawn by Europeans in the 19th century have remained largely intact.

Conclusion:

European and Muslim traders and explorers were active along the coast regions of Africa already in the 16th Century. Indigenous African polities developed and flourished during this period, but tended to be located more in the interior. By the mid 19th Century, and as the interior of the continent was explored and its resources became known, European powers extended their dominion over the whole of the continent. The conference at Berlin in 1884/5 finalized these claims and established the borders that exist today. Those borders however were not based on any sense of the ethnic diversity of the indigenous populations, indeed the latter were not consulted in the process.

After WW1, and under the aegis of the League of Nations, colonial holdings were converted into 'mandates' or 'protectorates' that essentially confirmed European control, yet also acknowledged that the indigenous states were in transition to independence.

After WW2, and under the aegis of the United Nations, the former colonies and protectorates virtually all gained full independence. The European legacy remains profound, and is mostly visible in the stability of the borders drawn in the 19th Century. It is also measured by the continued survival and vitality of many European languages.