As the winds of independence stirred across the vast continent of Africa, men and women began to step forward to lead their various people in the desire of decolonialization; all would be detained—some more than others, some would be vilified and others praised for their contributions to the cause of freedom from the yoke of colonial rule and dictates. Education plays a strategic role in the development of leaders and statesmen—without the additional wisdom and knowledge tempered by events and people the African leaders could not have stood in the breach and led their people beyond the auspices of colonialism.
The commonality of education weaves through the lives of each and every African leader who brought their respective peoples out of colonialism and onto the international scene as viable countries and economies. Haile Selassie (1892-1975), Jomo Kenyatta (1894–1978), Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972) and Leopold Sedar Senghor (1906-2001), to name a few; these leaders, each were educated and exposed to the political arena beyond the confines of the African Continent. Having brought home with them a desire to lead their African states out of the era of colonialism and into the world market as independent sovereign nations; with the exception of Haile Selassie, whose country of Ethiopia never succumbed to the colonial yoke, rather suffered occupation during World War Two by Mussolini’s Italian military forces.
Born Tafari Makonnen and singled out by his monarch Menilek II for higher education and only one of several reasons he is listed among the who’s who of African Leaders during and after colonialization of the continent. He became a living role model for Dr. Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and even Malcolm X advocating civil ...
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... that perhaps a village chieftain. Each applied his acquired knowledge of the workings of government as he seen necessary to maintain the status quo and to gently direct his people into an age above and beyond colonialization. Certainly, each faltered and made mistakes, many learned from their mistakes and has continued the jurisprudence of a modern African nation(s) guiding by example those compatriots who have lifted the torch and continue to lead to this day in history.
Works Cited
Jones, Hilary. Senghor, Leopold Sedar (1906-2001).
Marcus, Harold G. Haile Selassie I.
Page, Melvin E. Kenyatta, Jomo 1st Prime Minister & President of Independent Kenya.
Page, Melvin E. Nkrumah, Kwame (1909-1972). http://www.imperialethiopia.org/selassie.htm. Web. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIr09k_LMoE. Web. http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/people/person.php?ID=177. Web.
Most of this documentary supports and clarifies my understanding of contemporary African culture. During the course I’ve learned that traditional African leadership structures undertook great changes under colonial rule and continue to progress today. Pre-colonial Africa had several different states characterized by different types of leadership; these involved small family groups of hunter and gatherers, bigger organized clan groups, and micro nations. Many African communities are still being governed by a council of elders, which is responsible for facilitating conflict and making almost all the important decisions within the public.
Thornton is a graduate from Millersville University, Pennsylvania. He is an American historian specialized in the history of Africa and the African Diaspora. He is also a history professor in Boston University. My paper speaks about the legitimacy of Nzinga’s coming to rule. I use Thornton’s piece for information about her rise to power.
Rodney, Walter, A.M Babu, and Vincent Harding. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. Washington, D.C.: Howard UP, 1981. Print.
Whilst there is some debate on the differences between colonialism, imperialism and ‘informal empire’, this article is more concerned with the period of ‘high’ imperialism in Africa from the 1880s - more commonly known as the scramble for Africa. Unlike earlier models of colonialism, high imperialism was more concerned with gaining spheres of influence. These spheres were gained through treaties, local agreements or by force if necessary. This facilitated the development of new trade networks to offload the surplus of production and to procure rights of access to raw resources. The availability of cheap labour was exploited, strategic land and maritime locations were acquired and the national prestige of the imperial power became elevated. The rhetoric to ‘stamp out the evil’ of slavery and slave-trading and the mantra proclaiming a ‘civilising mission’ on the ‘Dark Continent’ were also functional aspects of European imperialism. However, this article is primarily concerned with the process and experience of decolonisation in Africa.
Africa has an incredibly rich and complex history. Unfortunately, and for a variety of reasons, the west has a highly skewed and inaccurate perspective of Africa. In his “Myths About Africa, Africans, and African History: The Student’s ‘Ten Commandments’” Pier Larson critiques some of these perspectives and discusses where these western ideas of Africa come from. While these myths certainly are false, it is still interesting to see them and ponder why they exist and what that, in turn, reflects on western society. These reflections are very negative and limits western society’s perspective and ability to relate and identify with what is a vast and diverse continent.
In the modern day, Africa is seen by the world around it as a relatively underprivileged continent. Since its independence from colonial rule, Africa 's economic performance has been less than stellar and its advancement has been slow, which could be argued through a myriad of different ideologies. Nathan Nunn, the author of “Historical Legacies: A model linking Africa’s past to its current underdevelopment” believes that the slave trade and colonial rule, brought on by the Europeans in the past, is the reason for Africa’s economic hardships, that are still lingering to this day. What he sets out to answer in this academic paper is an interesting question, “Why do these events, which ended years ago, continue to matter today?” Through the
Political developments and endeavors throughout the second half of the twentieth century by the African and African-descended were mainly for the purpose of instigating change. Gomez discussed the political upheaval that occurred in Europe and Africa through the fight for independence by the mainly British and French colonies. Although some of the transitions were peaceful, many led to violence and war like with Algeria. Aimé Césaire elucidated many reasons and horrendous effects of colonialism on the Africans in his Discourse on Colonialism, but he pointed out that the overarching reason that the Africans wanted and needed change was because of the dehumanizing effect it had on both the colonizers and the colonists. The New York Times further disclosed the political developments that occurred in South Africa through Nelson Mandela on his quest to eradicate the divide between white privileged minority and the i...
Mazrui, Ali A. "The Re-Invention of Africa: Edward Said, V. Y. Mudimbe, and Beyond." Research in African Literatures 36, no. 3 (Autumn 2005): 68-82.
This section of the reading discusses one major reason why they wanted to be free of colonial rule and the phases of trying to get freedom that the African people went through. This reason was “African nationalism…a subjective feeling of kinship or affinity shared by people of African descent” (Khapoya, 2013, p. 139). This was a strong association, a part of the identity of the African people, since long before colonial rule. During colonial rule, this nationalism became even stronger. The African people resisted colonial rule with one major goal: to gain their land back to live in peace, apart from the rule of other countries. This desire was largely fueled by nationalism, which was driven by certain aspects of colonial rule more than others (Khapoya, 2013, p. 141).
For this assignment I chose to write about Jomo Kenyatta. After reading chapters three and four of Khapoya’s book, it was hard to imagine an Africa that wasn’t under colonial rule. I can only comprehend on a very basic level the impact colonialism had on the Africans economically, physically, and mentally. It is inspiring to read further and discover the immense, calculated, and passionate efforts that many Pan African leaders played in the years that followed. I found Jomo Kenyatta to be particularly interesting. For many reasons, Kenyatta is considered one of the most significant leaders of the Pan African movement in the twentieth century. Kenyatta had a clear vision of what he wanted for Kenya (or Africa as a whole), he was prepared for the path he would have to take, and he accomplished much for the country and continent as a whole.
“The sun never sets on the British Empire,” Great Britain often bragged. By 1914, about 85% of the earth’s surface was colonized by Europe. Between 1884 and 1885, The Berlin Conference took place to carve up the African continent (Background Essay). Europeans saw high potential in Africa and thought the continent was empty, even though it was not. It was roughly “untouched” and they thought they could do anything they wanted (Doc.1). Great Britain’s colonization in Kenya affected the country’s religion and culture, education, and government.
"The wind of change is blowing through this [African] continent, and whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact. We must all accept it as a fact, and our national policies must take account of it" (Macmillan). This speech, made by the prime minister of England in 1960, highlights the vast changes occurring in Africa at the time. Changes came quickly. Over the next several years, forty-seven African countries attained independence from colonial rule. Many circumstances and events had and were occurring that led to the changes to which he was referring. The decolonization of Africa occurred over time, for a variety of complex reasons, but can be broken down into two major contributing factors: vast changes brought about in the world because of World War II and a growing sense of African nationalism.
Africa’s struggle to maintain their sovereignty amidst the encroaching Europeans is as much a psychological battle as it is an economic and political one. The spillover effects the system of racial superiority had on the African continent fractured ...
Assié-Lumumba, N'Dri, Ali A. Mazrui, and Martial Dembélé. "Critical Perspectives On Half A Century Of Post-Colonial Education For Development In Africa." African & Asian Studies 12.1/2 (2013): 1-12. Academic Search Premier. Web. 9 May 2014.
There is no doubt that European colonialism has left a grave impact on Africa. Many of Africa’s current and recent issues can trace their roots back to the poor decisions made during the European colonial era. Some good has resulted however, like modern medicine, education, and infrastructure. Africa’s history and culture have also been transformed. It will take many years for the scars left by colonization to fade, but some things may never truly disappear. The fate of the continent may be unclear, but its past provides us with information on why the present is the way it is.