World Cultures Portfolio/Africa: Decolonization

World Cultures Africa

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The history of Africa is long and complicated. According to Jared Diamond (cite), Africa is near the place where humans first evolved. Some left Africa and went to Europe, where they found good farmland with many domesticatable plants and animals. This agricultural efficiency left the Europeans to be able to research and develop tools as well as knowledge. Over the years, the Europeans invented guns and steel as instruments of war. They also created complicated, efficient industrial processes which required large amounts of raw materials. One place they knew, Africa, had lots of these materials. They realized that they could use their superior weaponry to invade Africa and claim it for themselves. This all went well for a few hundred years until World War II ended (Encarta). The main colonial powers, France and Britain were to weak to maintain their rule in Africa. They were forced to give in to the African's growing demand for independence.

As, and after that happened, Africa was in, and continues to be, in great turmoil. The boundaries set up arbitrarily by Europeans, split tribes and united rival tribes together. This caused conflict between opposing groups which have hated each other for thousands of years. In addition, the Europeans were hoping to maintain their superiority, either by direct racial policies, such as South African apartheid, or indirect taxation or debating which made life hard for the blacks. Western powers hoped to maintain their interests by influencing the politics of the supposedly independent nations. A combination of these internal and external factors continues to shape Africa's volatile political climate.