De-colonization

Hello everybody, welcome to the Decolonization also known as African Awakening. I'm Cherry Picking and I'm only going to be mentioning four countries. Obviously that's a disservice to African history. If you're interested I could give you a lot more information, some reading, sources. Anyway let's go ahead and get started. First and foremost let's go to Algeria if you recall. The French invaded Algeria in 1830. It was in between the two French revolutions that we talked about in December. If you remember the Pied Noirs, the AK Blackfeet, they were white Europeans, they were working class, but they were still above the native Algerians. So what this era is known after World War II, we talked about this in class, is this prestige of Europe is gone. There's no money, there's a focus on rebuilding their own countries. So a lot of the colonies, the natives band together to kick the Europeans out. Also very hypocritical that the Europeans are still there. So in Algeria the Satiff massacre started actually on Victory Day in Europe on May 8th, 1845. Algerians fought for France during the Second World War and as a celebration they displayed the Algerian flag as this symbol of freedom. So the French soldiers didn't like that so much and started shooting, this led to riots. At the end of it was about 130 Pied Noirs were killed and about 15,000 Muslims killed. Back in France there was a lobby of Pied Noir lobby pushing for like a partite system which was similar to South Africa. The full scale and urgency began in 1954 and basically what this leads to are the. And this is a really complicated situation because you have Muslim Algerians, you have Pied Noirs and then you have French. So you have like three different groups. So the FLN, that's a combination of the native Algerians and the Pied Noirs and they start launching these coordinated small attacks on military posts. And the French respond with what's referred to as a ratissage which is like raking over towns and villages, bombing arrests, torture, pretty horrible stuff. 1957 the FLN attempted to alter strategy by moving more into urban areas. So the French then responded with helicopter bombings and well that didn't work. And basically that's going to continue until about 1961 to 1962. Charles De Gaulle, the name I have mentioned before, French President, Christian Democrat, he starts pushing for secret negotiations with the FLN. By March 18th 1962 we have the Ebbion Accords which essentially hands over independence and leadership to the FLN. There is a final bit of violence and it's anyone associated with France that stayed in Algeria really really, they're called the Hercie and tens of thousands killed in 1962. Historians have debated on the number, 15,000, 30,000, close to 100,000, really really really violent. So that's how Algeria got its independence. Now we're going to bounce to Nigeria. And Nigeria if you recall if you go back to that map I gave you, "Sussel Roads". Nigeria was a bridge colony, it was established protectorate. And this is when the British control the economy of course and there was a push for cash crops. And by 1960 there is a full transition of power, it's a gradual power so it's about a decade of gradual, it's peaceful. So today Nigeria and the UK are trading partners. Another lasting legacy is that 40% of Nigerians are Christian, English is the official language. And the boundary of Nigeria is still the same as it was from the Berlin conference. If you're a member of the class I have to show you the vice about the oil and Nigeria. So now we bounce to Libya. Libya was the last colony, Chevy colonized, it was conquered by the Turks and then the Italians took it over. The Italians were brutal to Libyans, the Italians were brutal to the Ethiopians. Libya was then defeated by Rommel during World War II, Desert Fox. And so then after World War II there was a kind of a coalition of British, French and Americans that stayed inside Libya. Libya got its independence in 1951 and there was a king of Libya. By 1969 he is overthrown by a man by the name Muhammad Al-Gaddafi. This is a bad dude or a good dude depends on whose perspective you're looking through. He has the nickname of the Picasso of Middle Eastern politics. He was a firm disciple of NASA, the guy we talked about with Egypt. He saw NASA, the Suez Canal, he wanted to do the same for oil. Oil was found in Libya. And so he was able to and he basically, Libya became the first developing country to really share legit revenue for oil production. Gaddafi he loved, he loved Libya on an entrance path. If you have some time I would do some googling on him. He is an interesting fellow. He is famous for his green book which outlines his political theories. And basically he Reagan at one point, forget what year it was, but Reagan calls him the mad dog of the Middle East. Gaddafi gets really paranoid and not only is he wants to kill Libyans that are against him, but any Libyan that has left Libya, it's called liquidation of the dogs. Not joking you, he sends out hitmen to kill these people. A great story about a guy in Colorado if you remind me I'll tell you. In 2009 he visited the United States to speak at the UN General Assembly. This was supposed to be a 15 minute speech. Literally he talked for an hour and a half. Crazy. So anyway, he in 2011 there's a civil war. He is killed and his body is like badly, badly mangled. Libya today. Unfortunately Libya was tore apart by ISIS. Of course ISIS is pushed back, but that is a lasting legacy. Last but not least if we talk about let's go to Uganda and we will talk also talk about this when we talk about the genocide in Rwanda. But Uganda was another protector of the English, a lot of cotton. By 1960 they get their independence and the leader of Uganda is Milton Abode. And he has some issues with neighboring kingdoms. Remember when the Brits and the Europeans did those lines they didn't really take into account tribes and other kingdoms. And so basically he calls in one of his army commanders who is dude by the name Idi Amin. Idi Amin helps control any kingdom or any tribe that is trying to assert its own autonomy. Unfortunately Idi Amin in 1971 leads at Koo to topple the government and under the leadership of Idi Amin he's really bad dude. The economy goes to trash, he kicks out all Asians which was terrible for the economy as well. It was the majority of the trading class. And he literally just goes on mass killing sprees of any one of a different tribe than himself. He was in power for about seven years and he killed almost a half a million people in seven years. That's pretty impressive. Tanzania basically the neighboring country helps Abote return to power. It's all kind of confusing but basically what essentially happens in Uganda is a group called the NRA the National Resistance Army under the leadership of Mousavino takes control of the government. And he is a dictator and some historians will say this is a turning point in Uganda in history. And I have here a dictator question mark because he was a dictator but the economy improved. Education improved. Like he really stabilized Uganda so it's almost like we've talked about this in class before. Maybe a democracy isn't for everybody. He almost made Uganda like a model country. Unfortunately a group called the Lord's Resistance Army under the leadership of Joseph Coney emerged. And if you've heard of the child soldiers, you know 20,000 children were abducted to serve in this this child. Army this was huge international news. I don't know if you remember this in the early 2000s. He avoided Joseph Coney avoided capture for you know like 30 years. Today Uganda there you know it's about the size of the United Kingdom but one of the the only countries that literally accepts all refugees. They have a refugee from South Sudan and there as a result of that. Of course there is a humanitarian crisis but it's pretty amazing you know they you got to give these refugees just this unparalleled opportunity. opportunity to kind of like how to help refugees. But of course, you know, in the West, we see this as a flaw because if it's a one party rule. So anyway, just something to think about. Again, I apologize for kind of cutting Africa short. If you have any questions, please let me know. I look forward to seeing you. Bye.