Preview

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Post-Colonial Africa

• Preview
• Main Idea / Reading Focus
• Political Challenges
• Quick Facts Political Trends in Post-Colonial
  Africa
• Economic and Environmental Challenges
• Revival of African Culture

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Post-Colonial Africa
Main Idea Newly independent African nations
struggled with poverty, conflict and ineffective
governments. In recent years, some countries
sought better government by holding democratic
elections.

• Reading Focus
• What political challenges did Africans face after
  independence?
• What economic and environmental challenges did
  Africans face after independence?
• How did Africans revive their culture after
  independence?

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Political Challenges

• 1950s1960s, many former European colonies ruled
  by dictators
• Some nations fell into civil war
• 1990s brought renewed hope with the return of
  democracy end of the apartheid system in South
  Africa

The Sharpeville Massacre was a turning point in
the anti-apartheid movement.
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Protesting Apartheid

• Meeting Violence with Violence
• Mandela, other ANC leaders decided to meet
  violence with violence
• Government banned ANC, jailed Mandela
• 1976, major student protest movement in township
  of Soweto

• Soweto Uprising
• Soweto Uprising set off by decree for black
  schools to teach Afrikaanslanguage of white
  South Africans
• Police killed protesting student peaceful march
  turned into revolt

• Trade Sanctions
• Police crushed uprising, but over 600 killed,
  4,000 wounded
• ANC fought to end apartheid violence erupted in
  many black townships
• International community imposed trade sanctions
  on South Africa

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Democracy in South Africa

• 1990, President F.W. de Klerk legalized ANC,
  began negotiations to enact new constitution, end
  apartheid
• Released Mandela from prison
• Lifted long-standing ban on African National
  Congress
• De Klerk also abolished homelands, held South
  Africas first democratic elections
• ANC swept elections
• Mandela became first black president of a
  democratic South Africa

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Military Dictatorships
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Ethnic Conflicts and Civil War
When the European powers divided Africa into
colonies, preexisting political units were not
maintained.
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Democracy for Some

• Despite conflicts, war throughout late 1900s,
  many African countries still dictatorships
• Cold War U.S., Soviets gave large amounts of
  money to dictators friendly to their side
• Cold War ended, money dried up weakened some
  dictators governments

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Draw Conclusions Why did most African states
adopt a one-party system?
Answer(s) U.S. and Soviet Union each provided
large amounts of money to dictators friendly to
their side.
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Economic and Environmental Challenges
After achieving independence, many African
nations faced economic challenges that came with
their new status. In addition, Africans had to
combat the spread of disease and environmental
problems.
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• Disease
• African nations also challenged by management of
  deadly diseases
• Malaria continues to be one of most common causes
  of death today
• 1980s, new disease, acquired immune deficiency
  syndrome (AIDS) spread rapidly throughout Africa

• AIDS
• HIV virus that causes AIDS weakens bodys immune
  system, results in death
• Social costs in sub-Saharan Africa staggering
  millions of orphaned children because parents
  died from AIDS
• Only small percentage of infected Africans
  receiving AIDS treatment

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Desertification
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Identify Cause and Effect What causes
desertification in Africa?
Answer(s) planting crops in poor soil and
grazing animals in dry areas, causing soil to dry
out even more
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Revival of African Culture

• In spite of the challenges African countries have
  faced since independence, Africans have
  experienced a cultural revival.
• A new generation of African writers, artists, and
  musicians has emerged to establish a powerful
  African identity.

Meanwhile a new type of African literature
developed in the French-speaking colonies of West
Africa.
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Revival of African Culture
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Art, Music, and Dance

• Traditional arts like sculpture, music, dance
  also became new means of expressing African
  identity
• Artists began to produce traditional pieces like
  masks, musical instruments, sculptures carved
  from wood, cast in bronze
• Artists incorporated new ideas, materials into
  work, revival of African art with new vitality,
  creativityhighly valued on world market today

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Find the Main Idea What subject did many African
writers focus on after independence?
Answer(s) criticism of African leaders