Africa's Road to Independence - Essay Example

The Importance of the Italian Invasion of Ethiopia in the Decolonization Process At that time, Ethiopia had valuable exports and she was also forming a new army with the assistance of many European powers which was purchased by the money of the Ethiopians. The military was undersize by European standards contrary to the Italians thus it stressed them a lot. Following the investment in Somalia, France, seeking to have Italians safely use their destructive energy, gave the way to an attack on Ethiopia instead of concessions in respect of Tunisia.2. Phases of DecolonizationRediscovery and recovery: people who were colonized were inexorably suffering from inferiority in terms of their cultural and social background, according to Laenui(2).

However on the move to decolonization people started rediscovering the importance of their culture and society and started to recover from the inferiority.Mourning: this was the natural outgrowth of the phases of decolonization. People lamented about their victimization which began their process of their healing from colonization.Dreaming: most crucial face in this process as the total scene of possibilities were expressed, measured through debates, discussions and building dreams towards the establishment of new social order.

Commitment: while dreaming people will get the opportunity evaluate the votes instead of being caught up in the counting of votes thus all became committed towards one direction.Action: upon the agreement of commitment there was the need to take action. It ranged from the call for reason to the resort to arms.3. African Nationalist LeadersNelson Mandela: he fought for the freedom of Africans, majority rule and self-government.Kwame Nkrumah: his quest was on the freedom of all Africans from the European powers.

Mzee Jomo Kenyatta: fought for the solidarity of all Africans and for the African to take over power.Robert Mugabe: advocated for the independence of Africans and freedomSamora Mache: his demands were for the freedom of Africans and for the Europeans to give back power to the Africans.SynopsisItaly’s invasion of Ethiopia was important to the decolonization process as it shifted focus from Europe as the core of world politics. Africa’s decolonization took place in phases. The main phases in this respect included rediscovery and recovery, mourning, dreaming, commitment, and action; each phase with its characteristics and impact.

Several African leaders participated in the struggle for independence in their countries. Some of these leaders included Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Samora Mache of Mozambique. Work citedLaenui, Poka. Process of decolonization. 2006. Web. 13 September, 2012 http://www.sjsu.edu/people/marcos.pizarro/courses/maestros/s0/Laenui.pdf