Themes in African History - Assignment Example

AFRI 222Homework Reading Assignment #3 - part 2 / Due: See syllabusCh. 2 “Legacies of the Past: Themes in African History,” by John Akare Aden and John Hanson. READ ONLY the section onIndependence and Postcolonial Africa, pp. 51-54For additional help, View the video: Africa: States of Independence – the Scramble for Africa, and take notes on the following questionshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbT44HwzNrI44:54 min. total, (at 23.36 begins the topic of African nationalism & Independence), (at 33.

38 begins the section on post-independence)1. What external pressures caused European governments to end their occupation and pull out of African territories? Among the external pressures were the independence of North America and the formation of labor movements that fought for workers’ rights. The formation of U.N.O. 2. What internal pressuresweakened Europe’s presence in Africa? The persistent internal rebellion by Africans through the use of guerilla war fairs banning European farm lands and homes made it hard for the Europeans to continue with their activities.3. Each African territory had their own processes that led to decolonization and eventually national independence.

Based on the country you are focused on for your SPA project, which of those processes applies to your country of study (Akare et al, 2001, P 52). List at least 3 things that led to that country’s independence. 1. Resistance or rebellion 2. International support from US and UNO 3. Use of diplomacy between the Ghanaians and the British.4. Even though African leaders would become free of “European political control”, what sometimes didn’t change in Africa, especially in regards to their ongoing relationships with their former European colonial power?

[Especially with the French, but also the British] : With both the French and the British, the use of their language by Africans did not end as it had become the formal mode of communication. They also continued to be direct importers and users of the African raw materials such as gold, rubber and peanut oils (Akare,52).Chapter 14Human Rights and Nation Building in Post-INDEPENDENCE AFRICA.READ Only. 298- to the top of page 300.Chapter 14 in your textbook is written by Takyiwaa Manuh, a former professor at the University of Ghana.

This chapter as a whole is devoted to theorizing human rights in Africa, and to providing a brief history on Human Rights in Africa. You have been assigned to read a small section called: Human Rights and Nation Building in POSTINDEPENDENCE AFRICA. pp. 298- to the top of page 300. This primarily covers what happened after the colonial period, during the period just following the independence of individual nations.1. In the beginning of this section (p. 298) Takyiwaa Manuh states that the newly freed governments in the various African nations made many improvements after the colonial powers (the Europeans) left.

Paraphrase in your own words what some of those overall improvements were. (List at least four areas of improvements).The major areas of improvement included, education, health, poverty and labor rights. Immediately the Europeans left the African governments in the fight against illiteracy and also improved the health conditions for all. All the natives were encouraged to work hard and build their countries even though it was done at will (Akare, 54). 2. Manuh states that in the area of politics, however many problems had developed (bottom of 298-top of 299.) From this section of reading what kind of political problems does she discuss?

The political problems included the lack of political systems that would ensure smooth running of the state, power transitions and the greed for power resulting to civil unrests in many parts of the continent.3. She also tells us that in some regions a military junta would take over the local political order. If a region was run by a military junta, what kind of human rights violations were common? Lack of speech and assembly, the right to choose leaders, as well as the right to willfully participate in the development of the nation without being forced.

Work CitedJohn Akare Aden and John Hanson. “Legacies of the Past: Themes in African History” British library Catalogue, (2001).