Africa Since independence

Question 1

1. General Info of Liberia

Answer 1

a. It’s located in the West African Coast
b. Population: 5.5 million people
c. Official languge: English, 20 indigenous languages.
d. Capital and largest city: Monrovia

Question 2

2. History of Liberia

Answer 2

a. 19th centruy: American Colonization Society
b. July 26, 1847: Americo-liberians declared independence.
c. First African Republic to declare its independence.
d. Independent during the scramble for Africa.

Question 3

3. Liberia during the 20th century.

Answer 3

a. Building of colonial settlements.
b. Formation of an Elite by Americo-Liberia’s First Indigenous President.

Question 4

4. First Liberian Civil War

Answer 4

a. 1989-1997

Question 5

5. Second Liberian Civil War and Toppling of Charles Taylor

Answer 5

a. 1999-2003

Question 6

6. Consecuences of the Civil Wars of Liberia

Answer 6

a. 250,000 people died.
b. 780,000 exrternally displaced people.
c. 500,000 internally displaced people.
d. Sexual and gender-based violence.
e. Child soldiers.

Question 7

1. General info South Africa

Answer 7

a. Southernmost country
b. Population: 62 million
c. Administrative capital: Pretoria
d. Legislative capital and oldest city: Cape Town.
e. Largest City: Johannesburg.

Question 8

2. Colonial History of South Africa

Answer 8

a. Indigenous inhabitants: predominatly bantu people.
b. 15th C.: Portuguese explorer founded cape of good hope.
c. 17th C.: Ducth station north of cape of good hope -> now Cape Town.
d. 18-19 th C.: Establishment of British Cape Colony.
e. 1879: Consolidation of British Empire through anglo-zulu war.
**Tensions and conflict, confrontation, war and debts. The British colony suffer from the local groups (african indigenous and dutch colonies)

Question 9

3. Post-colonial history South África

Answer 9

a. First (1880-1881) and second (1899-1902) Boer wars. Ambitions of the British empire, they want to invade and absorb the northern states that de Dutch colonies have founded when they move to the north.
b. 1909: South Africa Act. Partial independence, transition to the boer colonists. Gradual independence.
c. 1910: Union of South Africa. The British still were influential to South Africa in their international affairs.
d. 1931: Statue of Westminster grants full independence to the union
e. 1948: Accession of Afrikaner Ethnonationalist national party. (Kind of supremacist agenda, in a state where the majority was black people)

Question 10

4. What was the Apartheid?

Answer 10

a. Strengthening of racial segregation during colonial era
b. Classification into four races: Whites, indian, colored and blacks
c. White minority (less than 20%) controlled the country
d. May 1961: referendum creates a republic
e. Prohibition of mixed marriage, inter-racial sexual relations, divided o residence bantustans.

Question 11

5. End of the Apartheid

Answer 11

a. 1912: Formation of African National Congress (ANC)
b. 1960-1990: Banning of ANC, Guerrilla and label of “terrorism”
c. 1980s: International boycott against South Africa
d. Release of ANC’s Nelson Mandela after 27 years in prison
e. 1994: ANC won elections by an overwhelming majority and elected mandela as first Black President

Question 12

6. Current situation in South Africa

Answer 12

a. Inequality and disparity persists
b. Over half of the population lives below poverty line
c. High unemployed hate (33.5%) particularly among black people
d. Slow progress on land and redistribution
e. HIV/AIDS Pandemic: life expectancy dropped from 62 years old (1992) to 53 years (2005)
f. Corruption and violence: 6th highest crime rate (2023), 57 murders each day.

Question 13

1. General Info of Congo

Answer 13

a. It’s the 2nd largest country in Africa and 11th in the world.
b. Population: 109 million people.
c. Official Languages: French, Kikongo ya leta, ligala, Swahili, Tshiluba.
d. Religion: 95% Christians.
e. Capital: Kinshasa (Former Leopoldville).

Question 14

2. Pre-colonial history of Congo

Answer 14

a. Late 15th C.: Portuguese arrive in kingdom of Kongo.
b. Late 18th C.: 15,000 enslaved people annually.
c. 1870: Henry Morton Stanely explores the region and produces the first map of Congo -> Ways to access the resoruces and stablish a political division.
d. 1879: International association of the Congo by Leopold II.

Question 15

3. Colonial history Congo

Answer 15

a. 1885: creation of Congo free state during Berlin Conference.
b. Extracting resources (esp. coltan) through infrastructure, forced labour and collective punishment.
c. 10 million people died during those years.
d. 1908: Belgian Congo was a colony administered by the kingdom of Belgium.

Question 16

4. Creation of Congo free state during Berlin Conference.

Answer 16

a. 1885

Question 17

5. Independence of Congo

Answer 17

a. 1960: independent Congo-Leopoldville with Patrice Lumumba as Prime Minister
b. Nationalist Lumumba looked for USSR’S support.
c. 1960-65: Congo Crisis due to secessionism in Katanga and South Kasai with Belgian support -> first crisis in Congo.
d. Katanga wanted to separate of the country.
e. 1961: Mobutu Sese Seko overthrew Lumumba through a US-supported coup.
f. Patrice Lumumbe

Question 18

6. First Prime Minister of Congo

Answer 18

a. Patrice Lumumba

Question 19

7. First Crisis in Congo before independence.

Answer 19

a. 1960-65: Congo Crisis due to secessionism in Katanga and South Kasai with Belgian support.

Question 20

8. Civil Wars in Congo

Answer 20

a. First Congo War 1996-97: Laurent Désiré-Kabila becomes president and country becomes DRC.
b. Second War of Congo 1998-2003 AKA Africa’s First World War.
i. 2003: Joseph Kabila became president and was reelected in 2011.

Question 21

1. What was the sociopolitical system in Rwanda before colonialism?

Answer 21

a. Rwanda had highly centralized sociopolitical structures with a strong monarchy, where the Tutsis were in power. The economy was based on cattle herding and agriculture.

Question 22

2. How was Rwanda related to German colonialism?

Answer 22

a. Rwanda was linked to German colonialism and later became a mandate of the League of Nations. It was subsequently integrated into Belgian administration.

Question 23

3. How did Belgian colonialism affect ethnic divisions in Rwanda?

Answer 23

a. Belgian colonialism reinforced ethnic identities. During the precolonial period, there was peaceful coexistence, but colonialism utilized internal structures, maintaining Tutsi power, which laid the groundwork for future divisions.

Question 24

4. What are the main ethnic groups in Rwanda and their population percentages?

Answer 24

a. The Hutus represent the majority of the population (80%), the Tutsis (10-12%), and the other (Twa) (8%).

Question 25

5. What factors led to nationalist liberation movements in Rwanda?

Answer 25

a. After World War II, forced recruitment and the formation of political parties in the country were factors that led to nationalist liberation movements.

Question 26

6. Who was Grégoire Kayibanda, and what was his government?

Answer 26

a. Grégoire Kayibanda was the first president of a Hutu-led government (1961-1973). His government reinforced racial identification policies and segregation, ending with a coup d’état.

Question 27

7. Who was Habyarimana, and what changes occurred during his government?

Answer 27

a. Habyarimana took power in 1973 and remained in power until 1994. His government initiated a process of democratization but was characterized by alignment with the Hutu population and tensions with exiled Tutsis.

Question 28

8. What events triggered the war and genocide of 1994?

Answer 28

a. The trigger was the assassination of President Habyarimana. Perpetrators took advantage of the war’s displacement to carry out a genocide resulting in the death of approximately 100,000 people, mainly Hutus.

Question 29

9. What happened after the genocide in 1994?

Answer 29

a. The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) was formed, led by Paul Kagame, who assumed power in 2000. Since then, the Tutsis have been in control of the government. The humanitarian crisis of refugees was also a crucial issue in the following years.

Question 30

10. What are the current characteristics of politics and society in Rwanda?

Answer 30

a. Currently, more than 70% of the government departments are led by women. Politics remains a sensitive topic, with debates about political manipulation and the persistence of ethnic divisions in the political elite.