What were the ideas that influenced independent states? (2) Flashcards
What position was Africa in at the start of the 20th century?
For the first half of the 20th century, most of Africa was not free. It formed part of the empires of European colonial powers.
Which country gained independence first?
In 1957, Ghana was the first colony to gain independence
By the 1960s most of Africa was independent, except for a few areas which remained colonies until the 1970s or 1980s (such as _____, ____, ____ and _____).
(such as Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia)
What did people hope independence would bring about?
People hoped that independence would mean a bright new future for the African states after decades of colonial rule. The leaders of the nationalist movements at the time of independence had great hopes for the new states.
Free from ___ control the new governments, run by Africans themselves, would make decisions for the new nations.
foreign
What different ideas did these leaders have?
They had different ideas about forms of government, political ideologies and how the economies should be run. As a result, they tried different approaches to tackle the tasks of nation-building and economic development.
What economic state were these African countries in?
African states were not wealthy at the time of independence. The colonial powers had done little to develop the economic self-sufficiency of their colonies.
What had colonial economies been geared towards?
The colonial economies had been geared towards exporting unprocessed minerals and cash crops cheaply and importing expensive manufactured goods. There were few secondary industries.
One of the urgent tasks facing the new states was to promote economic development, particularly ______.
industrialization
Which two forms of economic system were adopted?
The two forms of economic systems which they adopted to promote this were socialism and capitalism.
What is the difference between socialism and capitalism?
Socialism is based on shared ownership, government control of the economy and attempting to achieve greater equality through equal access to resources, while capitalism is based on private ownership, free enterprise and competition. The type of socialism which was applied in some states was called ‘African socialism’.
Was socialism new to Africa?
Some African leaders claimed that the principles of socialism were not new to Africa because there were many aspects of socialism in traditional African societies.
What did this socialism entail?
These included communal land ownership, collective decision-making as well as the classless structure of village communities.
Which two leaders supported African socialism?
Two of the leaders who supported this view were Leopold Senghor of Senegal and Julius Nyerere of Tanzania.
Why did other leaders support socialist policies?
Other leaders supported socialist policies because they thought centralized state control would be the best way to bring about economic and social transformation after years of colonial rule.
