ZIMSEC A Level · History · Form 6
Causes
African nationalism (educated elites, ex-servicemen, trade unions), the impact of the Second World War, the Atlantic Charter and UN pressure, the weakened European powers, the Cold War, and pan-Africanism (Manchester Congress, 1945).
Patterns
- Peaceful transfers: Ghana (1957 – Kwame Nkrumah's CPP and positive action), Nigeria (1960), Tanganyika (1961).
- Armed struggles: Kenya (Mau Mau, 1952–60), Algeria (1954–62), Portuguese colonies – Guinea-Bissau, Angola and Mozambique (1975), Zimbabwe (1980), Namibia (1990).
- South Africa: apartheid (from 1948) ended through internal resistance, sanctions and negotiations, with democratic elections in 1994.
Pan-Africanism and the OAU
The Organisation of African Unity (1963) supported liberation movements; it was replaced by the African Union (2002).
Post-independence challenges
Neo-colonialism, one-party states, military coups, ethnic tensions, debt and economic dependency.
Exam tip: Compare case studies – why was decolonisation peaceful in some colonies but violent in others (settler presence, metropole policy)?
Check yourself
- Which country was the first in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence from colonial rule (1957)?
- Why were the Portuguese colonies' struggles prolonged?
- When was the OAU formed?
Show answers
- Ghana (Gold Coast).
- Portugal's dictatorship refused decolonisation until the 1974 coup in Lisbon; colonies were regarded as provinces.
- 1963.
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