Chapter 30: Africa and the Middle East, 1945-Present
Africa and the Middle East 1945–Present Key Events As you read this chapter, look for the key events in the development of Africa and the Middle East. • From the 1950s to the 1970s, most African nations gained independence from colonial powers. • Israel declared statehood on May 14, 1948, creating conflict and struggle between the new state and its neighbors. The Impact Today The events that occurred during this time period still impact our lives today. • Many African nations struggle with political and economic stability. • The United States continues to work with the Israelis and Palestinians to find a peace- ful solution to their territorial disputes.
World History Video The Chapter 30 video, “Apartheid,” chronicles segregation and its demise in South Africa.
Israeli flag 1962 1964 Nelson Palestine 1948 Mandela Liberation Israel declares arrested and Organization statehood imprisoned formed
1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970
1957 1963 1967 First African Organization Six-Day colony gains of African War begins independence Unity formed
918 Kwame Nkrumah celebrates independence. Ghana gained its independence from Great Britain in 1957.
U.S. military planes during Gulf War
1990 HISTORY Iraqi attack on Kuwait leads to Persian Gulf crisis Chapter Overview Visit the Glencoe World History Web site at 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 tx.wh.glencoe.com and click on Chapter 30–Chapter Overview to preview chapter information. 1979 1989 1994 Israel and Egypt Chinua Achebe Nelson Mandela sign the Camp wins Nobel Prize becomes South David Accords in literature Africa’s first black president Inauguration of Leaders of Camp David Accords Nelson Mandela
Anti-American protesters in Iran Revolution in Iran n the 1970s, many Iranians began to grow dissatisfied Why It Matters with their ruler, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the shah of These revolutionary events in Iran IIran. An opposition movement, led by the Muslim clergy are examples of the upheavals that under the guidance of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, changed both Africa and the Middle grew in strength. (An ayatollah is a major religious leader. East after 1945. In both these areas The word means “the sign of God.”) of the world, Europeans were forced One observer described a political rally in the capital city of to give up their control and allow Tehran in 1978: “On Sunday, December 11, hundreds of thou- independent states to emerge. The change from colony to free nation sands of people held a procession in the center of Tehran.... was not easy. In Africa, the legacy of Slogans against the shah rippled in the wind—‘Death to the colonialism left arbitrary bound- Shah!’ ‘Death to the Americans!’ ‘Khomeini is our leader,’ and aries, political inexperience, and so on. People from all walks of life could be found in the continued European economic dom- crowd.” ination. In the Middle East, ethnic In January 1979, the shah left Iran, officially for a “period of and religious disputes persist. rest and holiday.” Three weeks later, the Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran from exile in Paris. On April 1, his forces History and You The Arab- Israeli war is not one war but a con- seized control and proclaimed Iran to be an Islamic republic. tinual series of struggles. Using your Included in the new government’s program was an attack on textbook and outside resources, the United States, viewed by Khomeini as the “Great Satan.” make a time line of the conflict. On November 4, after the shah had gone to the United Choose three points on your time States for medical treatment, Iranian revolutionaries seized line to highlight, then describe the the United States Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans events that led to those specific hostage. Not until the inauguration of a new American presi- episodes. dent, Ronald Reagan, in January 1981 did the Iranians free their American captives.
920 Independence in Africa Guide to Reading Main Ideas People to Identify Reading Strategy • People hoped that independence would Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela, Julius Categorizing Information As you read bring democratic governments, but Nyerere, Desmond Tutu, Chinua Achebe this section, complete a chart like the one many African nations fell victim to mili- below identifying the problems in Africa tary regimes and one-party states. Places to Locate during its first stages of independence. • Culturally and economically, African South Africa, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria Africa nations struggled to resolve the tension Preview Questions Economic between the modern and the traditional. 1. What economic problems did inde- Social Key Terms pendent African nations face? Political apartheid, Pan-Africanism 2. How have social tensions impacted African culture? Preview of Events ✦1960 ✦1962 ✦1964 ✦1966 ✦1968 ✦1970 ✦1972
1960 1962 1963 1967 1971 Blacks massacred Arrest of ANC leader Organization of Civil war in Idi Amin seizes in Sharpeville Nelson Mandela African Unity forms Nigeria control of Uganda Voices from the Past
On March 21, 1960, Humphrey Taylor, a reporter, described a peaceful march by black South Africans against white rule:
We went into Sharpeville the back way, around lunch time last Monday, driving “along behind a big grey police car and three armoured cars. As we went through the fringes of the township many people were shouting the Pan-Africanist slogan ‘Our Land.’ They were grinning and cheerful. . . . Then the shooting started. We heard the chatter of a machine gun, then another, then another. . . . One woman was hit about ten yards from our car. . . . Hundreds of kids were running, too. Some of the children, hardly as tall as the grass, were leaping like rabbits. Some of them were shot, too.” Z Jon E. Lewis, 2000 Demonstration against The Sharpeville massacre was a stunning example of the white government’s white rule oppression of the black majority in South Africa.
The Transition to Independence European rule had been imposed on nearly all of Africa by 1900. However, after World War II, Europeans realized that colonial rule in Africa would have to end. When both Great Britain and France decided to let go of their colonial empires in the late 1950s and 1960s, most black African nations achieved their independence. In 1957, the Gold Coast, renamed Ghana and under the guidance of Kwame Nkrumah, was the first former British colony to gain independence. Nigeria, the Belgian Congo (renamed Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo), Kenya, and others soon followed. Seventeen new African nations emerged in 1960.
CHAPTER 30 Africa and the Middle East 921 Another 11 nations followed between 1961 and 1965. was economic and political reform. The ANC’s After a series of brutal guerrilla wars, the Portuguese efforts, however, met with little success. finally surrendered their colonies of Mozambique At the same time, by the 1950s, South African and Angola in the 1970s. whites (descendants of the Dutch, known as Afrikan- In North Africa, the French granted full independ- ers) had strengthened the laws separating whites and ence to Morocco and Tunisia in 1956. Because Algeria blacks. The result was a system of racial segregation was home to two million French settlers, France known as apartheid (“apartness”). chose to keep control there. Meanwhile, however, Blacks demonstrated against the apartheid laws, Algerian nationalists had organized the National but the white government brutally repressed the Liberation Front (FLN) and in 1954 initiated a guer- demonstrators. In 1960, police opened fire on people rilla war to liberate their homeland. The French who were leading a peaceful march in Sharpeville, leader, Charles de Gaulle, granted Algeria its inde- killing 69, two-thirds of whom were shot in the back. pendence in 1962. After the arrest of ANC leader Nelson Mandela in In South Africa, where the political system was 1962, members of the ANC called for armed resist- dominated by European settlers, the process was ance to the white government. more complicated. Political activity on the part of local blacks had begun with the formation of the Reading Check Describing How did Algeria gain African National Congress (ANC) in 1912. Its goal independence from France?
Independent Africa
M editerra MOROCCO TUNISIA nean Sea 1956 1956 30°N ALGERIA WESTERN 1962 LIBYA N SAHARA 1951 EGYPT 1922 R Mor. e E d W S e S a MAURITANIA 20°N 1960 MALI SENEGAL 1960 NIGER After World War II, most 1960 1960 ERITREA CHAD 1993 GAMBIA 1960 SUDAN DJIBOUTI African countries gained 1965 BURKINA FASO 1956 1977 independence. GUINEA 1960 BENIN 1958 GHANA 1960 10°N 1. Interpreting Maps IVORY 1957 NIGERIA ETHIOPIA CENTRAL AFRICAN 1941 COAST 1960 REPUBLIC Which countries became 1960 TOGO CAMEROON 1960 independent by 1957? GUINEA- LIBERIA 1960 1960 BISSAU SOMALIA 2. Interpreting Maps 1974 EQUATORIAL DEMOCRATIC UGANDA 1960 SIERRA 1962 KENYA GUINEA GABON REPUBLIC OF 1963 0° Which countries became LEONE 1968 1960 CONGO 1961 CONGO 1960 Indian independent after 1965? S AO TOME ´´& 1960 RWANDA Ocean Atlantic PRÍNCIPE BURUNDI 1962 3. Applying Geography 1975 Ocean 1962 TANZANIA Skills Is there a pattern 1961 COMOROS to the chronology in Country that was never 1975 10°S a colony ANGOLA MALAWI which independence 1975 1963 Dependency ZAMBIA occurred in the different Countries that gained independence 1964 MOZAMBIQUE countries of Africa? What with date of independence: 1975 can you infer from the By 1957 ZIMBABWE MADAGASCAR NAMIBIA 1980 1960 20°S presence or absence of 1957–1960 1990 BOTSWANA 1961–1965 1966 a pattern? After 1965 SWAZILAND 0 1,000 miles 1968 SOUTH AFRICA 0 1,000 kilometers 1910 LESOTHO 30°S Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection 1966 20°W10°W0° 10°E20°E30°E40°E50°E The New Nations would be put into the hands of the people. As Nyerere The African states that achieved independence declared in 1967, “The basis of socialism is a belief in in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s still faced many the oneness of man and the common historical des- problems. The leaders of these states, as well as their tiny of mankind. Its basis . . . is human equality.” citizens, dreamed of stable governments and eco- Some African leaders believed in the dream of nomic prosperity. Many of these dreams have yet to Pan-Africanism—the unity of all black Africans, be realized. regardless of national boundaries. In the view of Pan- Africanists, all black African peoples shared a com- New African Leaders Most of the leaders of the mon identity. Pan-Africanism was supported by newly independent African states came from the several of the new African leaders, including urban middle class and had studied in either Europe Léopold Senghor of Senegal, Kwame Nkrumah, and or the United States. They spoke and read European Jomo Kenyatta. languages and believed in using the Western demo- Nkrumah in particular hoped that a Pan-African cratic model in Africa. union would join all of the new countries of the con- The views of these African leaders on economics tinent in a broader community. Although his dream were somewhat more diverse. Some, such as Jomo never became a reality, the Organization of African Kenyatta of Kenya and General Mobutu Sese Seko of Unity (OAU), founded by the leaders of 32 African the present-day Democratic Republic of Congo, states in 1963, was a concrete result of the belief in believed in Western-style capitalism. Others, such as Pan-Africanism. The OAU has contributed to Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Kwame Nkrumah of African unity through such activities as settling bor- Ghana, and Sékou Touré of Guinea, preferred an der disputes. “African form of socialism.” The African form of socialism was not like that Economic Problems Independence did not bring practiced in the Soviet Union or Eastern Europe. economic prosperity to the new African nations. Instead, it was based on African traditions of commu- Most still relied on the export of a single crop or nat- nity in which ownership of the country’s wealth ural resource. Liberia, for example, depended on the
Nelson Mandela Desmond Tutu 1918– 1931– South African leader South African activist
Nelson Mandela was the first black Head of the Anglican Church in president of South Africa. Mandela South Africa, Archbishop Desmond was trained to be a leader of the Tutu became a leader of the nonvio- Thembu people, and, later, he lent movement against apartheid. received a Western education. Raised in Johannesburg, he studied In 1949, Mandela became one of theology and was ordained an Angli- the leaders of the African National Congress (ANC). The can priest in 1961. He rose quickly through the ranks and ANC at first advocated a policy of passive resistance to became an archbishop and head of the Anglican Church white rule in South Africa. Later, it supported more vio- in South Africa in 1986. As a passionate believer in non- lent methods. The result was a sentence of life imprison- violence, he supported a policy of economic sanctions ment for Mandela. against his own country in order to break the system of During his stay in prison, Mandela’s reputation grew apartheid peacefully. He wrote: “If we cannot consider all throughout Africa and the world. Finally, the South peaceful means then people are in effect saying that African government released Mandela and agreed to there are no peaceful means.” For his efforts, he was hold free elections. In 1994, he became president. awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.
CHAPTER 30 Africa and the Middle East 923 export of rubber; Nigeria, on oil. When prices the cities has overwhelmed sanitation and trans- dropped, their economies suffered. To make matters portation systems. Pollution and perpetual traffic worse, most African states had to import technology jams are the result. and manufactured goods from the West. Millions live without water and electricity in their The new states also sometimes created their own homes. In the meantime, the fortunate few enjoy lav- problems. Scarce national resources were spent on ish lifestyles. The rich in many East African countries military equipment or expensive consumer goods are known as the wabenzi, or Mercedes-Benz people. rather than on building the foundations for an indus- trial economy. In addition, corruption and bribery Political Challenges Many people had hoped that became common. independence would lead to stable political order Population growth also crippled efforts to create based on “one person, one vote.” They were soon modern economies. By the 1980s, population growth disappointed as democratic governments gave way averaged nearly 3 percent throughout Africa, the to military regimes and one-party states. Between highest rate of any continent. 1957 and 1982, over 70 leaders of African countries Drought conditions led to widespread hunger and were overthrown by violence. In 1984, 34 of the 41 starvation, first in West African countries such as major African states were under single-party regimes Niger and Mali and then in Ethiopia, Somalia, and the or were ruled by the military. Sudan. Millions fled to neighboring countries in Within many African nations, the concept of search of food. nationhood was undermined by warring ethnic In recent years, the spread of acquired immuno- groups. This is not surprising, since the boundaries deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in Africa has reached of African nations had generally been arbitrarily epidemic proportions. According to one estimate, drawn by colonial powers. Virtually all of these states one-third of the entire population of sub-Saharan included widely different ethnic, linguistic, and terri- Africa is infected with the virus that causes AIDS. torial groups. As a result of all these problems, poverty is wide- During the late 1960s, civil war tore Nigeria apart. spread in Africa, especially among the three-quarters When northerners began to kill the Ibo people, thou- of the population still living off the land. Cities have sands of Ibo fled to their home region in the eastern grown tremendously and are often surrounded by part of Nigeria. There, Lieutenant Colonel Odumegu massive slums populated by rural people who came Ojukwu organized the Ibo in a rebellion and declared to the cities looking for employment. The growth of the eastern region of Nigeria an independent state
History This shantytown is in Cape Town, South Africa. Tremen- dous urban growth has led to the rise of slums outside many African cities. What factors contribute to the spread of poverty in Africa?
924 CHAPTER 30 Africa and the Middle East History President F. W. de Klerk agreed to hold South Africa’s first democratic national elections in 1993. Here you see people waiting to vote for the first time. Who was the first freely elected president of South Africa?
called Biafra. After three years of bloody civil war, Mandela had been sentenced to life imprisonment in Biafra finally surrendered and accepted the authority 1962 for his activities with the African National Con- of the central government of Nigeria. gress. He spent 27 years of his life in the maximum- Conflicts also broke out among ethnic groups in security prison on Robben Island in South Africa. For Zimbabwe. In central Africa, fighting between the all those years, Mandela never wavered from his Hutu and Tutsi created unstable governments in both determination to secure the liberation of his country. Burundi and Rwanda. In 1994, a Hutu rampage left In January 1985, he was offered his freedom, given some five hundred thousand Tutsi dead in Rwanda. certain conditions, from then President Botha. At this point, Mandela had served over 21 years of a life sen- Reading Check Explaining Why was the Organiza- tence and had passed his 70th birthday. Yet, he refused tion of African Unity formed? to accept a conditional freedom: “Only free men can negotiate; prisoners cannot enter into contracts. Your New Hopes freedom and mine cannot be separated.” Over the years, Nobel Peace prize winner (1984) Bishop As you will learn, worldwide pres- Desmond Tutu and others worked to free him and to sure on the South African government led to the end of end apartheid in South Africa. Worldwide pressure on apartheid and the election of that country’s first black the white South African government led to reforms president in 1994. and the gradual dismantling of apartheid laws. In Not all the news in Africa has been bad. In recent 1990, Mandela was finally released from prison. years, popular demonstrations have led to the col- In 1993, the government lapse of one-party regimes and the emergence of of President F. W. de Klerk democracies in several countries. One case was that agreed to hold democratic HISTORY of Idi Amin of Uganda. After ruling by terror and national elections—the brutal repression throughout the 1970s, Amin was first in South Africa’s Web Activity Visit deposed in 1979. Dictatorships also came to an end in history. In 1994, Nelson the Glencoe World Ethiopia, Liberia, and Somalia. In these cases, how- Mandela became South History Web site at tx.wh.glencoe.com and ever, the fall of the regime was later followed by Africa’s first black presi- click on Chapter 30– bloody civil war. dent. In his presidential Student Web Activity One of the most remarkable events of recent inaugural address, he to learn more about African history was the election of Nelson Mandela expressed his hopes for African independence. to the presidency of the Republic of South Africa. unity: “We shall build a
CHAPTER 30 Africa and the Middle East 925 society in which all South Africans, both black and Outside the major cities, where about three- white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in quarters of the inhabitants of Africa live, modern their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to influence has had less of an impact. Millions of people human dignity—a rainbow nation at peace with throughout Africa live much as their ancestors did, in itself and the world.” ; (See page 1001 to read excerpts thatched dwellings without modern plumbing and from Nelson Mandela’s An Ideal for Which I am Prepared to Die in electricity. They farm, hunt, or raise livestock by tra- The Primary Sources Library.) ditional methods, wear traditional clothing, and prac- tice traditional beliefs. Conditions such as drought or Reading Check Identifying Which African countries flooding affect the ability of rural Africans to grow overthrew dictatorships? crops or tend herds. Migration to the cities for work is one solution. This can be very disruptive to families Society and Culture and villages. Many urban people view rural people as in Modern Africa backward. Rural dwellers view the cities as corrupt- ing and destructive to traditional African values and Africa is a study in contrasts. Old and new, native customs. and foreign live side by side. One result is a constant tension between traditional ways and Western culture. Women’s Roles Independence from colonial powers had a significant impact on women’s roles in African City and Countryside In general, the impact of the society. Almost without exception women were West has been greater in the cities than in the coun- allowed to vote and run for political office. Few tryside. After all, the colonial presence was first and women hold political offices. Although women domi- most firmly established in the cities. Many cities, nate some professions, such as teaching, child care, including Dakar, Lagos, Cape Town, Brazzaville, and and clerical work, they do not have the range of career Nairobi, are direct products of colonial rule. Most opportunities available to men. Most African women African cities today look like cities elsewhere in the are employed in low-paid positions such as farm world. They have high-rise apartments, wide boule- laborers, factory workers, and servants. Furthermore, vards, neon lights, movie theaters, and, of course, in many rural areas, traditional attitudes toward traffic jams. women, including arranged marriages, still prevail.
History The contrast between modern and traditional lifestyles often creates tension in African society. About what percentage of the African people live in cities?