Problems of Development in Africa. The Scramble for Africa In the late 1800s, European leaders got together and divided up the continent of Africa to.

Problems of Development in

Africa

The Scramble for Africa

• In the late 1800s, European leaders got together and divided up the continent of Africa to create European colonies.

• Why did they want African colonies?

• What are some possible problems with this?

Colonial Governments

• Relied on brutal military strength

• Only concerned with economics (getting natural resources from the colony) – did not do anything to try to unite the different tribes, build infrastructure (roads, schools, hospitals, telecommunications, etc.)

• Either ruled directly (sent European officials to live in the colonies and rule) or indirectly (gave power to local tribes to help them rule)

• Southern Africa – settler colonies

African Independence

• Nationalist movements across Africa led to independence for the colonies during the 1960s and 1970s

• In most cases, independence led to either:• Corrupt governments where one man/political

party controlled everything in the country (ex: the Congo)

• Racist governments that put one tribe or group of people over another in order to keep power (ex: South Africa; Rwanda)

The Congo/Zaire

• Mobutu Sese Seko – corrupt leader of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) who stole the wealth from his country for his own personal benefit• Embezzled over $5 billion

from his country!

Apartheid in South Africa

• Apartheid: system of racial segregation enforced by the National Party government in South Africa from 1948-1994

• Black South Africans were not allowed to vote, obtain certain jobs, travel freely, or even marry without the permission of the government

• Does this sound familiar?

South Africa

United States

Nelson Mandela & the ANC

• ANC (African National Congress) – group led by Nelson Mandela that fought for the end of apartheid

• Nelson Mandela – leader of the ANC who was imprisoned for 28 years and then became the first President of post-Apartheid South Africa

Rwanda

• Two ethnic groups: Hutus (majority) and Tutsis (minority)• The divide between

these two groups was made worse during Belgian colonial rule

• Most of the land and power was given to the Tutsis while the Hutus were forced to be poor laborers

Civil War

• 1959-1962: Hutus rebelled and overthrew the Tutsi government

• 1990: RPF (Tutsi group) invaded Rwanda and tried to overthrow the Hutu government, beginning the Rwandan Civil War

• This only made worse the Hutu fear that the Tutsis intended to enslave the Hutus

Genocide

• Genocide: the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a specific ethnic group or nation

• 1994: Hutus killed Tutsis (and also Hutus who wanted peace because they were seen as traitors)

• In 100 days, an estimated 800,000 people were brutally murdered (this represents 20% of the entire population)

Current Problems for Africa

• Corrupt Governments

• One-Crop Economies

• Disease

• Overpopulation

• Water Scarcity

One-Crop Economies

• Entire countries are often dependent on just one or two main crops which makes them very vulnerable

Disease

• Out of approximately 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS, 70% live in sub-Saharan Africa (mostly in eastern and southern Africa)

• Out of nearly 247 million cases of malaria EACH YEAR, 90% of all deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa

Overpopulation

• Fertility rates: between 4-8 children per mother• U.S.: 2

• Why?• More children = more workers/farmers• Lack of education• Afraid children won’t survive into adulthood

Why is overpopulation a problem?

Who is the key to solving the population problem?

WOMEN!

What can we do?

• Educate women

• Donate to non-profit organizations who help support local African farmers (Fair Trade), build infrastructure (schools, hospitals), or help prevent the spread of disease

• Spread the word!